President Donald Trump in a post on Truth Social wrote that he intends to characterize “Antifa” as terrorist organizationarguing that the far -left group It is “sick” and “dangerous”. He also explained that he would want to investigate those who finance the actions of anti -fascist movements in the US.

“I am happy to inform many US patriots that I describe Antifa, a sick, dangerous, radical left catastrophe, as a great terrorist organization,” Trump wrote.

He added: “I will also strongly recommend investigating those who finance Antifa in depth, in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices. Thank you for your attention to this issue! “

It was not immediately clear how such a characterization could be made, since Antifa is a wide term for far -left fighter groups opposed to fascists and neo -Nazis, without a well -known central structure or physical leadership. The US does not maintain a public list of domestic terrorist organizations, although the State Department maintains a list of foreign terrorist organizations.

It is also not clear how federal authorities could use such a characterization.

The Congress Research Service, in a 2023 report, said that although federal authorities play an “important role” in the fight against domestic terrorism, there is a gray zone between the prevention of possible violence and the open targeting of people with extreme ideas. Ownership of extreme beliefs alone is not a crime in the USas it is protected by First amendment.

Trump’s comments followed the assassination of political activist Charlie Kerk. Trump said the accused, Tyler Robinson, 22, could have been “radicalized” online to the left. The president implied that the internet and the political atmosphere of the left influenced him.

Trump also said that “100%” would consider describing Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. It is not clear if Robinson had something to do with Antifa.

Deputy Chief Steven Miller said the White House is aiming for NGOs that, according to him, incite violence, attacks on Ice and border guards, and organized targeting campaigns. Miller stressed that “someone is paying for all this” and that, under the guidance of the president, the Attorney General will find who fund such actions to face criminal consequences.

Does Trump have the legal power to describe Antifa terrorist organization?

Trump has not clarified how he intends to proceed with Antifa as a terrorist organization, and the BBC has asked the White House more details.

The US government can describe a group as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). The “legal criteria” for this characterization stipulate that the target group “must be a foreign organization”.

FTO designation means that members of a group can be banned from entering the US or deported from the country, and also enables the government to bind funding and target donors.

The State Department publishes a list of current FTOS, including groups such as ISIS and, more and more, Latin America drug cartel.

However, it is not clear how these powers could expand to Antifa.

“There is no legal mechanism that I know and that can officially characterize any group as a domestic terrorist organization‘, Luke Baumgartner, a researcher in the George Washington University extremist program, said.

“As far as I know, this is just a proclamation on Truth Social, which means nothing. And unless Congress wants to take specific steps, I don’t see something like that“, He said.