WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump, vowing Sunday to treat left-wing militants known as Antifa as terrorists, used the beating of a machete-wielding man in downtown Dallas to push unfounded claims that the loose knit group is behind violent protests around the country.
“SO TERRIBLE! Where are the arrests and LONG TERM jail sentences?” Trump wrote, retweeting video of the Dallas attack posted by the lead guitarist for a heavy metal band based in California who labeled the Dallas incident -- without proof -- as the work of Antifa.
Several hours earlier, Trump declared on Twitter that “The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.”
Antifa is not an organization, however. It’s more of a movement, and conservatives have at times applied the term loosely to any left-wing militants. The term stands for anti-fascists, and broadly refers to far left extremists who view government and wealthy elites as oppressors.
Dallas authorities have not asserted involvement by Antifa activists in the attack Saturday night, in the Victory Park area just north of downtown Dallas.
Graphic videos, including the one Trump retweeted before it disappeared from Twitter within an hour, show protesters whacking the man with a skateboard and stomping on him, leaving him limp, the machete next to him on the ground.
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“This man was protecting his business and was stomped and stoned by Antifa now in critical condition,” read the tweet that Trump retweeted.
The man who made that claim is Mark Kendall, longtime lead guitarist for “Great White” – the band that was playing at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., the night of a horrific fire in February 2003 that left 100 people dead.
Kendall did not respond to messages seeking a basis for his Antifa claim. His publicist and manager did not respond to emails.
On Twitter, Kendall lauded the president for vowing to treat Antifa as a terrorist group, writing: “Democrats & progressives support Antifa financially who are destroying our country day by day.”
That’s the plan! Democrats & progressives support Antifa financially who are destroying our country day by day. Thankfully they’ve been declared a terrorist organization which should help put them away...
— Mark Kendall (@MarkKendall_GW) May 31, 2020
Trump has more than 80 million followers and the tweet was retweeted more than 27,000 times.
The Dallas attack was eye-catching because of the machete. The Antifa claim added an incendiary element that was useful for Trump as he seeks to blame riots, looting and unrest on “Radical Left Anarchists” and “ANTIFA led anarchists.”
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Anger has erupted nationwide since the death last week of a black man, George Floyd, during an arrest in Minneapolis. A white officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck until he became unresponsive, and for nearly three minutes after that point, ignoring pleas of Floyd and onlookers whose videos put a fresh spotlight on police brutality.
Some law enforcement officials say that both left- and right-wing extremists have taken advantage of the protests to escalate tensions.
Protesters clashed with police and Secret Service outside the White House during the weekend, bringing the upheaval to Trump’s doorstep.
Throughout the weekend, he accused Democratic mayors and governors of weakness and demanded they send in national guard troops to restore order.
The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020
It’s unclear how he could deliver on the threat to designate Antifa as a terrorist group, though.
The federal government can designate foreign entities as terrorist organizations, which opens a menu of sanctions and enforcement powers.
There is no similar authority regarding domestic groups, and under constitutional free speech guarantees, ideology cannot be punished, only actions.
"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,” said ACLU National Security Project Director Hina Shamsi.
Attorney General William Barr echoed the president Sunday in blaming Antifa and other "agitators" for protests that began in Minneapolis after Floyd’s death.
"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," Barr said in a statement issued Sunday after the president's tweet.
On Sunday, the Justice Department said it would assign Joint Terrorism Task Forces around the country to investigate violence in major cities.
The man in the Dallas video was hospitalized in stable condition Sunday night. Dallas police had made no arrests, and said the footage was being reviewed.
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Trump echoes heavy metal guitarist in blaming 'Antifa' in beating of machete-wielding Dallas man - The Dallas Morning News
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