President Trump signed an order on Monday targeting the leftist movement known as 'Antifa', threatening 'investigation and prosecution' of those who provide it with financial support. However, the movement has no leader to target, no list of known members, no bank accounts to freeze, or centralized structure.
As The New York Times writes, Trump's order states that he declares the 'Antifa' movement a 'domestic terrorist organization', although such a concept does not exist in US legislation.
The order was issued as part of a broader intimidation campaign conducted by the president and his administration against his critics, political opponents, and major media. Over the past weekend, Trump demanded the Department of Justice quickly hold his political enemies accountable, and his administration made broad efforts to threaten liberal protesters and donors to progressive groups following the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Despite the fact that the wording of Trump's order echoes those he used against foreign criminal organizations, such as Latin American drug cartels and gangs, it does not have the same power.
Federal law gives the government the right to declare foreign groups as 'foreign terrorist organizations', allowing the US to freeze their assets and consider providing them with material support a crime. However, there is no equivalent domestic terrorism law. In this regard, the implementation of the order in practice is quite difficult to achieve, experts believe, noting that it could become a repressive tool against the current administration's opponents.
Photo: The New York Times