President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he is designating Antifa as a terrorist organization. He made the announcement via his Truth Social platform during a state visit to the United Kingdom. This declaration follows the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk, although it does not automatically confer legal status to Antifa as a terrorist group. Legal experts have raised concerns about the constitutionality of such a designation.

In his post, Trump stated, "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." He also indicated that he would recommend investigations into those funding Antifa, although he did not elaborate on how he plans to implement this designation.

Antifa, short for anti-fascists, represents a broad coalition of individuals with left-leaning political beliefs. Members typically oppose actions they perceive as authoritarian, homophobic, racist, or xenophobic. Mark Bray, a historian at Rutgers University and author of "Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook," explained, "Sometimes I compare it to feminism. There are feminist groups, but feminism itself is not a group. There are antifa groups, but antifa itself is not a group."

The movement is decentralized and lacks official leadership, making it difficult to quantify its membership. It may intersect with more organized movements like Black Lives Matter or the Occupy movement. Bray noted that Antifa primarily engages in monitoring far-right groups and organizing counter-protests. He stated, "Insofar as terrorism is setting off explosives and killing people, that’s not what these groups ever do."

Antifa gained significant attention in 2017 due to several high-profile incidents, including the physical confrontation with far-right activist Richard B. Spencer and violent protests that led to the cancellation of a speech by Milo Yiannopoulos at the University of California, Berkeley. The group also organized counter-protests against white nationalists in Charlottesville, North Carolina. While recent actions directly linked to Antifa are less frequent, some within the movement justify the use of violence as self-defense against perceived fascist threats.

Historically, Antifa's roots can be traced back to the 1930s, when it emerged in response to the rise of fascism in Europe. The Communist Party of Germany founded a group called Antifaschistische Aktion in 1932, which was dissolved after Adolf Hitler's rise to power. The movement has become more visible since Trump's election in 2016, as members oppose what they view as authoritarianism in his administration.

Trump had previously threatened to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization in 2020, but that designation did not materialize. Experts, including Hina Shamsi from the American Civil Liberties Union, argued that there is no legal authority to designate a domestic group as a terrorist organization. Shamsi stated, "Terrorism is an inherently political label, easily abused and misused. Any such designation would raise significant due process and First Amendment concerns."

The FBI maintains a list of foreign terrorist organizations but does not have a similar list for domestic groups. Professor David Schanzer from Duke University noted that under the First Amendment, individuals cannot be punished for associating with or funding a group. He emphasized that a presidential designation of a group as a terrorist organization does not alter these fundamental rights.

Trump has also mentioned discussions with Attorney General Pam Bondi about potentially using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act to pursue charges against left-wing groups allegedly funding Antifa. He stated, "They should be put in jail; what they’re doing to this country is really subversive."