FTO for Antifa?

President Donald Trump met with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, overnight. U.S. officials announced that the United States will cut tariffs on China by 10 percent and China will purchase 25 million tons of U.S. soybeans annually. Read more about what happened here. 

With the Trump administration investigating overseas operations and financial networks of far-left extremist group Antifa, debate has sharpened over whether the group should be designated a foreign terrorist organization.

President Donald Trump designated Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization in a Sept. 22 executive order, 12 days after conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was killed at an event at Utah Valley University. 

The alleged gunman left behind bullet casings with writing on them, including an unspent one that read, “Hey, fascist! Catch!”

The shooting drew fresh attention to the so-called anti-fascist movement and Antifa.

​During an Oct. 8 roundtable discussion with journalists who spoke about being assaulted by members of Antifa, Trump reacted favorably when a reporter asked whether it would be appropriate to designate the organization as a foreign terror group, similar to Mexican drug cartels and transnational gangs.

​“Let’s get it done,” Trump said.

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called it a “very valid step” because of Antifa’s foreign ties.

​Designating a group as a foreign terrorist organization equips the federal government with greater authority to conduct international investigations, seize assets, and pursue criminal charges, providing more options beyond domestic measures.

​Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said he believes that a foreign terrorist designation for Antifa is necessary, and he recently wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio about Antifa’s overseas activities.

​“They have an international network of safe houses. Antifa is not an idea, it’s an organization,” Schmitt told The Epoch Times.

“I think if we’re serious about taking on political violence … they’re the tip of the spear, so I think it’s absolutely necessary.”

Antifa ‘Myth’

Critics argue that Trump’s actions against Antifa represent government overreach, as well as sparking a larger debate about using terror designations to address domestic dissent.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security, called it a mistake to name Antifa as a domestic terrorist group. Thompson said in a Sept. 22 statement that doing so “serves no purpose other than an excuse for the Trump administration to stifle dissent.”

​Some Democrats have downplayed Antifa’s involvement in riots and damage to property, suggesting that Antifa does not exist. In 2020, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) commented on rioting involving Antifa in Portland, Oregon.

​“That’s a myth that’s being spread only in Washington D.C.,” Nadler said in response to a reporter who asked whether the lawmaker disavows the violence by Antifa.

​Former FBI Director Christopher Wray, who served under both Trump and President Joe Biden, described Antifa as an “ideology or a movement,” not a centralized organization, during a 2020 congressional hearing.

Antifascism began as a response to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s National Fascist Party in the 1920s. 

In 1932, Antifaschistische Aktion (Antifascist Action), a militant group that functioned as the violent arm of the communist party in Germany, gave the modern Antifa movement its nickname and symbols that are still in use today, such as the raised-fist salute. The group labeled its enemies as “fascists.”

Overseas Operation

In his Oct. 9 letter to Rubio, Schmitt pointed out that Antifa is “not a collection of independent domestic actors” but an international network.

​His letter states that Antifa cells appear decentralized but coordinate and share tactics and funding streams.

​“The political violence that Antifa-linked terrorists perpetrate on American streets is inextricably tied to this broader international system,” he wrote.

In Canada, a court confirmed ties between Antifa and the ​Canadian Anti-Hate Network group, according to Schmitt’s letter.

The “Stop Cop City” riots in Atlanta in 2023 also involved international coordination, according to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. He told Fox News that some of the militants arrested—who allegedly threw Molotov cocktails, fireworks, and rocks at police—were from France and Canada.

​“This is a national, an international group of people that are organized to come to our state to undermine a public safety training center,” Carr said.

—Darlene McCormick Sanchez; Nathan Worcester; Janice Hisle; Stacy Robinson

BOOKMARKS

The Federal Reserve opted to cut interest rates by a quarter percent on Wednesday, as predicted. Find out what that means for your wallet by reading Andrew Moran’s latest report. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a recall of the blood pressure medication prazosin hydrochloride due to possible carcinogen contamination. The recall includes over 580,000 bottles, so check out Jack Phillips’ report—just to be safe. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that he is open to negotiating peace with Russia, but is not ready to cede back territory he has gained in the war. Officials from Ukraine and Europe are attempting to broker a cease-fire. 

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) tried to advance a bill this week that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent, but not everyone was on board. “For many Arkansans, permanent [Daylight Saving Time] would mean the sun wouldn’t rise until after 8:00 a.m. or even 8:30 a.m. during the dead of winter,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said.   

—Stacy Robinson