A BRIEF HISTORY OF ANTIFA
by Soeren Kern. Part I - Jun 12, 2020; Part II - June 23, 2020
Part I described Antifa and explored the ideological origins of the group. Part II examines the history, tactics and goals of the movement in the United States.
Part 1
- Empirical and anecdotal evidence shows that Antifa is, in fact, highly networked, well-funded and has a global presence. It has a flat organizational structure with dozens and possibly hundreds of local groups.
- Antifa's stated long-term objective, both in America and abroad, is to establish a communist world order. In the United States, Antifa's immediate aim is to bring about the demise of the Trump administration.
- A common tactic used by Antifa in the United States and Europe is to employ extreme violence and destruction of public and private property to goad the police into a reaction, which then "proves" Antifa's claim that the government is "fascist."
- Antifa is not only officially tolerated, but is being paid by the German government to fight the far right. — Bettina Röhl, German journalist, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, June 2, 2020.Antifa is not only officially tolerated, but is being paid by the German government to fight the far right. — Bettina Röhl, German journalist, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, June 2, 2020.
- "Out of cowardice, its members cover their faces and keep their names secret. Antifa constantly threatens violence and attacks against politicians and police officers. It promotes senseless damage to property amounting to vast sums." — Bettina Röhl, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, June 2, 2020.
U.S. Attorney General William Barr has blamed[1] Antifa — a militant "anti-fascist" movement — for the violence that has erupted at George Floyd protests across the United States. "The violence instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly," he said.
Barr also said[2] that the federal government has evidence that Antifa "hijacked" legitimate protests around the country to "engage in lawlessness, violent rioting, arson, looting of businesses, and public property assaults on law enforcement officers and innocent people, and even the murder of a federal agent." Earlier, U.S. President Donald J. Trump had instructed[3] the U.S. Justice Department to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization.
Academics and media outlets sympathetic to Antifa have argued that the group cannot be classified as a terrorist organization because, they claim,[4] it is a vaguely-defined protest movement that lacks a centralized structure. Mark Bray, a vocal apologist for Antifa in America and author of the book Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, asserts[5] that Antifa "is not an overarching organization with a chain of command."
Empirical and anecdotal evidence shows that Antifa is, in fact, highly networked, well-funded and has a global presence. It has a flat organizational structure with dozens and possibly hundreds of local groups. Not surprisingly, the U.S. Department of Justice is currently investigating[6] individuals linked to Antifa as a step to unmasking the broader organization.
In the United States, Antifa's ideology, tactics and goals, far from being novel, are borrowed almost entirely from Antifa groups in Europe, where so-called anti-fascist groups, in one form or another, have been active, almost without interruption, for a century.
What is Antifa?
Antifa can be described as a transnational insurgency movement that endeavors, often with extreme violence, to subvert liberal democracy, with the aim of replacing global capitalism with communism. Antifa's stated long-term objective, both in America and abroad, is to establish a communist world order. In the United States, Antifa's immediate aim is to bring about the demise of the Trump administration.
Antifa's nemeses include law enforcement, which is viewed as enforcing the established order. A common tactic used by Antifa in the United States and Europe is to employ extreme violence and destruction of public and private property to goad the police into a reaction, which then "proves" Antifa's claim that the government is "fascist."
Antifa claims to oppose "fascism," a term it often uses as a broad-brush pejorative to discredit those who hold opposing political beliefs. The traditional meaning of "fascism" as defined by Webster's Dictionary is "a totalitarian governmental system led by a dictator and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism, militarism, and often racism."
Antifa holds the Marxist-Leninist definition of fascism which equates it with capitalism. "The fight against fascism is only won when the capitalist system has been shattered and a classless society has been achieved," according to the German Antifa group, Antifaschistischer Aufbau München.
Germany's BfV domestic intelligence agency, in a special report on left-wing extremism, noted:[7]
"Antifa's fight against right-wing extremists is a smokescreen. The real goal remains the 'bourgeois-democratic state,' which, in the reading of left-wing extremists, accepts and promotes 'fascism' as a possible form of rule and therefore does not fight it sufficiently. Ultimately, it is argued, 'fascism' is rooted in the social and political structures of 'capitalism.' Accordingly, left-wing extremists, in their 'antifascist' activities, focus above all on the elimination of the 'capitalist system.'"
Matthew Knouff, author of An Outsider's Guide to Antifa: Volume II, explained[8] Antifa's ideology this way:
"The basic philosophy of Antifa focuses on the battle between three basic forces: fascism, racism and capitalism — all three of which are interrelated according to Antifa.... with fascism being considered the final expression or stage of capitalism, capitalism being a means to oppress, and racism being an oppressive mechanism related to fascism."
In an essay, "What Antifa and the Original Fascists Have In Common," Antony Mueller, a German professor of economics who currently teaches in Brazil, described[9] how Antifa's militant anti-capitalism masquerading as anti-fascism reveals its own fascism:
"After the left has pocketed the concept of liberalism and turned the word into the opposite of its original meaning, the Antifa-movement uses a false terminology to hide its true agenda. While calling themselves 'antifascist' and declaring fascism the enemy, the Antifa itself is a foremost fascist movement.
"The members of Antifa are not opponents to fascism but themselves its genuine representatives. Communism, Socialism and Fascism are united by the common band of anti-capitalism and anti-liberalism.
"The Antifa movement is a fascist movement. The enemy of this movement is not fascism but liberty, peace and prosperity."
Antifa's Ideological Origins
The ideological origins of Antifa can be traced back to the Soviet Union roughly a century ago. In 1921 and 1922, the Communist International (Comintern) developed[10] the so-called united front tactic to "unify the working masses through agitation and organization" ... "at the international level and in each individual country" against "capitalism" and "fascism" — two terms that often were used interchangeably.
