Trump Declares Antifa a "Major Terrorist Organization" Amid Rising Political Tensions

President Trump speaks to the press before departing the White House on May 30, 2020, in Washington, D.C.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. – September 18, 2025In a fiery late-night post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump announced his intention to designate the far-left anti-fascist movement known as Antifa as a "major terrorist organization," escalating his administration's crackdown on what he described as "radical left" threats to national security.The declaration, made while Trump was on a state visit to the United Kingdom, comes just one week after the shocking assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a close Trump ally, in Utah.

"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," Trump wrote in the post, timestamped early Thursday UK time. "I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" The announcement quickly went viral, amassing over 2 million views on X within hours, with supporters hailing it as a bold stand against extremism and critics decrying it as an authoritarian overreach.

The move follows the September 10 killing of Charlie Kirk, the 32-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, who was shot dead during a speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Authorities have charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, a local resident with no prior criminal record, in connection with the attack. While investigators have not yet publicly confirmed a motive, Trump and senior White House officials have repeatedly pointed to "left-wing extremism" as the driving force, vowing to dismantle networks they believe fueled the violence.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told reporters on Monday that the administration would "channel all of the anger that we have over the organized campaign that led to this assassination, to uproot and dismantle these terrorist networks."Earlier this week, Trump himself signaled the possibility during an Oval Office briefing, responding "It's something I would do, yeah" when asked about labeling Antifa a domestic terror group.

Kirk, a prominent conservative voice who played a key role in mobilizing young voters for Trump's 2024 reelection campaign, was remembered in a Capitol Hill memorial service attended by House Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP leaders. "Charlie was a warrior for freedom," Johnson said, adding that the assassination underscored the need to confront "the destructive role of Antifa."

Antifa, short for "anti-fascist," traces its origins to 1930s Europe, where groups like Germany's Antifaschistische Aktion resisted the rise of Adolf Hitler and Mussolini's Fascist Italy. In the U.S., it emerged as a loose network of activists in the 1980s, gaining prominence in the 2010s through opposition to far-right rallies, including the 2017 "Unite the Right" event in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a counterprotester was killed by a white supremacist.

Unlike traditional organizations, Antifa lacks a central leadership, membership rolls, or formal structure—it's more an ideology than a hierarchy, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray, who testified in 2020 that it operates as "an ideology than an organization." Adherents, often aligned with anarchist or socialist views, use tactics ranging from nonviolent protests and doxxing of extremists to property damage and physical confrontations at rallies.The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) notes that while some affiliated actors engage in violence or vandalism, "this is not the norm," and the group has no unifying body, making its size—estimated in the thousands nationwide—hard to pinpoint.

During Trump's first term, Antifa became a frequent target of administration rhetoric, especially amid the 2020 George Floyd protests. Trump blamed the movement for instigating violence, despite limited evidence of coordinated involvement, and vowed then to designate it a terror group—a promise that never materialized due to legal hurdles.Then-Attorney General William Barr labeled its activities "domestic terrorism," but federal law lacks a clear mechanism for designating domestic ideologies as foreign-style terrorist organizations, raising First Amendment concerns.

Legal experts remain skeptical about the designation's enforceability. "There is no mechanism for designating domestic organizations as terrorist organizations," former Justice Department official Mary McCord told Al Jazeera, echoing concerns from Trump's first term.While providing "material support" to foreign terrorist groups is illegal, no analogous statute exists for domestic ones, per a Congressional Research Service report.Critics, including terrorism analyst Malcolm Nance, warn it could "set the stage to designate ANY American as a terrorist," potentially chilling free speech.

A White House official told CNN the move is "just one of many actions the President will take to address left-wing organizations that fuel political violence," hinting at broader probes into funding networks and possible racketeering charges.Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy praised the step, saying Antifa "seized upon a movement of legitimate grievances to promote violence and anarchy."

International outlets, from Germany's WELT to Turkey's Hürriyet Daily News, covered the news, with some speculating on ripple effects for global anti-fascist networks.

The announcement arrives amid a surge in political violence. From 2010 to 2016, right-wing extremists accounted for 35% of U.S. terrorist attacks, compared to 12% by left-wing or environmentalist groups, according to a University of Maryland study. Yet Trump's focus on Antifa reflects a conservative narrative framing left-leaning activism as the primary domestic threat, a view amplified during the 2020 protests where conspiracy theories about Antifa's role proliferated despite scant evidence.

As the White House prepares an executive order on political violence and hate speech, questions linger: Will this designation lead to arrests, asset freezes, or travel bans? For now, it serves as a stark reminder of America's deepening divides, with Trump's words igniting both cheers from his base and fears of overreach from opponents.

The White House has not yet detailed a timeline for implementation. CBS News has reached out for clarification, but no response was immediately available.