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Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/designating-antifa-as-a-domestic-terrorist-organization/
72•Kye•1h ago

Comments

jauntywundrkind•1h ago
Absolute nonsense and hogwash, with zero shown basis in fact. Thankfully just empty words on paper, of no actual legal constitution, but the intent of the administration to go after people they don't like, to create an illusion of shadowy forces to justify their own violence & misdeeds, is clear & wicked.

America should be fighting fascists!

russdill•1h ago
And a reminder, they have been doing quite a few extra judicial killings lately based on the classification of "terrorism".
SanjayMehta•1h ago
How is that new?
virtue3•52m ago
*more than usual
Ancapistani•1h ago
And communists.
BolexNOLA•52m ago
I’ll trust a communist over a fascist every single time. They are not remotely the same thing.
fuzzer371•1h ago
So this implies that anyone against fascism is a terrorist. Got it. Really sends a clear message which side this administration is on.
throwmeaway222•1h ago
Well that's word play which means as much as Biden declaring people that want to make America Great are awful people.
Smeevy•1h ago
Sure, buddy. It's all the exact same. This insanity is just like it was under Biden.

Remember the time that Biden canceled Gutfeld! and everyone went crazy about it? What about the time that Biden just gave himself the magical ability to tariff the rest of the world based on whimsy? What about all of the violence from those awful leftists every time some MAGA chud wore a "Let's go, Brandon!" shirt or put a sticker of Biden hog-tied and gagged on their back of their chudmobile?

The important thing here is that you are awful people. I'm saying that based on the lack of morals, empathy, and basic human decency that has become the calling card of American regressives.

stale2002•58m ago
> What about all of the violence from those awful leftists

If you actually care, which I doubt you do, there have been studies measuring the total damage done during many left wing riots.

For just one example the total cost for the riots that happened between May 26 to June 8, 2020, across 20 states was around 1-2 billion dollars, according to reports.

https://www.axios.com/2020/09/16/riots-cost-property-damage

It is riots like those mentioned that I presume this executive order is targeting.

amanaplanacanal•43m ago
Rioting is already illegal. This order has nothing to do with that. It's about painting his political enemies as terrorists.
Smeevy•43m ago
1-2 billion dollars? Over 2 weeks across 20 states? That's horrible.

January 6th damage was estimated at $2.7 billion dollars by the GAO. That riot (more of an attempted coup) actually was coordinated by actual, tangible right wing extremist groups rather than the shadowy "Antifa" fiction that hides underneath all of your beds.

https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-106625.pdf

>It is riots like those mentioned that I presume this executive order is targeting.

You presume? This administration has lost the benefit of any doubt. This is a cabal of shameless liars and they should be denounced at every turn.

This is yet another transparent attempt to circumvent basic American rights and you're defending it like I said something mean about your local sports team.

philistine•1h ago
One is an opinion voiced that has no legal consequence. The other is an order of the government declaring as terrorism what amounts to a philosophy. The president did not declare a group as terrorism, he declared an idea terrorism. How is that equivalent?
elevation•1h ago
The Patriot Act was named to imply that its supporters are patriotic and its detractors are not.

The name "Antifa" has similar implications, while similarly missing the mark.

fuzzer371•59m ago
Yeah, except "Antifa" are the people punching literal Nazi's.
macinjosh•56m ago
If you really think that is true. That MAGA == nazi, then why aren’t you taking up arms? I think it’s because you know you are exaggerating
BolexNOLA•49m ago
Are you seriously asking this person why they aren’t picking up a weapon and heading out to solve our social/political problems?
macinjosh•20m ago
I’m not the one calling people nazis.
BolexNOLA•19m ago
No just challenging people to go commit violence. Totally the same thing.
macinjosh•15m ago
its called being facetious. It was a hypothetical. stop feigning low IQ
newAccount2025•47m ago
So you’re only serious if you give up and embrace violence? Least American take ever.
macinjosh•21m ago
Ok so ww2 fighting fascism was un-American. Got it.
amanaplanacanal•45m ago
Sometimes it's better to be strategic instead of going all Leroy Jenkins on stuff.
fufxufxutc•55m ago
You keep using the word "literal", but I don't think it means what you think it means.
cobertos•47m ago
Have you taken a look at the fringes lately? The amount of people subscribed to radical ideology has grown, especially what you would associate with nazis. So yes. _literal nazis_.
fufxufxutc•39m ago
Okay, but do any of the people you're describing as Nazis (Trump, MAGA voters, people who don't lean left, etc.) subscribe to the tenets of national socialism? Given that you say they're "literally" Nazis, you would think that they would.
amanaplanacanal•47m ago
Literal has more than one meaning. One is "figurative". Our brains want languages to hold still, but they keep moving! But even this old dog can learn new tricks.
fufxufxutc•43m ago
I hope you're joking.
qwerpy•41m ago
And firebombing electric car dealerships, vandalizing cars, etc.
major505•58m ago
Beating people who think different than you is the pretty much facism. Just saying.
baby•54m ago
There was a time where punching a Nazi was not controversial. We're past that I guess.
endtime•49m ago
Maybe look up what the ACLU did in Skokie in 1978...
qwerpy•37m ago
Well when impressionable people get to define for themselves what a Nazi is (e.g. a car dealership for a company whose CEO we don’t like) and then firebomb it in the name of “punching the Nazis” then yeah I’m glad we’re trying to get past that.
Ralfp•16m ago
We are on schedule. People seem to need to get a reminder every few generations why authoritarians are terrible at running the country. Sometimes the process is peaceful. Sometimes it isn’t.

