The White House confirmed Monday that President Trump plans to sign an executive order formally designating antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, a move his press secretary said was motivated by a recent string of violent incidents, including the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the president could sign the order “as soon as today.” She continued, “Antifa is going to be designated a domestic terrorist organization. We have seen a rise in violence perpetuated by antifa radicals across this country, and unfortunately it’s gone largely uncovered by legacy media.”
She pointed to reports that bullet casings found at the scene of Kirk’s killing were inscribed with antifa-related markings, calling it one of several recent examples that underscore the urgency of the order. “It is reprehensible what happened to Charlie,” Leavitt said, adding that the administration intends to investigate not only alleged violent actors but also those “funding antifa and other violent left-wing groups.”
The announcement is bound to spark fierce debate. Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” is less a formal organization than a loose collection of activists and networks that have gained notoriety in protests and clashes across the country over the last decade. Federal law does not provide a clear framework for designating domestic groups as terrorist organizations—only foreign ones—raising immediate questions about how the administration intends to enforce the new designation and what legal challenges may follow.
The Trump White House has long argued that antifa poses a serious security threat, pointing to incidents ranging from riots in Portland to vandalism of pro-life facilities, as well as assaults on police officers. Leavitt cited a string of events stretching back to 2021 that included bombings, firebombings, and armed ambushes. “This administration knows that it is a serious threat to American safety and our national security,” she said.
Critics, however, are likely to frame the move as a political gesture, one that conflates a broad swath of progressive protest activity with terrorism while sidestepping the legal and constitutional complexities involved. Civil liberties groups have previously argued that branding antifa as “terrorists” risks criminalizing dissent and handing law enforcement wide discretion to target protest movements.
The context for Monday’s announcement is especially charged. The assassination of Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative voice, has shaken political circles and intensified calls on the right for a hard-line response. Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller described the killing as part of “a domestic terrorist movement growing in this country,” echoing the White House’s framing.
Leavitt, for her part, insisted that the order is not just symbolic. “This is something the president campaigned on,” she said. “Not anymore will these groups go ignored by the federal government. We will hold them accountable.”
The executive order, once signed, would mark the most sweeping attempt yet by the Trump administration to treat antifa as a national security threat, putting the full weight of federal law enforcement behind that designation. Whether courts and Congress see it the same way remains to be tested.
