Thirteen members of the leftist group, Antifa, were arrested this past Sunday for assaulting mostly peaceful demonstrators at Berkeley. Certain Antifa members “were charged with assault with a deadly weapon, felony assault, and violations of the city’s municipal code.” One police officer was injured in the violence and six other individuals sustained injuries that required hospitalization.
In another development concerning Antifa, Germany has now banned the Antifa website in response to the violence that Antifa carried out at the recent G-20 summit. Germany has classified Antifa as a militant left and a violent left-wing extremist group. Interior minister Thomas de Maizière said the site tried to “legitimize violence against police officers”. He also stated that the site is an “expression of an attitude that tramples human dignity.” Antifa has used weapons such as Molotov cocktails, iron rods, and slingshots in Germany.
Negative Media Attention
Antifa’s violence has been ignored by much of the media. The Washington Post, however, recently exposed Antifa’s violence with the headline, “Black-clad antifa members attack peaceful right-wing demonstrators in Berkeley.” The Post went on to acknowledge that “violence erupted when a small group of masked Antifa and anarchists attacked right-wing demonstrators.” Antifa also caused $100,000 worth of damage back in February when 150 black-clad members of Antifa vandalized and caused destruction at Berkley in protest of conservative speaker, Milo Yiannopoulos.
Anarchist Group
Antifa continues to grow and expand their presence worldwide and in most American cities. Some of the violence has been directed at white supremacist groups, as was the case in Charlottesville, but most of their violent acts have been directed at peaceful demonstrators and law enforcement through the verified use of weapons. They call themselves an anti-fascist group but their actions continue to prove that they are anarchist and violent in nature.
Terror Designation Petition
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has not designated Antifa as a hate group. They have, however, given that designation to the Christian based, Family Research Council. There is a petition underway to declare Antifa as a terrorist organization. The petition requires 100,000 signatures for the White House to make a ruling on the group, and it rapidly gained 250,000 plus signatures. For the time being, Antifa continues to represent a threat within our borders as they direct their efforts towards more mainstream peaceful protesters, demonstrations and political rallies. They are very well funded and organized, and this will be explored in future articles.