The Homeland Security Secretary Equates Antifa to Mara Salvatrucha, Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic State
At a White House policy meeting, Kristi Noem on Wednesday likened antifa to the notorious gang, the Gaza-based organization, Hezbollah and the Islamic State, describing the loosely affiliated protesters “equally threatening” as designated terrorist organizations.
“They operate with the same complexity as MS-13, as TDA [Tren de Aragua], as the Islamic State, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of them, they pose the same level of threat,” Noem stated. “Their goal is to dismantle our society, just like the other terrorists we have confronted for many, many years.”
The roundtable included rightwing social media journalists such as Andy Ngo, Nick Sortor, Katie Daviscourt among others who cover antifa protests.
Several organizations Noem cited – the Palestinian, Lebanese, and jihadist factions – are formally designated terrorist organizations that control territory, run armed branches, maintain command structures and have carried out mass casualty attacks including explosions, kidnappings and assassinations.
Specialists in radical movements have frequently characterized the anti-fascist movement, in comparison, as lacking a central command, official membership or structured hierarchy, and it has often been portrayed by national authorities as a decentralized movement of activists who participate in demonstrations, some of which has included damage to belongings and public clashes.
The roundtable comes after an executive order signed in September designating antifa as a “homegrown terror group”.
Shortly prior to the declaration, a Proud Boys leader who was convicted and then pardoned for his actions during the Capitol events posted on X: “Who’s ready to go ANTIFA hunting? Since I am acquainted with several individuals.”
