Antifa Does Not Exist
Antifascism Is An Ideology, Not An Organization.
St. Paul, Minn. — A man with an ANTIFA patch on the back of his vest arrives to a Proud Boys, Trump, Stop The Steal rally. — Credit: Chad Davis, Wikimedia Commons
President Donald Trump announced this week on Truth Social that he plans to designate “Antifa” a “major terrorist organization” and have the federal government investigate its funding sources. The announcement comes just a week after the assassination of Christian nationalist Charlie Kirk. Though Dear Leader has not acknowledged a direct connection between this decision and the killing, he publicly suggested the shooter was a “radical leftist” and invoked “Antifa” before the suspect’s identity was confirmed. Unfortunately — just as in his first term — there is a major problem: no federally recognized organization called “Antifa” actually exists, and legal experts agree there is no mechanism to designate a domestic movement as a terrorist organization under current law.
Truth Social post about “Antifa” from Donald Trump — President Donald Trump, Truth Social
The term “Antifa” comes from the German Antifaschistische Aktion and is shorthand for “anti-fascist,” historically tied to resistance against fascist regimes such as Mussolini’s Italy and Nazi Germany. It did not gain prominence in the U.S. until 2017, following the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally, and its usage resurged in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd.
“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by, but I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem.”
— Donald Trump, first 2020 presidential debate, September 29, 2020.
Efforts to retrofit “Antifa” into a right-wing boogeyman ultimately failed, and the term became nearly synonymous with MAGA’s baseless fear-mongering about crime.
However, as of this writing, the rhetoric has shifted slightly. Instead of the usual “Antifa” narratives, mainstream conservative voices are now pushing a new conspiracy: “Trantifa,” a portmanteau of “transgender” and “Antifa.” Those speaking out about “Trantifa” claim that a so-called “violent trans ideology” has radicalized trans people and their allies into domestic terrorists. Conveniently, this alleged militant resistance force is said to be targeting conservatives and TERFs (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists) specifically.
Commentator Matt Walsh posting conspiracies about “Trantifa” — Matt Walsh, X
No credible evidence of such a group exists — nor is there evidence of transphobes being systematically attacked by trans people — but that hasn’t stopped Republican members of Congress, including Rep. Nancy Mace and Rep. Ronny Jackson, from calling for the “institutionalization of transgender individuals.”
Once again, the Right has managed to channel all of its grievances back toward its current least-favored minority. Today, that is the transgender community. Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly warned her audience that “transgender activists or individuals” are out in the streets “killing Americans in the name of ideology” — a claim that not only implies trans activists and individuals are no longer truly American, but that also lacks any factual basis. There are no documented cases of trans people committing violent crimes in the name of trans or leftist “ideology.”
The conspiracy spread like wildfire online. Media personality Ian Miles Cheong has labeled “Trantifa” a “terrorist organization,” and commentator Andy Ngo did not hold back on the subject:
“Trantifa allows for particularly violent, misogynist men to take out their hatred against women under the guise of trans activism or trans rights, and it allows women, who are taking crosssex hormones and taking on some male‐typical behaviors for violence to then also partake in that violent criminality.”
— Andy Gno, Daily Dot, “‘ANTIFA is back but have evolved into TRANTIFA’: Trantifa is the hot new moral panic in the right”.
“Antifa” — and certainly “Trantifa” — do not exist. They are strawmen meant to obscure the truth: the Left is nowhere near as violent as the Right.
Both failed assassination attempts on President Trump were carried out by politically conservative, cisgender white men — one of whom was a registered Republican. The vast majority of mass shooters in this country are either conservative or apolitical, and they are disproportionately cisgender, white, and male.
There’s a reason the Left is often condescendingly referred to as “bleeding hearts” and “snowflakes.” These stereotypes reflect a perception of softness and sensitivity that stems from a more humanist approach. In the U.S., leftist ideologies are commonly rooted in empathy, education, and a commitment to intersectional tolerance — values that rarely lend themselves to organized violence. Violent extremism can take many forms, but it disproportionately originates from conservative groups and individuals.
“Antifa” — much like the Right’s claims about immigrants, unhoused people, queer people, Black people, and others — is not based in reality. It is propaganda designed to exploit the implicit biases of the conservative base. It serves as red meat for their supporters, a distraction to keep them from realizing they are being manipulated.
Unfortunately, this hoax has crawled out of the dustbin and evolved into a launching point for the administration to target trans people, free speech, and prominent opposition figures—and those efforts are already underway. The brief cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel appeared both as an attempt to silence a critic whom Dear Leader personally dislikes and as a way to restrict how people discuss the tragic death of his personal friend Charlie Kirk. Journalist Erin Reed reports that Republicans have attached anti-trans riders to this year’s appropriations bills and have threatened to halt negotiations unless Democrats agree to keep them in. MAGA has been targeting trans people since Trump returned to power, but this new escalation suggests that trans oppression may now be a central priority.
It is more important than ever to be outspoken about our civil rights and to demand that our representatives in Congress fight to protect the rights of all Americans.
