President Donald Trump is urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to designate Antifa as a terrorist group, in order to prevent its members from entering the country.
In a memorandum to Pompeo, President Trump has instructed the Secretary of State, along with Acting Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen and Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, to consider labeling Antifa a terrorist organization. Trump wrote:
One of the fundamental purposes of our Government is to ensure the safety of our citizens. Consistent with the purpose of creating peaceful and prosperous communities, Federal law ensures immigration benefits may be granted only to those individuals who will follow the laws that govern all United States citizens.
…Reliable reporting suggests that the movement known as Antifa is directly or indirectly responsible for some of the recent lawlessness in our communities, and has exploited tragedies to advance a radical, leftist, anarchist, and often violent agenda. In fact, Antifa has long used otherwise permissible demonstrations to engage in lawless, criminal behavior to further its radical agenda.
The letter then cites multiple instances of threats, physical assault, and vandalism tied directly to the self-styled “anti-fascism” movement. “The Department of Justice has already publicly confirmed that actions by Antifa and similar groups meet the standard for domestic terrorism,” Trump wrote, continuing:
The violence spurred on by Antifa — such as hurling projectiles and incendiary devices at police, burning vehicles, and violently confronting police in defiance of local curfews — is dangerous to human life and to the fabric of our Nation.
“These violent acts undermine the rights of peaceful protestors and destroy the lives, liberty, and property of the people of this Nation,” Trump concluded, “especially those most vulnerable.”
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