Trump vs Antifa: What is anti-fascist movement and who founded it? All FAQs answered

President Donald Trump, in an executive order this September, declared Antifa as a ‘domestic terrorist organization’.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday held a White House roundtable on Antifa. This comes after Trump, in a September executive order, declared Antifa as a ‘domestic terrorist organization’.

Antifa is short for anti-fascist. Image for representational purposes. (Unsplash)

“The epidemic of left wing violence and Antifa-inspired terror has been escalating for nearly a decade at universities. Antifa has organized riotous mobs to attack campus speakers...These are bad people. These are people that want to destroy our country. We're not going to let it happen,” Trump said at the White House roundtable.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was also present at the occasion, said “This is not activism, it's anarchy. We can't, and we will not, let masked terrorists burn our buildings, attack our law enforcement and intimidate our communities.”

Here are some things to know about Antifa.

What is Antifa?

Antifa, short for anti-fascist, is a "decentralized, leaderless movement composed of loose collections of groups, networks and individuals," according to the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks extremists.

Who started Antifa?

Some Antifa groups trace the movement back to fights against European fascists in the 1920s and 1930s.

However, Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, notes that the modern American Antifa movement began in the 1980s with the group Anti-Racist Action. Members of this group confronted neo-Nazi skinheads at punk gigs in various parts, including the American Midwest.

Who are Antifa opposed to?

Normally Antifa is opposed to neo-Nazis, neo-fascism, white supremacists and racism. However, when BBC spoke to Antifa protesters back in 2017, some conveyed that they were working to build a ‘movement that really insulates us from the policies of Donald Trump’.

“It's not just resisting the federal administration but also resisting moves that can lead to fascism,” a member told BBC, adding, “and those happen locally whether from local officials or from local alt-right movements.”

Is Antifa violent?

Antifa is willing to use violence, marking it out from many other left-wing activists, BBC reported. In the US, they reportedly directly and physically confronted the far right on the streets, and were successful in postponing, cutting short, or cancelling rallies and speeches.

However, BBC added that the members they spoke to said that they denounce the use of weapons and violent direct action.

Why do Antifa protestors wear black?

Antifa protestors wearing black goes back to Cold War era West German anarchists. Sometimes they cover their faces with masks and helmets so they cannot be identified by authorities. The black attire also serves as an intimidation technique, BBC reported, and the group is often dubbed ‘black bloc’, which helps members move together anonymously.