Trump and O’Brien have presented no evidence of Antifa involvement. I am waiting for them to say George Soros funded the protestors. They are distracting from any focus on right-wing extremists. I think Trump will try the Nixon racist “law and order” strategy.
Opinion: Trump’s bluster about "Antifa" and the protests takes another hit https://t.co/wGmJzPy0hx
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 11, 2020
“[Antifa] doesn’t exist as a group in the way the president imagines, it would make it difficult to associate somebody with a group that doesn’t exist as an organization. They’re imagining something that isn’t real,” a retired FBI agent said https://t.co/bmm2ZCtvKK
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 5, 2020
Why did this Talk Radio Militia think some campers were “antifa,” as though there were an actual organization by that name? Because the president* told them so. https://t.co/vwdImqnACU
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) June 5, 2020
Why is the president so determined to ignore the white nationalist right? https://t.co/heXl0r9d52
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) June 1, 2020
i can't really summarize years' worth of research & experience on here but a few quick notes about "ANTIFA":
— Talia Lavin (@chick_in_kiev) May 30, 2020
1. it stands for antifascist
2. it traces its origins to street-fighting armies who confronted the fascist forces of mussolini, the nazi party, & fascists across europe
Waste no brain cells on this. Antifa is a vaguely defined movement of people who like direct-action protest tactics, not an actual organization. Even if it were a real group, the law that lets the government deem entities as terrorists only applies to foreign orgs. https://t.co/zXYjI16ymB
— Charlie Savage (@charlie_savage) May 31, 2020
It is extremely common for authoritarian states to broadly expand the definition of an activist group so that anyone they oppose can be accused of being a member, and thus be arrested and surveiled according to their invented pretext. That is what they will try to do with antifa.
— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) May 31, 2020
Context: For years federal law enforcement has been hesitant to label/treat white supremacists groups as terrorist orgs — it would infringe on rights of Americans if cops monitored them the way they do foreign terrorist groups, they've argued. Apparently that's fine for Antifa https://t.co/RlNtD5r1hX
— Wesley (@WesleyLowery) May 31, 2020
The United States of America has no legal authority to designate *any* domestic entities as “terrorist organizations.” https://t.co/NniZjEwaJl
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) May 31, 2020
President Trump tweeted that the US will designate Antifa as a terrorist organization, even though the US government has no existing legal authority to label a wholly domestic group in the manner it currently designates foreign terrorist organizations. https://t.co/IZp6IVSkc5
— CNN (@CNN) May 31, 2020
When even Andrew McCarthy calls Barr’s designation of Antifa as a terrorist organization illegal and a “pointless political gesture,” that’s really saying something. https://t.co/TejsLjSeqW
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) May 31, 2020
Regarding the President, politics, law enforcement & Antifa – we have a problem. Here’s my story – for last 15 yrs been involved or teaching terrorism/counterterrorism courses to law enforcement around the country, last 3 years, it’s gotten weird.
— Clint Watts (@selectedwisdom) May 31, 2020
President Trump said the U.S. would designate antifa as a terrorist organization. But the laws that permit such an action are limited to foreign groups — and antifa is a vaguely defined movement of left-wing and anti-fascist activists, not an organization.https://t.co/UxkrLPe65T
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 31, 2020
For all of you presidents out there confused about what Antifa is, we defined it AND interviewed someone about it last season on the #NotAllWhitePeople episode of #UnitedShades. You can watch it here on @hbomax. #IAmAntifahttps://t.co/H16kDL7UiC pic.twitter.com/XKrPbrkNCC
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) May 31, 2020
NEW: A suspended Twitter account is the source of a viral conspiracy theory about antifa and the George Floyd protests. There is no evidence that activists are targeting white residential areas. https://t.co/utYhCjPBrA pic.twitter.com/zXciNAmg66
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) June 1, 2020
Barr was quick to conflate peaceful demonstrators with dangerous looters, and to claim it was all the work of Antifa.
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) June 3, 2020
This has now become Trump’s mantra as it was once an article of faith for LBJ and Nixon that communists were behind all protests.https://t.co/9hJXFMxksZ