But the blame is not 100% on the authoritarians. The „we’ll refuse to do anything about your living conditions so you’ll radicalise and vote in somebody radical” is part of the cycle too.

major505•15m ago
So you are going to defend the people like Andy Ngo, a gay asian reporter who where attacked and hospitalized by Antifa is a nazi? Good luck defending that idea. You are going to need.
cies•52m ago
Fascism used to have a meaning. And that meaning used to be different from "violence towards those who think different".

But nowadays... It seems to be used by anyone who does not like a group. Like when people overuse the word narcissist to the point it just means "asshole as perceived by the observer".

grumio•47m ago
>Beating people who think different than you is the pretty much facism.

No. Fascism is fascism.

I'd recommend reading Umberto Eco's "Ur-Fascism" if you are interested in learning.

major505•22m ago
FAcism is a defined set of political and economic ideas that most people acused of being a racist do not check the boxes.

Stop behaving like a kid. Politics exists as an alternative to violence. If you going to punch people on the street don't complain when you and your friends are under a boot.

grumio•18m ago
I'm glad you came around to understanding what it is.

I'm not behaving like a kid, I just prefer if people don't whitewash what fascism means, like you did in your previous comment (but not in this one). Muddying the term only helps fascists, whether on purpose or inadvertently.

Have a good day.

Grimblewald•1h ago
Makes sense. If something is terrorisms has always been about alignment of values and to a facist, anti-facists would 100% register as terrorists. Good to see the current US admin admitting it more openly, not that they have been particularly coy about it the last few months.
Ancapistani•59m ago
Terrorism is the use of violence (or threat thereof) in pursuit of political objectives, against the public.
lostlogin•1h ago
> Antifa as a Terrorist Threat. Antifa is a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law.

Does it? Or does it call for the Trump administration to be overthrown?

bluefirebrand•1h ago
Do you think that talking about overthrowing the legitimately elected government should not qualify as "terrorist threat"?
lostlogin•1h ago
So how would that compare with Trumps crowd storming the capitol?

That was apparently fine, but antifa calling for it (if that even happened) is terrorism?

Politicians call for governments to resign/quit etc on a regular basis. Happened here in New Zealand last week.

whoamii•1h ago
As long as we consider the Jan 6 rioters terrorists as well, I’m good.
amanaplanacanal•41m ago
They were just picnickers out having a good time. I guess.
k33n•41m ago
I'm good with you not being good :)
ternaryoperator•55m ago
Terrorism generally has specific elements; violence done against civilians for political or religious ends. So the Oklahoma City bombing would be terrorism, but the mass shooting in Las Vegas would not be. Unless calling for the overthrow of the govt includes a call to violence against civilians, it would not fit the traditional definition of terrorism.
russdill•1h ago
The two flags in the logo represent the communist and anarchist flags. The part about wanting to do away with the US government isn't exactly inaccurate.
nelox•1h ago
An oxymoron if I ever saw one.
GuinansEyebrows•53m ago
anarchist communism, or anarcho-communism, is a coherent political philosophy. you can read about it! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist_communism
the_gastropod•39m ago
Yea, except that logo is from the original German Antifa, who was concerned with doing away with a different government…
jltsiren•25m ago
The original Antifa opposed both Nazis and moderates. They were particularly eager to oppose social democrats, which Stalin and Comintern saw as their main enemies. And it lasted little more than a year before the Nazis took over.
SanjayMehta•1h ago
> Does it? Or does it call for the Trump administration to be overthrown?

From an outsider’s perspective they ARE asking for a democratically elected government to be overthrown.

amanaplanacanal•40m ago
Who are the "they" referenced in this statement?
silicon5•1h ago
Perhaps this is going to go like in the UK, where Palestine Action was proscribed, with the secondary effect that anyone who expresses support for Palestine Action is designated a terrorist even if they're not formally a member.
TheOtherHobbes•1h ago
This makes as much as sense as claiming that Tylenol causes autism.

It's not even frightening - just comical.

the_gastropod•47m ago
I disagree. It is frightening because a not insignificant number of people take him seriously. I know multiple people who took Ivermectin for Covid during his first presidency.

The “terrorist” designation of drug cartels is the excuse they’re using (and currently getting away with) for the 4 boats they’ve bombed into oblivion in the Caribbean.

