When President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization,” it may have sounded to his supporters like a tough stance on extremism. In truth, it is a dangerous overreach, one that undermines democratic freedoms while doing little to protect Americans from actual threats.
The first problem is legal. The United States has no mechanism for labeling domestic movements as terrorist organizations. That power applies only to foreign entities through the State Department. Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” is not even a coherent organization. It’s a loose network of activists and collectives, united not by membership cards or headquarters, but by opposition to fascism and white supremacy. Trump’s “designation” has no binding legal authority. It is political theater.
But political theater can be dangerous. By conflating anti-fascist activism with terrorism, the administration grants law enforcement and intelligence agencies rhetorical cover to treat ordinary protesters as extremists. Anyone who shows up at a demonstration against police brutality, challenges white nationalist organizing, or even posts sharp criticism of the president online risks being branded “antifa.” The chilling effect on free speech and assembly is undeniable.
Worse still, this order sets a precedent. If one president can unilaterally label a movement “terrorist,” what stops another from doing the same to environmental activists, labor unions, journalists, or religious groups that challenge government power? The word “terrorism” carries immense weight in American law and public opinion. To wield it against political opponents is not the act of a leader defending democracy. It’s one who is openly undermining it.
Perhaps most troubling, the antifa designation diverts attention from the real threat. Federal agenices, including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, have consistently identified far-right extremists as the deadliest source of domestic terrorism in the US. White supremacists attacks have taken countless lives. Antifa-linked protests, by contrast, have not produced mass killings or organized terror plots.
Trump’s order does not protect Americans from violence. It protects his political narrative. By painting antifa as the nation’s greatest danger, he stokes fear among his base and justifies harsher crackdowns on dissent. This is not about law and order. It is about power and control.
Anti-fascism is not terrorism. It’s a political position, one rooted in the belief that fascism should never be allowed to rise again. Americans can debate antifa’s tactics, but to equate opposition to fascism with terrorism is to kill the very freedoms that distinguish democracy from authoritarianism.
Trump’s executive order may not change the law, but if we allow its message to take hold, it will re-shape this country into something even more violent and oppressive.