The world's first anti-fascist group, Arditi del Popolo (People's Courageous Militia), was founded in Italy in June 1921 to resist the rise of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party, which itself was established[11] to prevent the possibility of a Bolshevik revolution on the Italian Peninsula. Many of the group's 20,000 members, consisting of communists and anarchists, later joined[12] the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War (1936—39).
In Germany, the Communist Party of Germany established the paramilitary group Roter Frontkämpferbund (Red Front Fighters League) in July 1924. The group was banned due to its extreme violence. Many of its 130,000 members continued their activities underground or in local successor organizations such as the Kampfbund gegen den Faschismus (Fighting-Alliance Against Fascism).
In Slovenia, the militant anti-fascist movement TIGR was established in 1927 to oppose the Italianization of Slovene ethnic areas after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The group, which was disbanded in 1941, specialized in assassinating Italian police and military personnel.
In Spain, the Communist Party established the Milicias Antifascistas Obreras y Campesinas (Antifascist Worker and Peasant Militias), which were active in the 1930s.
The modern Antifa movement derives its name from a group called Antifaschistische Aktion, founded in May 1932 by Stalinist leaders of the Communist Party of Germany. The group was established to fight fascists, a term the party used to describe all of the other pro-capitalist political parties in Germany. The primary objective of Antifaschistische Aktion was to abolish capitalism, according to a detailed history of the group. The group, which had more than 1,500 founding members, went underground after Nazis seized power in 1933.
A German-language pamphlet — "80 Years of Anti-Fascist Actions" (80 Jahre Antifaschistische Aktion)" — describes[13] in minute detail the continuous historical thread of the Antifa movement from its ideological origins in the 1920s to the present day. The document states:[14]
"Antifascism has always fundamentally been an anti-capitalist strategy. This is why the symbol of the Antifaschistische Aktion has never lost its inspirational power.... Anti-fascism is more of a strategy than an ideology."
During the post-war period, Germany's Antifa movement reappeared in various manifestations, including the radical student protest movement of the 1960s, and the leftist insurgency groups that were active throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
The Red Army Faction (RAF), also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang, was a Marxist urban guerrilla group that carried out assassinations, bombings and kidnappings aimed at bringing revolution to West Germany, which the group characterized as a fascist holdover of the Nazi era. Over the course of three decades, the RAF murdered more than 30 people and injured over 200.
After the collapse of the communist government in East Germany in 1989-90, it was discovered[15] that the RAF had been given training, shelter, and supplies by the Stasi, the secret police of the former communist regime.
John Philip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History at Baylor University, described[16] the group's tactics, which are similar to those used by Antifa today:
"The goal of their terrorist campaign was to trigger an aggressive response from the government, which group members believed would spark a broader revolutionary movement."
RAF founder Ulrike Meinhof explained[17] the relationship between violent left-wing extremism and the police: "The guy in uniform is a pig, not a human being. That means we don't have to talk to him and it is wrong to talk to these people at all. And of course, you can shoot."
Bettina Röhl, a German journalist and daughter of Meinhof, argues that the modern Antifa movement is a continuation of the Red Army Faction. The main difference is that, unlike the RAF, Antifa's members are afraid to reveal their identities. In a June 2020 essay published by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Röhl also drew attention[18] to the fact that Antifa is not only officially tolerated, but is being paid by the German government to fight the far right:
"The RAF idolized the communist dictatorships in China, North Korea, North Vietnam, in Cuba, which were transfigured by the New Left as better countries on the right path to the best communism....
"The flourishing left-wing radicalism in the West, which brutally strikes at the opening of the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, at every G-20 summit or every year on May 1 in Berlin, has achieved the highest level of establishment in the state, not least thanks to the support by quite a few MPs from political parties, journalists and relevant experts.
"Compared to the RAF, the militant Antifa only lacks prominent faces. Out of cowardice, its members cover their faces and keep their names secret. Antifa constantly threatens violence and attacks against politicians and police officers. It promotes senseless damage to property amounting to vast sums. Nevertheless, MP Renate Künast (Greens) recently complained in the Bundestag that Antifa groups had not been adequately funded by the state in recent decades. She was concerned that 'NGOs and Antifa groups do not always have to struggle to raise money and can only conclude short-term employment contracts from year to year.' There was applause for this from Alliance 90 / The Greens, from the left and from SPD deputies.
"One may ask the question of whether Antifa is something like an official RAF, a terrorist group with money from the state under the guise of 'fighting against the right.'"
Germany's BfV domestic intelligence agency explains[19] Antifa's glorification of violence:
"For left-wing extremists, 'Capitalism' is interpreted as triggering wars, racism, ecological disasters, social inequality and gentrification. 'Capitalism' is therefore more than just a mere economic order. In left-wing extremist discourse, it determines the social and political form as well as the vision of a radical social and political reorganization. Whether anarchist or communist: Parliamentary democracy as a so-called bourgeois form of rule should be 'overcome' in any case.
"For this reason, left-wing extremists usually ignore or legitimize human rights violations in socialist or communist dictatorships or in states that they allegedly see threatened by the 'West.' To this day, both orthodox communists and autonomous activists justify, praise and celebrate the left-wing terrorist Red Army Faction or foreign left-wing terrorists as alleged 'liberation movements' or even 'resistance fighters.'"
Meanwhile, in Britain, Anti-Fascist Action (AFA), a militant anti-fascist group founded in 1985, gave birth to the Antifa movement in the United States. In Germany, the Antifaschistische Aktion-Bundesweite Organisation (AABO) was founded[20] in 1992 to combine the efforts of smaller Antifa groups scattered around the country.
In Sweden, Antifascistisk Aktion (AFA), a militant Antifa group founded in 1993, established a three-decade track record for using extreme violence against its opponents. In France, the Antifa group L'Action antifasciste, is known[21] for its fierce opposition to the State of Israel.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of communism in 1990, the Antifa movement opened a new front against neoliberal globalization.