It’s kind of funny in its stupidity. But it’s also frightening how impactful that stupidity has been.

pluc•1h ago
Y'all gonna do something about this or are you still waiting it out?
slater•1h ago
mid-term elections next year, maybe we can get some adults back in power
area51org•59m ago
What would you propose? Donating money to blackhole political organizations? Taking to the streets? None of that, or much of anything else, will "do something about this". There is no doing anything about this. It's also just meaningless posturing, just another tantrum by a man-child.
baby•55m ago
Remember, October 18th https://www.nokings.org/
Palomides•37m ago
do not, under any circumstances, RSVP to a protest
pluc•40m ago
If only there was a clause in your constitution that you hold particularly dear and deals with tyrannical governments. Either that or wait 3 years, show's just as entertaining for the rest of us.
bigyabai•58m ago
What's the pay like?
next_xibalba•55m ago
What do you suggest be done?
pluc•32m ago
The same thing you would do if this were to happen in the middle east. Or do you only fight for "democracy" abroad?
k33n•47m ago
Those who have a problem with it can vote for Democrats, I guess. Elections do have consequences.
elgenie•1h ago
This is an incoherent blog post.

1. The concept of "domestic terrorist organization" not a thing under any US law. Further, there exists no such organization in observable reality.

2. "All relevant executive departments and agencies shall utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations" is … nothing, because that's what federal law enforcement is already charged with.

odo1242•52m ago
Also, Antifa is the name of a political ideology, not any particular organization.
fufxufxutc•49m ago
Antifa is being fought under the same legal framework that was created to fight the loosely federated idea of white nationalism. Both are violent, hateful ideologies that have no place in our country.
Gigachad•38m ago
My observation is it's not even a full ideology. More of just a term and symbology to describe being against fascism.
xnx•20m ago
Exactly. It's like calling feminism a terror organization (at the risk of giving them the idea).
k33n•45m ago
1. Domestic terrorist organization specifically is not a thing under US law, that is true. But domestic terrorism is, and we do have RICO statutes. (https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47885)

2. Not incoherent. Seems pretty specific: All relevant executive departments and agencies shall utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations — especially those involving terrorist actions — conducted by Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa, or for which Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa provided material support, including necessary investigatory and prosecutorial actions against those who fund such operations.

Tadpole9181•21m ago
No, don't diminish what it is.

It is the sitting president of the United States stating that a political ideology that stands against fascism is illegal and directing the executive - the most powerful and only functional branch of the government under the GOP "unitary executive policy" - to take punitive actions against this thought crime.

jawns•1h ago
The most troubling aspect of this EO is that Antifa is not an actual organization, nor even a centrally organized movement. It doesn't have a recognized leader, nor does it have a cohesive or consistent ideology. In short, it's not an it.

True, there are groups that have claimed to be anti-fascist and have protested the administration's actions. But much of this activity has been spontaneous rather than organized. The word "Antifa" is more of a derogatory term from the right than a term used by an organized group with countable members.

Because of the fuzziness of what Antifa actually is and who counts as a member, this EO gives the federal government the ability to label people as domestic terrorists using a very broad definition. Given this administration's habit of pushing the bounds of its interpretive authority, I worry that this will have a chilling effect on protected political speech and protest.

overboard2•54m ago
https://www.rosecityantifa.org/

Can you notify them that they don't exist?

khazhoux•29m ago
Fair, but still this isn’t a local chapter of a national Antifa organization. So it raises the question: is every local group that calls themselves “Antifa” now subject to investigation for domestic terrorism?
baby•56m ago
I got flagged yesterday for this post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45327333 (Ask HN: Is America Going to Become an Autocracy?). I got advised to stop reading twitter, so I added it to my /etc/hosts file, but it seems like the current administration is doing everything to scare me away. I'm legitimately wondering if I should move away from the US now.
khazhoux•49m ago
As far as I know, Antifa is not a true, actual organization, but more of a rallying cry and a cause for people to self-identify with. I genuinely wonder if Trump (or rather, the top people around him) understand full and well that it is not an organization…

If they think it is an actual organization, then they’re confused and acting based on memes. It would be incompetence backed by the full force of the US government.

If they know it’s not an actual organization, then this is a ruse to slap federal prison time on protesters, if they’ve ever liked a blog post calling for the dismantling of fascism, etc.

gnabgib•47m ago
Discussion (114 points, 5 days ago, 106 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45283795
baby•41m ago
why was it flagged?
lenzm•17m ago
That's how fascism works. This one is flagged now too
AnimalMuppet•10m ago
Dude. Not everybody who flags political posts on HN is a fascist. Some are just really tired of the amount of political posts here.

A lot of people don't have any problem saying that this is wrong. They just don't want the discussion to be here. They aren't fascists, or working on behalf of fascists. They just want HN to not be the all-politics-all-the-time channel that it seems to threaten to become.

dzhiurgis•19m ago
Long overdue.
stubish•8m ago
The thing about terrorists is you can shoot live bullets at protesting terrorists and hold survivors in offshore military prisons, and anyone with a problem with this are supporting terrorism. It might even become legal.

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