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More than a month after President Donald Trump designated Antifa a domestic terror organization, three Republican senators have introduced legislation to write the designation into federal law.
The Stop ANTIFA Act, introduced by Sens. Ashley Moody and Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah, would direct the National Joint Terrorism Task Force to investigate Antifa and treat the organization as a domestic terror threat under federal statute.
President Trump signed an executive order identifying Antifa as a domestic terror group following a wave of left-wing violence, including the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The order described Antifa as a “militarist, anarchist enterprise” that seeks to overthrow the federal government, with a particular focus on targeting law enforcement.
According to the executive order, Antifa “uses illegal means to organize and execute a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide,” including armed standoffs with police, organized riots, attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and “routine doxing and other threats against political figures and activists.”
The document also stated that Antifa recruits young Americans and trains them to carry out politically motivated violence and suppression of speech.
The order said the movement “employs elaborate means” to conceal its funding, operations, and membership in an effort to evade law enforcement. It also alleged coordination with outside organizations to “advance political violence and suppress lawful political speech,” labeling the effort as domestic terrorism.
Moody issued a statement supporting the legislation, saying the group regularly targets police.
“Violent extremists who target our law enforcement officers and destroy our communities must be held accountable,” Moody said. “It’s far past time to designate Antifa a terrorist organization. The Stop ANTIFA Act makes it clear that organized violence has no place in America.”
During an Oct. 8 roundtable with independent journalists at the White House, President Trump was asked if he would take the designation further and label Antifa a foreign terror organization. He replied, “Let’s get it done,” adding that he had directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “take care of it.” No formal foreign terror designation has been issued to date.