The US State Department has labelled four groups, from Germany, Greece and Italy, as \u2018specially designated global terrorists\u2019.<\/p>\n
The administration of United States President Donald Trump has designated four European groups as \u201cspecially designated global terrorists\u201d for their links to the loose-knit, left-wing movement known as \u201cantifa\u201d.<\/p>\n
Thursday\u2019s announcement<\/a> was yet another step in Trump\u2019s campaign to dismantle antifa, short for \u201canti-fascist\u201d.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n The four sanctioned groups include Antifa Ost in Germany; the Informal Anarchist Federation\/International Revolutionary Front (FAI\/FRI) in Italy; Armed Proletarian Justice in Greece; and Revolutionary Class Self-Defense, also in Greece.<\/p>\n As part of Thursday\u2019s statement, the US Department of State declared additional plans to list the four groups as \u201cforeign terrorist organisations\u201d, effective November 20.<\/p>\n It accused the four groups of a number of violent acts across Europe in their fights against capitalism, right-wing governments, and the oppression of the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n The US State Department warned that the designations came with consequences for any US-based person or entity that did business with the four groups.<\/p>\n \u201cPersons that engage in certain transactions or activities with those designated today may expose themselves to sanctions risk,\u201d the State Department said in its statement.\u202f\u201dNotably, engaging in certain transactions with them entails risk of secondary sanctions pursuant to counterterrorism authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump expands \u2018terrorism\u2019 definition<\/p>\n Critics have accused the Trump administration of expanding the definition of \u201cterrorism\u201d far beyond its traditional meaning.<\/p>\n While \u201cterrorism\u201d is often used to describe domestic and international threats that use violence to achieve political aims, Trump has applied the label to drug cartels, Latin American gangs and antifa.<\/p>\n Experts, however, point out that antifa is a broad political and protest movement with no unified leader. It is generally seen as a collection of principles rather than an organised movement, and many antifa protests are peaceful.<\/p>\n Still, on September 22, Trump issued an executive order saying he would\u00a0designate<\/a> the left-wing group as a \u201cdomestic terrorist organisation\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAntifa is a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law,\u201d Trump said<\/a>\u00a0in the order.<\/p>\n \u201cIt uses illegal means to organize and execute a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide to accomplish these goals.\u201d<\/p>\n That designation could potentially render antifa-related activity illegal. Providing \u201cmaterial support\u201d for designated \u201cterrorist\u201d groups is a crime under federal law.<\/p>\n However, since antifa is not a cohesive group, there is no way of identifying the financiers of the movement, as it comprises several autonomous groups with varied funding sources, which are often not made public.<\/p>\n Experts have also raised concerns about the First Amendment right to free speech and association under the US Constitution, arguing that Trump\u2019s designations could dampen left-wing activism.<\/p>\n \u201cSpeaking of \u2018antifa\u2019 in the singular is misleading and plays into Trump\u2019s efforts to repress the left,\u201d historian Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, told Al Jazeera in September.<\/p>\n Bray cast doubt on Trump\u2019s assertions that antifa is a \u201ccoordinated\u201d organisation that \u201cconceal[s] its funding sources and operations in an effort to frustrate law enforcement\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is trying to promote the common right-wing conspiracy theory that there are shadowy financiers like George Soros playing puppet master behind everything the left does,\u201d Bray explained.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is that antifa groups do not have large budgets at all, and what they have is basically crowdsourced or generated from members themselves. It\u2019s mostly for bail, really.\u201d<\/p>\n Experts like Bray agree<\/a> that antifa is an ideology rather than an organised group.<\/p>\n