Trump calls antifa 'terrorist group,' fueling fight over free speech and limits of law enforcement

President Donald Trump's declaration that antifa is a "major terrorist organization" has spurred questions about who falls under that category and what repercussions they could face from law enforcement.

Trump's announcement, made in a Truth Social post Wednesday, aims to punish antifa, described by the president as a dangerous "radical left disaster." But some experts warn that antifa, shorthand for "antifascism," is a catch-all term that ropes in law-abiding people and that, unlike foreign terrorist organizations, there is no legal designation for domestic terrorist organizations.

Alex Nowrasteh, a vice president at the thinktank Cato Institute, told Fox News Digital Trump's announcement carries little weight but that the White House could craft an executive order that transforms the president's words into action.

"It's all social media vibes until there is an order from the president of some kind, and that's going to be the dividing line," Nowrasteh said. "That's going to be what we need to really take a look at."

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A White House official told Fox News Digital the administration is examining ways to memorialize Trump's call to action.

"The White House is exploring a wide variety of options to put pen to paper to address left-wing political violence and the network of organizations that fuel and fund it," the official said. "Specifics on what that looks like continue to be discussed."

Trump also said on Truth Social that those providing funds to antifa-affiliated groups should be investigated.

Trump's announcement came less than a week after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a gunman who allegedly wrote gamer-inspired antifascist messaging on bullet casings and accused Kirk of spreading hate. Authorities are still working to develop a complete picture of suspect Tyler Robinson's motive.

Former FBI Director Christopher Wray described antifa as a decentralized "ideology." The Congressional Research Service emphasizes that it is a broad term and that its members have a variety of radical views closely aligned with anarchism, communism or socialism. The first group known to adopt the term antifa was Rose City Antifa in Portland, Oregon, in 2007. On occasion, violent criminals have been cited in court as affiliating with antifa.

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Former acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf told Fox News Trump's announcement could cause a shift in federal law enforcement priorities. Wolf said a crackdown on antifa, whose members often dress in all black and appear at political protests, was long overdue. The president first said antifa was a terrorist organization in 2020 amid protests and destructive riots related to George Floyd's death.

"I'm glad to see this. This needed to happen," Wolf said. "It needed to happen in 2020, when not only was I in the middle of it, but I think most Americans saw what was going down not only in Portland but around the country, and we saw antifa being very violent."

Wolf noted that Trump's social media announcement alone could spur the Department of Justice and the FBI to allocate resources toward investigating suspected antifa members and use their prosecutorial discretion to prioritize going after them. Domestic terrorism on both sides of the political aisle has long been a focus for federal law enforcement.

Any antifa targets who face criminal charges could see prosecutors recommend tougher sentences that include a terrorism enhancement. Additionally, federal law enforcement could conduct surveillance of suspected domestic terrorists or place them on the no-fly list.

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Some have expressed concerns that Trump's announcement, and any subsequent actions the president takes related to it, could lead to constitutional violations against nonviolent people or groups on the left.

"I hope he can first define what antifa is, because there is no antifa organization. … He's using the Charlie Kirk murder as a pretext to go after people that he disagrees with," Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said.

Nowrasteh said that peacefully adhering to some kind of antifascist ideology is "absolutely protected speech."

"You can believe and say, 'hey, this terrorist organization. … I believe in what they're doing. Their goals are great. Their beliefs are awesome.' You could say that. That's not a legal violation, because of the First Amendment."

The American Civil Liberties Union's response to Trump's announcement echoed similar constitutional concerns.

"President Trump seems hellbent on targeting real or perceived political opponents based on their constitutionally protected beliefs and speech, and we should all be very clear that he is jeopardizing everyone's First Amendment rights," the ACLU's Hina Shamsi said.