US President Donald Trump has announced that he is designating the left-wing movement Antifa as a "terrorist organization", making the decision public on his Truth Social platform in the early hours of Thursday UK time.
"I am happy to inform our patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, a dangerous radical left-wing disaster, as a major terrorist organization," Trump wrote, adding that he would also seek investigations into those who fund the movement.
It is not yet clear what legal mechanism will be used for this decision, as Antifa has no centralized structure or defined leadership. This makes it unclear who or what the proclamation would target.
The decision comes after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, an event that has increased the Trump administration's rhetoric against what it calls "radical leftist groups." Democrats have criticized the move, saying the president is using it as a pretext to suppress opposition and dissent.
Antifa, short for "anti-fascists," is not a formal organization, but a scattered movement with left-wing political beliefs, often more radical than the official Democratic Party platform.
