President Trump: ‘USA will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organisation’

President Trump on Sunday said the United States of America will be designating Antifa as a Terrorist Organisation.

The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020

The announcement comes after the President blamed Antifa and the radical left for the violent protests taking place across the country, supposedly in response to the death of George Floyd.

Social media has been flooded with shocking videos of rioters viciously beating people on the streets.

Of course, despite all of this, mainstream media have been quick to jump to the defence of Antifa, suggesting the President’s announcement was a political move to crack down on protests just five months from Election Day.

NBC, CNN and The New York Times argued that Antifa is not an official organization, with a clear leader, membership roles, or any defined, centralized structure. Furthermore, it was argued there is no domestic terrorism law, so the laws that permit the federal government to deem entities terrorists and impose sanctions on them are limited to foreign groups.

“There is no authority under law to do that,” said Mary McCord, former head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “And if such a statute were passed, it would face serious First Amendment challenges.

“But right now, the only terrorist authority is for foreign terrorist organizations,” she added.

The American Civil Liberties Union also condemned the President’s tweet saying, “As this tweet demonstrates, terrorism is an inherently political label, easily abused and misused. There is no legal authority for designating a domestic group.

“Any such designation would raise significant due process and First Amendment concerns.”

Meanwhile, CNN seemingly downplayed the violence and accused the President of ignoring repeated warnings that white supremacist groups have become the biggest domestic terrorism challenge.

CNN, of course, has been warning about the rise of Nazi-America since President Trump’s election, with hosts claiming the biggest terror threat in the nation is white men on the right, comparing MAGA hats with a shirt that says ‘I hate black people‘, and even defending Antifa as a ‘good cause.’

On Saturday, Attorney General William Barr noted that the recent violent protests appear to be “planned, organized, and driven by anarchic and leftist extremist groups, far-left extremist groups using Antifa-like tactics, many of whom travelled outside the state to promote the violence.”

In a statement released on Sunday, Barr warned that violence “instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly.”