On September 17, 2025, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce a move that has reignited fierce debate across the United States: he’s designating the antifa movement as a major terrorist organization. This declaration, coming just a week after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, has sent shockwaves through political circles, legal communities, and activist groups alike. Trump did not mince words in his post, calling antifa “a sick, dangerous, radical left disaster” and pledging to recommend “that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices,” according to USA TODAY and Asheville Citizen Times.
The announcement is part of a broader crackdown on left-wing activism in the wake of Kirk’s death. Vice President J.D. Vance, stepping in as host on The Charlie Kirk Show podcast, made it clear that the administration’s efforts would extend to “the NGO network that foments and facilitates and engages in violence.” Speaking with senior Trump advisor Stephen Miller, Vance outlined the administration’s determination to “figure out how to prevent this festering violence we are seeing on the far left.” The Justice Department, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, has also pledged to prosecute hate speech linked to these events, raising the stakes for those expressing controversial opinions online or in public forums.
Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” is not a traditional organization. As the Anti-Defamation League and reporting from USA TODAY emphasize, it’s a decentralized, leaderless movement made up of loose networks, groups, and individuals. Its roots stretch back to leftist anti-fascist resistance in the 20th century, but today, its adherents are united mainly by their opposition to fascism and far-right ideologies. The movement gained mainstream attention after the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where thousands of counter-protesters, some identifying as antifa, confronted white supremacists. Yet, as Lisa N. Sacco noted in her analysis, “individuals who identify as part of the antifa movement don’t necessarily share a group of enemies,” and their targets can vary widely depending on their interpretation of fascism.
Despite being a buzzword among Republicans and right-wing media, antifa has no official leaders or organizational structure. Local groups, like Rose City Antifa in Portland, Oregon, operate autonomously, sometimes organizing into local cells. Their tactics range from doxing and pressuring employers to fire far-right activists, to, in some cases, engaging in physical altercations with neo-Nazis. Mark Bray, an organizer for Occupy Wall Street, wrote in his book Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook that “the vast majority of anti-fascist tactics involve no physical violence whatsoever,” but he also acknowledged that “some of them punch Nazis in the face and don't apologize for it.”
Following Kirk’s killing, Republican lawmakers and far-right influencers have ramped up calls for a crackdown on the left. The State Department announced it would identify non-citizens “on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event” and take action such as refusing or revoking visas. Meanwhile, individuals like late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel have faced workplace sanctions for comments related to Kirk, regardless of whether those comments glorified the violence.
Trump’s move to designate antifa as a terrorist organization is not without controversy—or legal uncertainty. As USA TODAY and the Asheville Citizen Times report, legal experts have pointed out that designating a loosely organized ideological movement as a terrorist group is fraught with challenges and raises significant First Amendment concerns. Mary McCord, a former senior Justice Department official, told Al Jazeera that such a designation “would raise significant First Amendment concerns.” After all, as Sacco wrote, “subscription to an ideology is not generally considered criminal.” The FBI itself investigates violence, not ideology, and does not designate any groups as domestic terrorist organizations. In fact, then-FBI Director Christopher Wray testified in 2019 that the bureau “does not investigate ideology; it investigates violence.”
Trump has suggested using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act—a tool usually reserved for targeting organized crime—to bring charges against people funding left-wing protest movements. “I’ve asked Pam [Bondi] to look into that in terms of bringing RICO cases against them—criminal RICO,” Trump told reporters, as cited in multiple outlets. However, because antifa is primarily U.S.-based, it cannot be labeled a foreign terrorist organization, a designation that would carry broader legal powers for prosecution.
Republican lawmakers have long sought ways to restrict antifa’s activities. Some have pushed for face mask bans, a response to the common sight of antifa protesters wearing face coverings at demonstrations. The Unmasking Antifa Act, reintroduced by Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett, initially targeted antifa activists but was broad enough to affect other protest groups, such as pro-Palestinian activists. The bill, however, stalled in the House Judiciary Committee.
Critics warn that Trump’s designation could have far-reaching consequences. According to a 2020 statement from the Southern Poverty Law Center, “The designation would grant federal law enforcement broad powers, under the federal terrorism code, to surveil and investigate anyone labeled as antifa. It could also allow federal law enforcement to broadly target anyone involved in protests viewed unfavorably by the Trump administration, even retroactively.” This concern echoes those raised when Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Bill Cassidy introduced a resolution in 2019 to label antifa a domestic terrorist organization—a measure that ultimately did not progress in the Senate.
Supporters of Trump’s decision, like Senator Bill Cassidy, argue that antifa has “seized upon a movement of legitimate grievances to promote violence and anarchy, working against justice for all.” Cassidy praised the president’s move, saying, “The President is right to recognize the destructive role of Antifa by designating them domestic terrorists.”
Yet, the debate remains heated and unresolved. Former President Joe Biden, for his part, has condemned antifa and “violence, no matter who it is,” distancing Democratic leadership from the movement. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have, for years, regarded white supremacist groups as the top domestic terror threat, not antifa. Still, the political climate has shifted, with Trump and his allies ascribing blame to antifa for various episodes of unrest, including the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021—a claim widely disputed by law enforcement and independent investigators.
As the country grapples with the aftermath of Kirk’s death and the Trump administration’s sweeping response, many legal and civil rights experts worry about the precedent being set. The move to label a loosely defined ideological movement as a terrorist organization blurs lines between criminal activity and constitutionally protected speech and assembly. Whether Trump’s announcement will translate into concrete legal action—and how it will stand up to judicial scrutiny—remains to be seen. For now, the debate over antifa’s role, responsibility, and rights in American society is more contentious than ever.