Attac, established in France in 1989 to promote a global tax on financial transactions, now leads the so-called alter-globalization movement, which, like the Global Justice Movement, is opposed[22] to capitalism. In 1999, Attac was present in Seattle during violent demonstrations that led to the failure of WTO negotiations. Attac also participated in anti-capitalist demonstrations against the G7, the G20, the WTO, and the war in Iraq. Today, the association is active in 40 countries, with more than a thousand local groups and hundreds of organizations supporting the network. Attac's decentralized and non-hierarchical organizational structure appears to be the model being used by Antifa.
In February 2016, the International Committee of the Fourth International advanced[23] the political foundations of the global anti-war movement, which, like Antifa, blames capitalism and neoliberal globalism for the existence of military conflict:
"The new anti-war movement must be anti-capitalist and socialist, since there can be no serious struggle against war except in the fight to end the dictatorship of finance capital and the economic system that is the fundamental cause of militarism and war."
In July 2017, more than 100,000 anti-globalization and Antifa protesters converged on the German city of Hamburg to protest the G20 summit. Leftist mobs laid waste[24] to the city center. An Antifa group called "G20 Welcome to Hell" bragged[25] about how it was able to mobilize Antifa groups from across the world:
"The summit mobilizations have been precious moments of meeting and co-operation of left-wing and anti-capitalist groups and networks from all over Europe and world-wide. We have been sharing experiences and fighting together, attending international meetings, being attacked by cops supported by the military, re-organizing our forces and fighting back. Anti-globalization movement has changed, but our networks endure. We are active locally in our regions, cities, villages and forests. But we are also fighting trans-nationally."
Germany's domestic security service, in an annual report, added:[26]
"Left-wing extremist structures tried to shift the public debate about the violent G20 summit protests in their favor. With the distribution of photos and reports of allegedly disproportionate police measures during the summit protests, they promoted an image of a state that denounced legitimate protests and put them down with police violence. Against such a state, they said, 'militant resistance' is not only legitimate, but also necessary."
Part 2
- "The only long-term solution to the fascist menace is to undermine its pillars of strength in society grounded not only in white supremacy but also in ableism, heteronormativity, patriarchy, nationalism, transphobia, class rule, and many others." — Mark Bray, "Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook," 2017.
- "They're coming from other cities. That cost money. They didn't do this on their own. Somebody's paying for this.... What Antifa is doing is they're basically hijacking the black community as their army. They instigate, they antagonize, they get these young black men and women to go out there and do stupid things, and then they disappear off into the sunset." — Bernard Kerik, former commissioner of the New York City Police Department.
- The coordinated violence raises questions about how Antifa is financed. The Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ) is an organizing group that serves as a fiscal sponsor to numerous radical left-wing initiatives, according to Influence Watch, a research group that collects data on advocacy organizations, foundations and donors.... The Open Society Foundations, Tides Foundation, Arca Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Public Welfare Foundation, and the Brightwater Fund have all made contributions to AFGJ, according to Influence Watch.
- One of the groups funded by AFGJ is called Refuse Fascism ... an offshoot of the Radical Communist Party (RCP).... The group's slogan states: "This System Cannot Be Reformed, It Must Be Overthrown!"
U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced[27] that the American government would designate Antifa — a militant "anti-fascist" movement — as a terrorist organization due to the violence that erupted at George Floyd protests[28] across the United States.
The Code of Federal Regulations (28 C.F.R. Section 0.85) defines[29] terrorism as "the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."
American media outlets sympathetic to Antifa have jumped to its defense. They argue that the group cannot be classified as a terrorist organization because, they claim, it is a vaguely-defined protest movement that lacks a centralized structure.
As the following report shows, Antifa is, in fact, highly networked, well-funded and has a clear ideological agenda: to subvert, often with extreme violence, the American political system, with the ultimate aim of replacing capitalism with communism. In the United States, Antifa's immediate aim[30] is to remove President Trump from office.
Gatestone Institute has identified Antifa groups in all 50 U.S. states, with the possible exception of West Virginia. Some states, including California, Texas and Washington, appear to have dozens of sub-regional Antifa organizations.
It is difficult precisely to determine the size of the Antifa movement in the United States. The so-called "Anti-Fascists of Reddit,"[31] the "premier anti-fascist community" on the social media platform Reddit, has approximately 60,000 members. The oldest Antifa group in America, the Portland, Oregon-based "Rose City Antifa,"[32] has more than 30,000 Twitter followers and 20,000 Facebook followers, not all of whom are necessarily supporters. "It's Going Down,"[33] a media platform for anarchists, anti-fascists and autonomous anti-capitalists, has 85,000 Twitter followers and 30,000 Facebook followers.
Germany, which has roughly one-quarter of the population of the United States, is home to 33,000 extreme leftists, of whom 9,000 are believed to be extremely dangerous, according[34] to the domestic intelligence agency (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, BfV). Violent left-wing agitators are predominantly male, between 21 and 24 years of age, usually unemployed, and, according[35] to BfV, 92% still live with their parents. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most Antifa members in the United States have a similar socio-economic profile.
In America, national Antifa groups, including "Torch Antifa Network," "Refuse Fascism" and "World Can't Wait" are being financed — often generously, as shown below — by individual donors as well as by large philanthropic organizations, including[36] the Open Society Foundations founded by George Soros.
To evade detection by law enforcement, Antifa groups in the United States often use encrypted social media platforms, such as Signal[37] and Telegram Messenger, to communicate and coordinate their activities, sometimes across state lines. Not surprisingly, the U.S. Department of Justice is currently investigating[38] individuals linked to Antifa as a step to unmasking the broader organization.
Historical Origins of American Antifa
In the United States, Antifa's ideology, tactics and goals, far from being novel, are borrowed[39] almost entirely from Antifa groups in Europe, where so-called anti-fascist groups, in one form or another, have been active, almost without interruption, for a century.
