President Donald Trump announced on Sunday a leftist group believed to be leading violence in brutal protests against the police, which will be formally classified as terrorist.
"The United States of America will classify Antiva as a terrorist organization," Trump said in a tweet on Twitter.
Antifa - the abbreviation for "anti-fascism" - is the name of the anti-racist groups with loose leftwing tendencies who have participated in some violent clashes in recent years. The movement has no unified structure or national leadership.
Trump launched harsh criticism against leftist agitators at other times in his presidency, referring to the group as the "alternative left" in 2017 following violent confrontations between white nationalists and hostile protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia.
"The United States of America will classify Antiva as a terrorist organization," Trump said in a tweet on Twitter.
In his tweet on Sunday, Trump continued his criticism of Minneapolis Democrat Jacob Frye for not being cruel enough to the protesters who turned violent. Fry shook several nights of demonstrations last week after the death of George Floyd, an African American man in police custody. Before his death, Floyd captured the video telling a police officer with his knee in Floyd's neck that he could not breathe.
"Congratulations to our National Guard for the wonderful work they did upon their arrival in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last night," Trump tweeted. "The mayor should have stayed on the first night, and there wouldn't be any problem!"
Thanks to the National Guard, Trump said, "ANTIFA led by anarchists, among others, closed quickly."
On Sunday, Attorney General William Barr also blamed Antiva and other similar groups for violent protests across the country, calling the actions "domestic terrorism."
Barr did not say what groups might have been involved or where they came from, but said that the Justice Department and the FBI would work to identify "criminal organizers and instigators" to be arrested and charged.
"With the riots taking place in many of our cities across the country, violent radical elements have hijacked the voices of peaceful and legitimate protests. Groups of outward extremists and agitators are exploiting the situation to pursue their separate and violent actions," Bar said the extremist agenda.
"It is time to stop watching and confronting violence and ending it," Barr said. "The continuing violence and the destruction of property endangers the lives and livelihoods of others and impedes the rights of peaceful protesters and other citizens."
In order to "coordinate federal resources with our country and our local partners," Barr said he would use "the current network of 56 FBI regional counter-terrorism task forces."
"The violence that is incited and carried out by Antifah and other similar groups in relation to the riots is local terrorism and will be dealt with accordingly," Barr said.
The American Civil Liberties Union has said that Trump has no power to classify local terrorist groups.
"Terrorism is an ingrained political sign, it can be abused and misused easily," the organization said in a tweet on Twitter. "Let's be clear: There is no legal authority to appoint a local group. Any such appointment would raise important due process and concerns from the first amendment."
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