(PatrioticPost.com)- If President Donald Trump had his way, he’d be able to designate some domestic groups as terrorist organizations.
On Sunday, Trump tweeted that, “The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.”
He’s not likely to be able to do that, though, as the U.S. government only has the legal authority currently to label foreign entities as terrorist organizations. Many legal experts have said it would be unconstitutional for the government to stifle the rights of Antifa, since it is a wholly domestic group. That means their First Amendment rights couldn’t be quashed.
The U.S. government does have the ability to do so to foreign groups, though, since the members of those groups aren’t afforded the same rights as American citizens.
Hina Shamsi, the ACLU National Security Project director, said in response that there’s “no legal authority for designating a domestic group” as terrorists. She continued:
“As this tweet demonstrates, terrorism is an inherently political label, easily abused and misused. There is no legal authority for designating a domestic group. Any such designation would raise significant due process and First Amendment concerns.”
Trump and many others, including Attorney General William Barr, have blamed Antifa members for the violence at many demonstrations around the country regarding George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
According to officials with federal law enforcement agencies, outside groups are behind some of the violence and property destruction that’s taken place during the protests. These groups are hiding behind being legitimate protestors speaking out against police brutality toward African-Americans.
While these law enforcement agencies have only labeled these groups as far-left extremists, anarchists and white supremacists, Trump and his administration have turned their eyes squarely on Antifa.
Antifa stands for a group of anti-fascists, but the problem in controlling or stopping what they do is they aren’t often an organized group. There isn’t a central leadership of the group, for example, though some areas of the country have very organized sectors.
Generally speaking, Antifa is a far-left organization who has beliefs that don’t generally conform with that of the Democratic Party. Most members will support oppressed populations and amassing of wealth by elites and corporations.
The problem is that Antifa will often get their message across by employing militant or radical tactics, which are often violent and/or destructive.
On Sunday, the Department of Justice said it would use Joint Terrorism Task Forces in various parts of the U.S. to investigate the violence in cities during the protests. The announcement singled out Antifa and leftist activity.
Further, the DOJ has looked into whether they would be able to create a law related to domestic terrorism. It would apply to those who belong to groups that are labeled as domestic extremists, and those who are involved in violence related to it.
Thus far, though, those efforts haven’t gone anywhere, as there are serious constitutional issues with creating such a law.