As in Europe, the aims and objectives of the American Antifa movement can be traced back to a single, overarching century-long ideological war against the "fascist ideals" of capitalism and Christianity, which the Antifa movement wants to replace[40] with a "revolutionary socialist alternative."
The first so-called anti-fascist group in the United States was the American League Against War and Fascism, established in 1933 by the Communist Party USA. The League, which claimed to oppose fascism in Europe, was actually dedicated[41] to subverting and overthrowing the U.S. government.
In testimony to the U.S. Congress in 1953, CPUSA leader Manning Johnson revealed[42] that the American party had been instructed by the Communist International in the 1930s to set up the American League Against War and Fascism:
"as a cover to attack our government, our social system, our leaders... used as a cover to attack our law-enforcement agencies and to build up mass hate against them... used as a cover to undermine national security... used as a cover to defend Communists, the sworn enemies of our great heritage... used as a cover for preparing millions of people ideologically and organizationally for the overthrow of the United States Government."
A precursor to the modern Antifa movement was the Black Panthers, a revolutionary political organization established in October 1966 by Marxist college students in Oakland, California. The group advocated[43] the use of violence and guerilla tactics to overthrow the U.S. government.
Historian Robyn C. Spencer noted[44] that Black Panther leaders were deeply influenced by "The United Front of the Working Class Against Fascism," a report[45] by Georgi Dimitroff delivered at the Seventh World Congress of the Communist International in July and August 1935:
"By 1969, the Panthers began to use fascism as a theoretical framework to critique the U.S. political economy. They defined fascism as 'the power of finance capital' which 'manifests itself not only as banks, trusts and monopolies but also as the human property of FINANCE CAPITAL — the avaricious businessman, the demagogic politician, and the racist pig cop.'"
In July 1969, the Black Panthers organized an "anti-fascist" conference called "United Front Against Fascism," attended[46] by nearly 5,000 activists:
"The Panthers hoped to create a 'national force' with a 'common revolutionary ideology and political program which answers the basic desires and needs of all people in fascist, capitalist, racist America.'"
The last day of the conference was devoted to a detailed plan by the Black Panthers to decentralize police forces nationwide. Spencer wrote:[47]
"They proposed amending city charters to establish autonomous community-based police departments for every city which would be accountable to local neighborhood police control councils comprised of 15 elected community members. They launched the National Committees to Combat Fascism (NCCF), a multiracial nationwide network, to organize for community control of the police."
In 1970, members of the Black Panthers created a terrorist group called the Black Liberation Army, whose stated goal[48] was to "weaken the enemy capitalist state."
BLA member Assata Shakur described[49] the group's organizational structure, which is similar to the one used by today's Antifa movement:
"The Black Liberation Army was not a centralized, organized group with a common leadership and chain of command. Instead there were various organizations and collectives working together out of various cities, and in some larger cities there were often several groups working independently of each other."
Other ideological anchors of the modern Antifa movement in the United States include a left-wing terrorist group known as the Weather Underground Organization, the American equivalent to Germany's Red Army Faction. The Weather Underground, responsible[50] for bombings[51] and riots throughout the 1970s, sought to achieve[52] "the destruction of U.S. imperialism and form a classless communist world."
Former FBI Counterterrorism Director Terry Turchie has noted[53] the similarities between Black Lives Matter today and the Black Panther Party and Weather Underground groups of the 1960s and 1970s:
"The Black Panther Party was a Marxist Maoist Leninist organization and that came from Huey Newton, one of the co-founders, who said we're standing for nothing more than the total transformation of the United States government.
"He went on to explain that they wanted to take the tension that already existed in black communities and exacerbate it where they can. To take those situations where there is a tinderbox and light the country on fire.
"Today we're seeing the third revolution and they think they can make this happen. The only thing that is different are the names of the groups."
American Antifa
The roots of the modern Antifa movement in the United States can be traced back to the 1980s, with the establishment of Anti-Racist Action, a network of anarchist punk rock aficionados dedicated to fist-fighting neo-Nazi skinheads.
Mark Bray, author of "The Antifa Handbook," explained:[54]
"In many cases, the North American modern Antifa movement grew up as a way to defend the punk scene from the neo-Nazi skinhead movement, and the founders of the original Anti-Racist Action network in North America were anti-racist skinheads. The fascist/anti-fascist struggle was essentially a fight for control of the punk scene during the 1980s, and that was true across of much of north America and in parts of Europe in this era.
"There's a huge overlap between radical left politics and the punk scene, and there's a stereotype about dirty anarchists and punks, which is an oversimplification but grounded in a certain amount of truth."
Anti-Racist Action was inspired[55] by Anti-Fascist Action (AFA), a militant anti-fascist group founded in Britain in the late 1970s. The American group shared the British group's penchant for violently attacking[56] political opponents. ARA was eventually renamed the Torch Network,[57] which currently brings together nine militant Antifa groups.
In November 1999, mobs of masked anarchists, predecessors to today's Antifa movement, laid waste[58] to downtown Seattle, Washington, during violent demonstrations that disrupted a ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization. The Seattle WTO protests birthed[59] the anti-globalization movement.
In April 2001, an estimated 50,000 anti-capitalists gathered[60] in Quebec to oppose the Third Summit of the Americas, a meeting of North and South American leaders who were negotiating a deal to create a free trade area that would encompass the Western Hemisphere.
In February 2003, hundreds of thousands of anti-war protesters demonstrated[61] against the Iraq War. After the war went ahead anyway, some parts of the so-called progressive movement became more radicalized and birthed the current Antifa movement.
The Rose City Antifa (RCA), founded in Portland, Oregon, in 2007, is the oldest American group to use "Antifa" in its name. Antifa is derived[62] from a group called Antifaschistische Aktion, founded in May 1932 by Stalinist leaders of the Communist Party of Germany. Antifa's logo, with two flags representing anarchism (black flag) and communism (red flag), are derived from the German Antifa movement.
