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This election cycle’s Super Tuesday voters may have thought Donald Trump was certain to become the Republican presidential nominee. But with Trump’s arrival, something perhaps unexpected will happen. American cities can soon expect a resurgence of Antifa.
Americans were first introduced to the radical group known as Antifa in 2016, when Donald Trump first ran for president. And for the next five years, whenever large-scale violence broke out in any American city, Antifa was often one of the likely culprits.
But antifa is rarely mentioned in the news during the Biden era. This does not mean that Antifa is simply an anti-Trump movement or that it is not a scapegoat for the Republican Party, as many have claimed.
Antifa is no longer in the national headlines as President Biden continues to condemn antifa and other far-left violence. But it won’t surprise anyone who remembers Joe Biden calling Antifa “just an idea, not an organization” during the first presidential debate of 2020.
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It is true that Antifa is not an organization in the traditional sense. Antifa has no official membership list or official leadership. There is nothing “official” about Antifa. But denying the very nature of Antifa allows Antifa and other violent far-left anarchist groups to run amok behind the scenes with impunity.
Two of the most active anarchist movements today are the Weelaney Defense Association and the Defending the Atlanta Forest Autonomy Movement. The latter recently hosted more than 30 chapters for a national summit in Tucson, Arizona. Its purpose is to launch a national effort to prevent construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, derisively referred to by anarchists as “Police City.”
Police charge Antifa member for allegedly pepper-throwing protesters at all-ages drag show
Instead, more than 100 “activists” wore black masks while rioting in Tucson. When all was said and done, three anarchists were arrested who collectively caused more than $100,000 in property damage. Another six people were arrested in Fountain Hills, Arizona. The anti-police group is well known to Atlantans who have yet to forget the shooting incident with police in which an anarchist seriously injured a state trooper. This gunfight ultimately claimed the anarchist’s life.
Weelani Defense Association and the Defend the Atlanta Forest Autonomy Movement are not, strictly speaking, “Antifa” groups. Their tradition is more closely aligned with the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), an independent green anarchist organization. During the 1990s, ELF members, along with members of the Animal Liberation Front, were routinely prosecuted under domestic terrorism laws. But although these two factions are separate movements, they march in solidarity with Antifa and often share the same members.
Go’s lawsuit filed by the American Freedom Center says his “adverse” reporting against members of Rose City Antifa led to violent retaliation. (Moria Ratner/Correspondent)
At the end of the day, the name doesn’t matter. Many Antifa groups do not use the Antifa name, choosing instead localized names like “Bay161.” Each number represents the position of a letter in the alphabet that corresponds to AFA or anti-fascist activity. I know this because I once foolishly joined the anarchist movement. I know that this was done with the aim of confusing journalists so that they would have a hard time identifying the national narrative while anarchists and their supporters claim there is no national coordination. Masu.
However, this is a blatant lie. Anarchists claim there is no national coordination, despite participating in a national summit hosted by 30 chapters from across the country. Additionally, fellow Stop Cop City activists have been arrested across the country in Atlanta, Tucson, and San Francisco. Some of the anarchists setting fire to American cities aren’t even Americans. They come from countries like Canada and France.
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Antifa is an idea, okay. And its members put those ideas into practice, often with too much violence. Just ask anyone trying to make a living living in American cities. They will say that Antifa has not disappeared just because the new president and his allies in the media don’t mention or do much about its violence.
Mr. Biden has so far failed to effectively denounce Antifa or support state authorities in combating left-wing violent extremism. A growing number of voters are fed up. That’s how it should be. Because Antifa and other anarchist groups are a very real threat to all Americans.
But now that former President Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, someone may finally denounce Antifa after years of deafening silence.