During a White House roundtable discussion, the homeland security secretary this week compared antifa to the notorious gang, Hamas, the Iran-backed group and the Islamic State, calling the loosely affiliated street activists “equally threatening” as designated terrorist organizations.
“They operate with the same complexity as MS-13, as the Tren de Aragua, as the Islamic State, as the Lebanese militia, as the Palestinian faction, each one of these, they are just as dangerous,” the secretary stated. “Their goal is to dismantle our society, similar to other extremist groups we have confronted for many, many years.”
The roundtable included conservative online reporters such as Andy Ngo, Nick Sortor, Katie Daviscourt and others who report on antifa protests.
Some of the groups Noem cited – the Palestinian, Lebanese, and jihadist factions – are formally designated terrorist organizations that hold land, operate military wings, have hierarchical leadership and have carried out mass casualty attacks including explosions, kidnappings and targeted killings.
Specialists in radical movements have frequently characterized antifa, by contrast, as having no centralized leadership, official membership or structured hierarchy, and it has generally been described by national authorities as a loose network of campaigners who participate in demonstrations, some of which has included property destruction and street violence.
This meeting follows a presidential directive issued in September classifying anti-fascist activists as a “homegrown terror group”.
Shortly prior to the declaration, Joe Biggs who was convicted and then pardoned for his actions during the Capitol events posted on X: “Who’s ready to go ANTIFA hunting? Since I am acquainted with several individuals.”