The American Antifa movement gained momentum in 2016, after Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described Socialist, lost the Democratic Party's nomination to Hillary Clinton. Grassroots supporters of Sanders vowed[63] to continue his "political revolution" to establish socialism in America.
Meanwhile, immigration became a new flashpoint in American politics after Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to reduce illegal migration. In June 2016, protestors violently attacked[64] supporters of Donald Trump outside a rally in San Jose, California. In January 2017, hundreds of Antifa rioters tried to disrupt President Trump's inauguration ceremony in Washington, DC.
In February 2017, Antifa rioters employing so-called black bloc[65] tactics — they wear black clothing, masks or other face-concealing items so that they cannot be identified by police — shut down[66] a speech by Milos Yiannopoulos, a far-right activist who was slated to speak at the University of California at Berkeley, the birthplace of the 1964 Free Speech Movement. Antifa radicals claimed[67] that Yiannopoulos was planning to "out" undocumented students at Berkeley for the purpose of having them arrested. Masked Antifa vandals armed with Molotov cocktails, bricks and a host of other makeshift weapons fought[68] police and caused[69] more than $100,000 in property damage.
In June 2018, Republican Representative Dan Donovan of New York introduced[70] Bill HR 6054 — "Unmasking Antifa Act of 2018" — that calls for prison sentences of up to 15 years for anyone who, while wearing a mask or disguise, "injures, oppresses, threatens, or intimidates" someone else who is exercising any right or privilege guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. The bill remains stalled[71] in the House of Representatives.
In July 2019, Antifa radical Willem Van Spronsen attempted[72] to firebomb the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Tacoma, Washington. He was killed in a confrontation with police.
That same month, U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and Bill Cassidy introduced[73] a resolution that would label Antifa a "domestic terrorist organization." The resolution stated:[74]
"Whereas members of Antifa, because they believe that free speech is equivalent to violence, have used threats of violence in the pursuit of suppressing opposing political ideologies; Whereas Antifa represents opposition to the democratic ideals of peaceful assembly and free speech for all; Whereas members of Antifa have physically assaulted journalists and other individuals during protests and riots in Berkeley, California;
"Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Senate ... calls for the groups and organizations across the country who act under the banner of Antifa to be designated as domestic terrorist organizations."
"Antifa are terrorists, violent masked bullies who 'fight fascism' with actual fascism, protected by Liberal privilege," said[75] Cassidy. "Bullies get their way until someone says no. Elected officials must have courage, not cowardice, to prevent terror."
Antifa Exploits Death of George Floyd
Antifa radicals increasingly are using incendiary events such as the death of George Floyd in Minnesota as springboards to achieve their broader aims, one of which includes[76] removing President Trump from office.
Veteran national security correspondent Bill Gertz recently reported[77] that the Antifa movement began planning to foment a nationwide anti-government insurgency as early as November 2019, when the U.S. presidential campaign season kicked off in earnest. Former National Security Council staff member Rich Higgins said:[78]
"Antifa's actions represent a hard break with the long tradition of a peaceful political process in the United States. Their Marxist ideology seeks not only to influence elections in the short term but to destroy the use of elections as the determining factor in political legitimacy.
"Antifa's goal is nothing less than fomenting revolution, civil war and silencing America's anti-communists. Their labeling of Trump supporters and patriots as Nazis and racists is standard fare for left-wing communist groups.
"Antifa is currently functioning as the command and control of the riots, which are themselves the overt utilization of targeted violence against targets such as stores — capitalism; monuments — history; and churches — God."
Joe Myers, a former Defense Intelligence Agency official and counterinsurgency expert, added:[79]
"President Trump's election and revitalization of America are a threat to Antifa's nihilist goals. They are fomenting this violence to create havoc, despair and to target the Trump campaign for defeat in 2020. It is employing organized violence for political ends: destruction of the constitutional order."
New York's top terrorism officer, Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller, explained[80] why the George Floyd protests in New York City became so violent and destructive:
"No. 1, before the protests began, organizers of certain anarchist groups set out to raise bail money and people who would be responsible to be raising bail money, they set out to recruit medics and medical teams with gear to deploy in anticipation of violent interactions with police.
"They prepared to commit property damage and directed people who were following them that this should be done selectively and only in wealthier areas or at high-end stores run by corporate entities.
"And they developed a complex network of bicycle scouts to move ahead of demonstrators in different directions of where police were and where police were not for purposes of being able to direct groups from the larger group to places where they could commit acts of vandalism including the torching of police vehicles and Molotov cocktails where they thought officers would not be.
"We believe that a significant amount of people who came here from out of the area, who have come here as well as the advance preparation, having advance scouts, the use of encrypted information, having resupply routes for things such as gasoline and accelerants as well as rocks and bottles, the raising of bail, the placing of medics. Taken together, this is a strong indicator that they planned to act with disorder, property damage, violence, and violent encounters with police before the first demonstration and/or before the first arrest."
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Bernard B. Kerik, former police commissioner of the New York City Police Department, said[81] that Antifa "100 percent exploited" the George Floyd protests:
"It's in 40 different states and 60 cities; it would be impossible for somebody outside of Antifa to fund this. It's a radical, leftist, socialist attempt at revolution.
"They're coming from other cities. That cost money. They didn't do this on their own. Somebody's paying for this.
"What Antifa is doing is they're basically hijacking the black community as their army. They instigate, they antagonize, they get these young black men and women to go out there and do stupid things, and then they disappear off into the sunset."
After photos appeared to show protesters with military-grade communications radios and earpieces, Kerik noted:[82] "They have to be talking to somebody at a central command center with a repeater. Where do those radios go to?"
