One side of the political aisle can only accuse the other of “fascism” so many times before a young, impressionable person subsumed within a social-media echo chamber takes matters into his own hands. This seems to be exactly what transpired in the case of Tyler Robinson: bullet shell casings found at the scene of Charlie Kirk’s assassination were reportedly etched with the words “Hey fascist! Catch!” Robinson seems to have been influenced by Antifa or Antifa-adjacent ideology. In response to the killing, Congress and commentators have renewed calls to designate Antifa a domestic terrorist organization. But this would have little effect.
Antifa is a collaboration of autonomous cells with the ostensible goal of opposing fascism and racism. Described by former FBI Director Christopher Wray as “more of an ideology than an organization,” the group and its nodes operate secretly and communicate via dark-web platforms. And while Antifa has adherents around the world, it appears to be based primarily in the US. It is this lack of formal structure and domestic status that makes dealing with Antifa such a challenge.
Formal designation as a terrorist organization is intended for foreign actors, such as Hamas, Hezbollah and ISIS. It provides for jurisdiction over entities located outside the US, allowing for freezing their assets and barring members from entering the country. It also provides intelligence agencies the go-ahead to conduct surveillance of such groups overseas, without the constitutional guardrails that protect the privacy rights of American citizens.
As a domestic movement, Antifa cells and individuals are already subject to federal and state laws criminalizing intimidation, violence and other forms of terrorist activities. Existing federal law also prohibits providing material support such as money and other resources to entities that engage in terrorism. Applying a formal terrorist label to Antifa may grab headlines but provides no new tools for confronting the problem.
There is the question whether designation would enable the surveillance of domestic actors without obtaining a traditional search warrant. In theory, this could help authorities more quickly monitor Antifa members with fewer judicial impediments. But one can easily see how such power could be abused to spy on American citizens. This would strip Americans the due process guaranteed to them by the Constitution. Once this guardrail goes, it’s hard to see it ever being erected again.
This is not to say that nothing more can be done. The FBI and other law-enforcement groups should put more energy and resources into locating and infiltrating Antifa cells. They should be looking for money trails moving to these groups to fund violent attacks. They should be online to find Antifa working groups on the dark web. The real work will be in funding and staffing resources, making sure federal and state law enforcement and intelligence assets are working together, and bringing aggressive prosecutions against individuals who identify with the movement.
From a political perspective, the push must be to quarantine Antifa-affiliated groups from social-media platforms. And young Americans must be taught to recognize the toxic nature of the group’s propaganda. While vigorous law enforcement will be essential in the short-term, the war against Antifa is a long one much more about shining a spotlight on this vile and destructive ideology.
In the aftermath of a national tragedy, there is always an impulse by our leaders to show they are doing something to address the issue. But designating Antifa a terrorist organization is nothing more than low-hanging fruit. The real work lies in toning down the rhetoric and getting young people off the internet.
