It looks like the “resistance” is getting some push back.
Someone recently started a White House petition to “Formally recognize AntiFa as a terrorist organization.” According to the law, the White House is compelled to give a formal response within thirty days if the petition reaches 100,000 signatures. That requirement was met and surpassed; the number of signatures quickly exceeded 275,000.
The petition reads:
Terrorism is defined as “the use of violence and intimidation in pursuit of political aims”. This definition is the same definition used to declare ISIS and other groups, as terrorist organizations. AntiFa has earned this title due to its violent actions in multiple cities and their influence in the killings of multiple police officers throughout the United States. It is time for the Pentagon to be consistent in its actions – and just as they rightfully declared ISIS a terror group, they must declare AntiFa a terror group – on the grounds of principle, integrity, morality, and safety.
While some may claim that calling Antifa is a terrorist organization is merely inflammatory, there are both historical and current arguments that make a persuasive case.
First, Antifa has its root in communist paramilitary groups from Italy and Germany in the 1920s. In Germany, the equivalent of Antifa – violent paramilitary radicals – wreaked havoc and caused great fear all over the country. Communism was a real danger in the 1920s, far more severe than ISIS is today. Russia had already fallen to the genocidal regime, and all of Western Europe feared that they would be next.
The violent communists gave legitimacy and support to the Nazis, who were seen by many as the only force who could prevent Germany from suffering the red death of communism. It is fair to say that Adolf Hitler owed his rise to power in part to the leftist revolutionaries.
This is more than just a history lesson. Modern day Antifa claims to be the direct continuation of the work of those early anti-fascist groups. Antifa is not merely against what they call fascism. They are also anarchists and communists who wish to see the current political system toppled through violent revolution.
On numerous occasions, Antifa groups have proven they have no respect for law and order. They’ve instigated violent attacks against peaceful protestors, like when former California State University professor of philosophy Eric Clanton brutalized an innocent person with a bike lock during an Antifa attack at a Berkeley rally earlier this year.
Antifa and associated groups also shut down legitimate events with conservatives with threats of violence. The most recent example of this was when a Canadian university canceled a conference on the stifling of free speech. It would have featured clinical psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson, evolutionary psychologist Dr. Gad Saad, Faith Goldy and others, but was canceled because the institution could not guarantee public safety. Before the event, self-avowed anti-fascists spread information that “fascists” and “anti-Semites” held the conference, and urged “anti-fascists” to rally violently. Their claims are egregious; one of the speakers is a Lebanese Jew, and another has devoted thirty years of his academic career to highlight the atrocities of both the Nazis and the Communists.
Although the petition has reached its target, each additional person who signs it adds weight to the statement against leftist terrorism. The fact that it is now difficult to hold a conference on free speech for fear of violent threats is reason enough to label Antifa a terrorist organization.