Across the country, in Bellevue, Washington, which was also hit by looting and violence, Police Chief Steve Mylett confirmed[83] that the people responsible were organized, from out of town, and being paid:
"There are groups paying these looters money to come in and they're getting paid by the broken window. This is something totally different we are dealing with that we have never seen as a profession before. We did have officers that were in different areas that were chasing these groups. When we make contact, they just disperse."
Antifa Financing
The coordinated violence raises questions about how Antifa is financed. The Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ) is an organizing group that serves as a fiscal sponsor to numerous radical left-wing initiatives, according[84] to Influence Watch, a research group that collects data on advocacy organizations, foundations and donors.
AFGJ, which describes itself as "anti-capitalist" and opposed[85] to the principles of liberal democracy, provides "fiscal sponsorship" to groups advocating numerous foreign and domestic far-left and extreme-left causes, including eliminating[86] the State of Israel.
The Tucson, Arizona-based AFGJ, and people associated with it, have advocated[87] for socialist and communist authoritarian regimes, including in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. In the 2000s, AFGJ was involved in anti-globalization demonstrations. In the 2010s, AFGJ was a financial sponsor[88] of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
AFGJ has received substantial funding from organizations often claiming to be the mainstream of the center-left. The Open Society Foundations, Tides Foundation, Arca Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Public Welfare Foundation, the Ben & Jerry Foundation and the Brightwater Fund have all made contributions to AFGJ, according[89] to Influence Watch.
One of the groups funded by AFGJ is called Refuse Fascism[90], a radical left-wing organization devoted to promoting nationwide action to remove from office President Donald Trump, and all officials associated with his administration, on the grounds that they constitute a "fascist regime." The group has been present at many Antifa radical-left demonstrations, also according[91] to Influence Watch. The group is an offshoot of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP).
In July 2017, the RCP bragged[92] that it took part in violent riots against the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. The RCP has argued[93] that capitalism is synonymous with fascism and that the election of President Trump would lead the U.S. government to "bludgeon and eliminate whole groups of people."
In June 2020, Refuse Fascism took advantage of the death of George Floyd to raise money for a "National Revolution Tour" evidently aimed at subverting the U.S. government. The group's slogan states:[94] "This System Cannot Be Reformed, It Must Be Overthrown!"
Antifa's "Utopia"
Meanwhile, in Seattle, Washington, Antifa radicals, protesters from Black Lives Matter, and members of the anti-capitalist John Brown Gun Club seized control of the East Precinct neighborhood and established a six-square-block "autonomous zone" called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, "CHAZ," recently renamed[95] "CHOP," the Capitol Hill Organized (or Occupied) Protest. A cardboard sign at the barricades declares:[96] "You are now leaving the USA." The group issued[97] a list of 30 demands, including the "abolition" of the Seattle Police Department and court system.
"Rapes, robberies and all sorts of violent acts have been occurring in the area and we're not able to get to them," said[98] Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best. Several people have been wounded or killed.[99]
Christopher F. Rufo, a contributing editor of City Journal, observed:[100]
"The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone has set a dangerous precedent: armed left-wing activists have asserted their dominance of the streets and established an alternative political authority over a large section of a neighborhood. They have claimed de facto police power over thousands of residents and dozens of businesses — completely outside of the democratic process. In a matter of days, Antifa-affiliated paramilitaries have created a hardened border, established a rudimentary form of government based on principles of intersectional representation, and forcibly removed unfriendly media from the territory.
"The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone is an occupation and taking of hostages: none of the neighborhood's residents voted for Antifa as their representative government. Rather than enforce the law, Seattle's progressive political class capitulated to the mob and will likely make massive concessions over the next few months. This will embolden the Antifa coalition — and further undermine the rule of law in American cities."
Antifa in its Own Words
The American Antifa movement's long-term objectives are identical to those of the Antifa movement in Europe: replacing capitalism with a communist utopia. Mark Bray, one of the most vocal apologists for Antifa in the United States and author of "Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook," explained:[101]
"The only long-term solution to the fascist menace is to undermine its pillars of strength in society grounded not only in white supremacy but also in ableism, heteronormativity, patriarchy, nationalism, transphobia, class rule, and many others. This long-term goal points to the tensions that exist in defining anti-fascism, because at a certain point destroying fascism is really about promoting a revolutionary socialist alternative."
Nikkita Oliver, former mayoral candidate of Seattle, Washington, added:[102]
"We need to align ourselves with the global struggle that acknowledges that the United States plays a role in racialized capitalism. Racialized capitalism is built upon patriarchy, white supremacy, and classism."
Patrisse Cullors, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, confirmed[103] that the immediate goal is to remove President Trump from office:
"Trump not only needs to not be in office in November, but he should resign now. Trump needs to be out of office. He is not fit for office. And so, what we are going to push for is a move to get Trump out. While we're also going to continue to push and pressure Joe Biden around his policies and relationship to policing and criminalization. That's going to be important. But our goal is to get Trump out."
Rose City Antifa tweeted:[104]
"As antifascists we know that our fight is not just against organized fascism, but also against the capitalist state, and the police that protect it. Another world is possible!"
Seattle Antifascists added:[105]
"This is the revolution, this is our time and we will make no excuses for the terror."
A group called PNW Youth Liberation Front, Antifa's youth organization, tweeted:[106]
"The only way to win a world without police, prisons, borders, etc. is to destroy the oppressive systems which we are currently caught in. We must continue the fight against the state, imperialism, capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, and so on if we ever want to be free."
A pamphlet distributed in the Seattle "Autonomous Zone" stated:[107]
"The idea that the working class can control our own lives, without states, governments or borders, is also called anarchism. But how do we get from our current capitalist society to a future anarchist-communist one? .... In order to destroy the current order, there will need to be a revolution, a time of great upheaval."
A poster in the Seattle "Autonomous Zone" stated:[108]
"Oh, you thought I just wanted to defund the police? This whole system needs to go."
