The Homeland Security Secretary Equates Anti-Fascist Activists to MS-13, Hamas, the Lebanese Faction and Islamic State
At a White House policy meeting, the homeland security secretary this week likened antifa to MS-13, the Gaza-based organization, the Iran-backed group and ISIS, describing the decentralized protesters “just as dangerous” as officially recognized terror groups.
“They operate with the same complexity as Mara Salvatrucha, as TDA [Tren de Aragua], as the Islamic State, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of them, they are just as dangerous,” the secretary stated. “Their goal is to dismantle our society, just like the other terrorists we have confronted for decades.”
The discussion included rightwing social media journalists such as several prominent commentators and others who cover anti-fascist demonstrations.
Some of the groups mentioned by the secretary – the Palestinian, Lebanese, and jihadist factions – are officially classified as terror groups that hold land, run armed branches, maintain command structures and have executed mass casualty attacks including explosions, kidnappings and assassinations.
Specialists in radical movements have long described the anti-fascist movement, by contrast, as lacking a central command, official membership or structured hierarchy, and it has generally been described by national authorities as a decentralized movement of activists who participate in demonstrations, portions of which involve property destruction and public clashes.
This meeting follows a presidential directive issued in September classifying anti-fascist activists as a “homegrown terror group”.
Shortly prior to the declaration, a Proud Boys leader 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.”
