In a significant move on Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that officially labels Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. Citing a series of politically motivated violent acts, the order declares Antifa a "militarist, anarchist enterprise" with intentions to overthrow the United States Government.

The new directive mandates federal agencies to "investigate, disrupt, and dismantle" the group’s activities and any associated individuals. The Trump administration has released a fact sheet detailing various incidents of violence attributed to Antifa, including targeted assaults against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Antifa, known as an anti-fascist movement, has been on President Trump’s radar since his first term when he initially proposed the idea of labeling them as terrorists. According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), Antifa is a decentralized extremist movement with roots in communism, socialism, and anarchism, which first came into the limelight in 2017 following clashes with white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. The CRS highlights that Antifa lacks a formal organizational structure and does not have a unified list of enemies, consisting instead of autonomous activists.

However, the practical implications of this executive order are yet to be fully understood. Unlike foreign terrorist organizations, which are designated under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, there is no equivalent statutory framework for designating domestic groups as terrorist organizations. Domestic terrorism is defined under U.S. criminal code as activities that are "dangerous to human life" and appear intended to intimidate civilians or influence government policy through violence.

This executive order follows the recent tragic event where Charlie Kirk, a well-known conservative commentator, was fatally shot, escalating concerns over politically motivated violence.

The designation of Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization marks a pivotal moment in domestic security policy under the Trump administration, reflecting an ongoing and contentious debate over how to handle groups involved in violent political protests.