During a White House roundtable discussion, the homeland security secretary this week likened the loose network of antifascist activists to the notorious gang, the Gaza-based organization, the Iran-backed group and ISIS, calling the decentralized protesters “just as dangerous” as designated terrorist organizations.
“They operate with the same complexity as MS-13, as TDA [Tren de Aragua], as the Islamic State, as the Lebanese militia, as Hamas, as all of them, they pose the same level of threat,” Noem stated. “Their goal is to dismantle our society, just like the other terrorists we’ve dealt with for decades.”
The discussion included rightwing social media journalists such as several prominent commentators and others who cover anti-fascist demonstrations.
Several organizations mentioned by the secretary – the Palestinian, Lebanese, and jihadist factions – are formally designated terrorist organizations that control territory, run armed branches, have hierarchical leadership and have executed large-scale assaults including bombings, kidnappings and targeted killings.
Extremism experts have long described the anti-fascist movement, by contrast, as lacking a central command, official membership or structured hierarchy, and it has often been portrayed by federal law enforcement as a loose network of activists who engage in protest activity, portions of which involve property destruction and street violence.
This meeting follows a presidential directive issued last month classifying antifa as a “homegrown terror group”.
Days before the announcement, Joe Biggs previously convicted and later pardoned for his actions during the Capitol events posted on X: “Who’s ready to go ANTIFA hunting? Since I am acquainted with several individuals.”
