WASHINGTON, June 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Donald Trump said that the United States would be classifying the loose-knit Antifa movement as a terrorist group after blaming it for some of the recent spasm of violence in US cities.
“The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization,” Trump announced on Twitter, with little elaboration.
Antifa — the name is a contraction for anti-fascist — is a secretive grouping of radical activists that has emerged in recent years, in part in opposition to racist demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
The president and some of his top advisors have blamed Antifa and groups they call “far-left extremists” for hijacking peaceful protests against police abuses after a black man’s death in Minneapolis.
Nationwide rioting in dozens of cities was sparked by the videotaped death of the unarmed black man, George Floyd, during his arrest Monday.
In a series of tweets, the US president also congratulated national guard troops for restoring order Saturday in Minneapolis after days of unrest.
“The ANTIFA led anarchists, among others, were shut down quickly. Should have been done by Mayor on first night and there would have been no trouble!” Trump tweeted.
He was referring to Jacob Frey, the Democratic mayor of Minneapolis, where a horrifying video of Floyd’s death — after a police officer kneeled on his neck — sparked the nationwide outpouring of rage, as well as protests elsewhere in the world.
Derek Chauvin, the officer who kept his knee on Floyd’s neck even as onlookers pleaded with him, has been fired and charged with third-degree homicide.
It is not known to have official leaders. Its members, often dressed entirely in black, protest against racism, far-right values and what they consider fascism, and say violent tactics are sometimes justified as self-defense.
The group’s loose, diffuse organization would seem to make it a difficult target for the terrorist listing.
Domestic terrorist groups, the FBI says on its website, promote “the unlawful use, or threatened use, of violence … against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”
Police fired tear gas outside the White House late Sunday as major US cities were put under curfew to suppress rioting as anti-racism protestors again took to the streets to voice fury at police brutality.
With the Trump administration branding instigators of six nights of rioting as domestic terrorists, there were more confrontations between protestors and police and fresh outbreaks of looting.
Violent clashes erupted repeatedly in a small park next to the White House, with authorities using tear gas, pepper spray and flash bang grenades to disperse crowds who lit several large fires and damaged property.
Local US leaders appealed to citizens to give constructive outlet to their rage over the death of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis, while night-time curfews were imposed in cities including Washington, Los Angeles and Houston.
Washington’s mayor ordered a curfew from 11 pm until 6 am, as a report in the New York Times said that President Donald Trump had been rushed by Secret Service agents into an underground bunker at the White House on Friday night during an earlier protest.
Large-scale violence has rocked many US cities in recent days, and looters ransacked stores in a neighborhood of Philadelphia on Sunday.
The Department of Defense said that around 5,000 National Guard troops had been mobilized in 15 states as well as the capital Washington, with another 2,000 on standby.
Floyd’s death has triggered protests beyond the United States, with hundreds rallying outside the US embassy in London in solidarity.
In Germany, England football international Jadon Sancho marked one of his three goals for Borussia Dortmund against Paderborn by lifting his jersey to reveal a T-shirt bearing the words “Justice for George Floyd”.