One of the leaders of the Seattle "Autonomous Zone" said:[109]
"Every single day that I show up here I'm not here to peacefully protest. I'm here to disrupt until my demands are met. You cannot rebuild until you break it all the way down. Respond to the demands of the people or prepare to be met with any means necessary. By any means necessary. It's not a slogan or even a warning. I'm letting people know what comes next."
A group called the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement, which has nearly 15,000 Twitter followers, called[110] for an insurrection:
"Revolutionary greetings from the insurrection sweeping throughout the occupied territories of the so-called United States of America.
"As the history of this miserable nation repeats itself once again, what has become clearly evident is that black people have been and will continue to be the only revolutionary force that is capable of toppling the oppressive status quo.
"Everywhere the pigs [a derogatory term[111] for police] have lost their will to fight. Their eyes, which only yesterday were windows to empty hatred and contempt, now display stultifying self-doubt and cowardice. For once, their behavior portrays their weakness as every step they take back is marked by hesitation.
"Together, if we keep pushing, this land of chattel slavery, indigenous genocide, and foreign imperial aggression can finally be wiped out so that it will only be remembered as one of the more ugly chapters in human history."
An Antifa radical from Maryland tweeted:[112]
"This isn't protest. This is rebellion. When rebellion gets organized we get revolution. We are seeing the beginnings of that and it's glorious."
An Antifa agitator from New York comments[113] on the American flag:
"That sh*t is a fucking cloth with colors on it. It doesn't live or breathe and is nothing but a representation. Any Black, Latinx, or Native person looking at that thing being respected, should be offended at that flag that represents genocide, rape, slavery, and colonization."
An Antifa media platform, "It's Going Down," wrote:[114]
"Looting is an effective means of wealth redistribution."
An Antifa activist from North Carolina on free speech:[115]
"The idea that freedom of speech is the most important thing that we can protect can only be held by someone who thinks that life is analogous to a debate hall. In my opinion, 'no platforming' fascists often infringes (sic) upon their speech, but this infringement is justified for its role in the political struggle against fascism."
Torch Antifa Network, in response[116] to President Trump's announced plans to designate Antifa as a terrorist group:
"Antifa will be designating the United States of America as a terrorist organization."
FOOTNOTES Part 1
[1] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-william-p-barrs-statement-riots-and-domestic-terrorism
[2] https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-william-p-barr-s-remarks-mr-george-floyd-and-civil-unrest
[3] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1267129644228247552
[4] https://www.factcheck.org/2020/06/trump-cant-designate-antifa-or-any-movement-domestic-terrorist-organization/
[5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/06/01/trump-antifa-terrorist-organization
[6] https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/06/01/trump-antifa-terrorist-organization
[7] https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/download/broschuere-2016-05-linksextremismus.pdf
[8] https://books.google.com/books?id=oJVZDwAAQBAJ&pg
[9] https://www.newsweek.com/antifa-fascists-anti-opinion-867748
[10] https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/4th-congress/tactics.htm
[11] https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-490250733/the-bolshevik-revolution-and-the-rise-of-italian-fascism
[12] https://books.google.com/books?id=vZ2SDwAAQBAJ&pg
[13] https://www.rosalux.de/publikation/id/6467/80-jahre-antifaschistische-aktion/
[14] https://www.rosalux.de/publikation/id/6467/80-jahre-antifaschistische-aktion/
[15] https://www.mdr.de/zeitreise/ddr-als-unterschlupf-fuer-raf-terroristen-100.html
[16] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Red-Army-Faction
[17] https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-44931157.html
[18] https://www.nzz.ch/meinung/die-raf-ist-tot-es-lebe-die-antifa-ld.1558667
[19] https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/download-manager/_vsbericht-2018.pdf
[20] https://libcom.org/library/interview-german-anti-fascist-group-top-berlin
[21] https://www.facebook.com/AFAPB/photos/a.160701904058151/1352049838256679/?type=3
[22] http://www.infoshop.org/anti-capitalist-movements/
[23] https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/02/18/icfi-f18.html
[24] https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article166435531/Die-hohlen-Erklaerungen-der-Antifa.html
[25] https://g20tohell.blackblogs.org/2017/02/11/english/
[26] https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/download-manager/_vsbericht-2018.pdf
FOOTNOTES Part 2
[27] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1267129644228247552
[28] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd_protests
[29] https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/terrorism-2002-2005
[30] https://refusefascism.org/
[31] https://www.reddit.com/r/AntifascistsofReddit/
[32] https://twitter.com/RoseCityAntifa
[33] https://itsgoingdown.org/
[34] https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/download-manager/_vsbericht-2018.pdf
[35] https://www.bild.de/regional/berlin/linksextremismus/92-prozent-der-berliner-linksradikalen-wohnen-noch-bei-mutti-44249918.bild.html
[36] https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/alliance-for-global-justice/
[37] https://itsgoingdown.org/texting-tips-for-the-brave-guidelines-for-using-signal/
[38] https://www.theepochtimes.com/doj-is-conducting-very-focused-investigations-on-individuals-linked-to-antifa-barr-says_3381409.html
[39] https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16104/antifa-history
[40] https://books.google.com/books?id=0_C5DgAAQBAJ&dq
[41] https://ia800903.us.archive.org/11/items/investigationofcnyc0708unit/investigationofcnyc0708unit_djvu.txt
[42] https://ia800903.us.archive.org/11/items/investigationofcnyc0708unit/investigationofcnyc0708unit_djvu.txt
[43] https://vault.fbi.gov/Black%20Panther%20Party
[44] https://dukeupress.wordpress.com/2017/01/26/the-black-panther-party-and-black-anti-fascism-in-the-united-states/
[45] https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/dimitrov/works/1935/08_02.htm
[46] https://dukeupress.wordpress.com/2017/01/26/the-black-panther-party-and-black-anti-fascism-in-the-united-states/
[47] https://dukeupress.wordpress.com/2017/01/26/the-black-panther-party-and-black-anti-fascism-in-the-united-states/
