President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will designate Antifa as a terrorist organization after Democratic and Republican officials pointed to extremist groups and out of town demonstrators as responsible for violent episodes at protests in major cities across the country.
Trump and Attorney General William Barr had earlier pointed to anti-fascist organizers and anarchists as culprits behind the mayhem following the death of a 46-year-old black man, George Floyd, at the hands of Minneapolis police. Others said right-wing extremists such as Boogaloo followers, who hope to bring about a second Civil War, were pushing for such uprising in the protests.
In a Sunday statement, Barr said the Justice Department is taking aim at "apprehending and charging the violent radical agitators who have hijacked peaceful protest and are engaged in violations of federal law."
The attorney general said that "to identify criminal organizers and instigators," federal law enforcement officials are utilizing "our existing network of 56 regional FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces."
"Preventing reconciliation and driving us apart is the goal of these radical groups, and we cannot let them succeed," Barr added. "The violence instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly."
Trump says protest vandalism fault of 'radical left-wing groups'
MAY 30, 202007:36There is no domestic terrorism statute and legal authority for the U.S. to designate any domestic organization as a terrorist group, as the Justice Department's domestic terrorism coordinator has said publicly on multiple occasions in recent years.
"As this tweet demonstrates, terrorism is an inherently political label, easily abused and misused," American Civil Liberties Union National Security Project Director Hina Shamsi said in response to Trump's post. "There is no legal authority for designating a domestic group. Any such designation would raise significant due process and First Amendment concerns."
The Trump administration also took aim at Antifa during the Sunday political talk shows. Speaking with CNN's "State of the Union," national security adviser Robert O'Brien said violence "is being driven by Antifa."
"And they did it in Seattle. They have done it in Portland. They have done it in Berkeley. This is a destructive force of radical — I don't even know if we want to call them leftists," O'Brien continued. "Whatever they are, they're — they're militants who are coming in and burning our cities, and we're going to get to the bottom of it."
Antifa, meaning "anti-fascist," is a coalition of protesters, left-wing activists and self-described anarchists who seek to physically confront and bring down what they deem as the far right. Trump and his administration have long targeted the group, which has made its presence felt at protests throughout his presidency.
O'Brien called for the FBI to engage in surveillance of Antifa and to prosecute its members.
"And if they haven't been doing that, we need a plan right away to make sure that happens," O'Brien told reporters after appearing in the Sunday shows. "I think the attorney general has already been in touch with (FBI) Director Wray, and I think the President wants to know what the FBI has been doing, and what their plan is going forward, and if they haven't been doing anything about Antifa."
O'Brien said that while he condemns "all extremists," he pinned the violence on left-wing radicals.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tweeted the "big story" being missed is that in "city after city we have a rogues gallery of terrorists from Antifa to 'Boogaloo' groups encouraging & committing violence."
"They may not be ideologically compatible but share a hatred of govt & police & are taking advantage of the protests," Rubio, acting chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, added, saying the demonstrators "don't fit a simple left vs. right identity."
These individuals want to "tear the whole system down even if it requires a new civil war, Rubio said.
3 groups of people at protests:
1. Peaceful protestors angry at the murder of Mr. Floyd but who have even protected police officers at protests
2. Locals who see the opportunity for wilding
3. Domestic extremists taking advantage of lawful protests to advance their own agenda
The protests began last week after a video showed Minneapolis police officers pinning Floyd to the ground as he exclaimed that he could not breathe. One officer, Derek Chauvin, was seen holding his knee against Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes as he begged for mercy — with Chauvin continuing to pin Floyd down even after he became unresponsive.