President Trump said late Wednesday that he is designating the far-left activist movement Antifa as a terrorist organization.
“I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Trump, who is currently in the United Kingdom, where he participated in a massive state dinner, said he will “strongly” recommend that those who fund Antifa be probed.
“I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices,” the president wrote. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Trump signaled his openness to the move earlier this week when asked if he would label Antifa as a domestic terrorist group.
“It’s something I would do, yeah,” the president said on Monday.
It is unclear who the designation would be implemented by as Antifa does not have a defined leadership of a centralized structure.
Trump administration officials have hinted in recent days that the White House could target left-wing organizations they argue stir up violence following the killing of prominent conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week in Utah.
On Sunday, Trump said that left-leaning groups will be investigated after Kirk’s killing and claimed that some organizations affiliated with the left are already being probed.
The president pinned the blame on the “radical left” for the killing of Kirk, who was a close Trump ally and instrumental in helping the president get elected in November last year.
Law enforcement identified Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident, as the alleged shooter of Kirk last week.
Updated at 9:27 p.m. EDT
Source: The Hill - News