[48] https://archive.lib.msu.edu/AFS/dmc/radicalism/public/all/messageblackmovement/AAL.pdf?CFID=327481&CFTOKEN=39064116
[49] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232940302_Repression_breeds_resistance_The_black_liberation_army_and_the_radical_legacy_of_the_black_panther_party
[50] https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/weatherunderground/movement.html
[51] https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/weather-underground-bombings
[52] https://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/111hur.html
[53] https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6163978367001
[54] https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/09/no-fascist-usa-how-hardcore-punk-fuels-the-antifa-movement
[55] https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/09/no-fascist-usa-how-hardcore-punk-fuels-the-antifa-movement
[56] https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/chi-five-charged-in-mob-attack-at-tinley-park-restaurant-20120521-story.html
[57] https://torchantifa.org/about/
[58] https://content.lib.washington.edu/wtoweb/index.html
[59] https://www.britannica.com/event/Seattle-WTO-protests-of-1999
[60] https://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/americas/04/20/summit.americas.02/index.html
[61] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/massive-anti-war-outpouring/
[62] https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16104/antifa-history
[63] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/11/bernie-sanders-momentum-november-election-day
[64] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bernie-sanders-condemns-violent-protests-san-jose/story?id=39602627
[65] https://www.policemag.com/341767/understanding-the-black-bloc
[66] https://www.foxnews.com/us/rioters-break-windows-set-fire-to-force-cancellation-of-breitbart-editors-uc-berkeley-talk
[67] https://libcom.org/library/militant-tactics-anti-fascist-organizing-interview-transcript
[68] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/us/university-california-berkeley-free-speech-milo-yiannopoulos.html
[69] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/us/university-california-berkeley-free-speech-milo-yiannopoulos.html
[70] https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/hr6054/BILLS-115hr6054ih.pdf
[71] https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/6054/all-actions
[72] https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/tacoma-police-armed-man-throwing-incendiary-devices-shot-outside-ice-detention-center/
[73] https://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=4592
[74] https://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=4592
[75] https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-cruz-antifa-is-a-domestic-terrorist-organization
[76] https://twitter.com/TheLeadCNN/status/1274076999192018945
[77] https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jun/3/antifa-planned-anti-government-insurgency-george-f/
[78] https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jun/3/antifa-planned-anti-government-insurgency-george-f/
[79] https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jun/3/antifa-planned-anti-government-insurgency-george-f/
[80] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/law-enforcement-plays-catch-stop-violence-radical-groups-protests-n1220486
[81] https://epochtimes.today/antifa-other-far-left-groups-exploit-protests-for-revolution/
[82] https://epochtimes.today/antifa-other-far-left-groups-exploit-protests-for-revolution/
[83] https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/bellevue-police-chief-says-looters-are-part-organized-crime-ring/HEMXIDSLOZAH5FE7H7BBEDHQB4/
[84] https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/alliance-for-global-justice/
[85] https://afgj.org/about/our-mission
[86] https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/alliance-for-global-justice/
[87] https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/alliance-for-global-justice/
[88] https://afgj.org/occupy-wall-street-fiscal-sponsorships-the-alliance-for-global-justice
[89] https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/alliance-for-global-justice/
[90] https://refusefascism.org/
[91] https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/refuse-fascism/
[92] https://www.facebook.com/RefuseFascism/posts/1716238872003455
[93] https://revcom.us/a/501/rcp-statement-why-we-have-taken-up-fight-to-build-refuse-fascism-en.html
[94] https://revcom.us/revolutiontour/index.html
[95] https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/article/What-is-CHOP-the-zone-in-Seattle-formed-by-15341281.php
[96] https://twitter.com/Julio_Rosas11/status/1270445772316667904
[97] https://medium.com/@seattleblmanon3/the-demands-of-the-collective-black-voices-at-free-capitol-hill-to-the-government-of-seattle-ddaee51d3e47
[98] https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1271291958296604675
[99] https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Shooting-in-Seattle-protest-zone-leaves-1-dead-1-15354354.php
[100] https://www.city-journal.org/antifa-seattle-capitol-hill-autonomous-zone
[101] https://books.google.com/books?id=0_C5DgAAQBAJ&dq
[102] https://www.discovery.org/econ/2020/06/11/anarchy-in-seattle/
[103] https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/06/19/black-lives-matter-co-founder-our-goal-is-to-get-trump-out/
[104] https://twitter.com/RoseCityAntifa/status/1270553899942858752
[105] https://twitter.com/RainCityAntifa/status/1266285604792225792
[106] https://twitter.com/PNWYLF/status/1269822955883655168
[107] https://twitter.com/drwilda/status/1273426958752178176
[108] https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1274174539694391296
[109] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpW_QLWrubE&feature=youtu.be
[110] https://twitter.com/RevAbolitionNYC/status/1267522966490923014
[111] https://www.reference.com/world-view/did-term-pig-police-come-c7e4a8716562a054
[112] https://twitter.com/ash_antifa/status/1266995762912727040
[113] https://twitter.com/LeftsidefromNY/status/1274193059060875266
[114] https://itsgoingdown.org/questions-in-the-face-of-counterinsurgency/
[115] https://books.google.com/books?id=OKEwDwAAQBAJ&pg
[116] https://twitter.com/TorchAntifa/status/1267179729834127362
Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
This article was published in two parts on June 12, 2020 and June 23,
2020 by the Gatestone Institute.
Part I is archived at https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16104/antifa-history
and Part II is archived at
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16149/antifa-history-part-2.
The comments to the articles are also well-worth reading.
It is archived at Think-Israel at
http://www.think-israel.org/kern.historyofantifa.html.
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