🔗 Share this article

At a White House policy meeting, the homeland security secretary this week compared antifa to the notorious gang, the Gaza-based organization, Hezbollah and the Islamic State, describing the loosely affiliated street activists “just as dangerous” as designated terrorist organizations.

“They are just as sophisticated as Mara Salvatrucha, as the Tren de Aragua, as Isis, as the Lebanese militia, as Hamas, each one of these, they pose the same level of threat,” the secretary stated. “Their goal is to dismantle our society, similar to other extremist groups we’ve dealt with for many, many years.”

The roundtable included rightwing social media journalists including several prominent commentators and others who cover anti-fascist demonstrations.

Some of the groups Noem cited – the Palestinian, Lebanese, and jihadist factions – are officially classified as terror groups that hold land, operate military wings, maintain command structures and have carried out mass casualty attacks including bombings, abductions and targeted killings.

Specialists in radical movements have long described the anti-fascist movement, in comparison, as lacking a central command, official membership or structured hierarchy, and it has often been portrayed by national authorities as a loose network of activists who engage in protest activity, portions of which involve damage to belongings and street violence.

This meeting comes after an executive order issued last month designating anti-fascist activists as a “homegrown terror group”.

Days before the announcement, 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.”