Photo credit: Joe Brusky
An Antifa led march in Riverwest in 2018, following the events of Charlottesville.
After days of protests, some of which caused massive property damage, on May 31, Trump tweeted: “The United States will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization,” even though a review of dozens of people arrested at the demonstrations on federal charges found no affiliation. That same weekend in the small town of Klamath Falls, Ore., hundreds of people armed themselves after rumors circulated that busloads of Antifa warriors were approaching to destroy the town and “kill white people.” Similar rumors popped up all over the country—in Forks, Wash., residents cut down trees to block a road into town to stop Antifa’s arrival. In all of these stories the alleged threat didn’t materialize.
So what is Antifa and why are people so frightened of it? Trump spells ANTIFA in all caps, but the name isn’t an acronym, it means anti-fascism or anti-fascist. It isn’t an organization—there’s no leader, initiation, or membership dues. Origins of the term date back to fighting fascist forces in Italy and Germany pre-World War II, as well as in Spain. It’s been a philosophy adopted by some leftwing union groups like the Industrial Workers of the World, who clashed with the Ku Klux Klan, and punk rock subcultures like Anti-Rascist Action, who fought Nazi skinheads in the 90s.
“Any time in history where you see the far-right gaining power in the streets anti-fascism is about Working Class People on the left making a response to that you have to respond in the streets because that's where the fascists want to be it's where they try to build their power,” says “Noah,” one of five individuals in the Milwaukee area the Shepherd interviewed that identify as “Antifa.” They agreed to talk with the condition of anonymity (they chose pseudonyms or were assigned them from a random word generator). Among other concerns, white supremicist groups try to “dox” personal information on people who identify as “Antifa.” The interviewees also pointed out they weren’t speaking on behalf of anyone but themselves.
“My answers to these questions may not reflect what another ‘member,’ may say, I have no actual authority to speak for Antifa as a whole,” we were told by a person we’re identifying as “Citizen B.”
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“Though often defined as a loose or unofficial organization, I view it as a philosophy or political stance,” a person we’re calling “Keep” says. “Similar to how Anonymous is less of an organization rather than a banner or name under which many different groups operate--however I think Antifa groups are linked more so in their mission, which is to subvert, stomp out, and educate against the rise of fascism.”
“Antifa is largely a reaction to actual terrorist groups, like the KKK,” says “Sabo.”
“Antifa opposes contemporary iterations of fascism like white supremacist groups, ICE detention centers, the destruction of indigenous lands, and all institutions which enforce systemic racism and violence,” explains “Lena.”
The most recent enemy to face off against Antifa aren’t the Klan or Nazi skinheads (though both of those groups are still around) but the “Alt-Right,” a coalition of neo-fascist groups. But Noah says there’s a bigger issue.
“There's definitely alt-right goons, but more importantly I think the police and everyday racists are hurting people,” Noah explains. “There's a huge racist system that maintains control through the police and at the prisons and that's what everybody's fighting right now. We should consider far-right groups a threat, but I think there are much bigger threats that people should pour their energy towards confronting.”
“I think most Antifa would agree that America has been flirting with fascism a long time and we’re on the cusp of authoritarianism in a lot of ways-- the situation with the immigration camps, the literal white supremacist media companies that have our president’s ear, I think things have been too institutionalized and engrained in our systems at this point,” says Keep.
Black Bloc Tactics
Trump (and Attorney General Barr) blamed Antifa for protest destruction, but in some cases white supremicist or Alt-Right groups disguised as Antifa were discovered at protests or online—in one case Twitter identified a fake Antifa page advocating violence that was set up by Identity Evropa (also known as “American Identity Movement”), a white supremicist group.
“There are Alt-Right black blocs that pretend to be anarchists, there are anarchist and accelerationist black blocs that pretend to be Antifa,” Keep says. “Black bloc” refers to a group, usually dressed in black with bandanas or ski masks to hide their identity, that participate in smashing windows, starting fires, and other property destruction. It’s a tactic, on said, that Antifa has utilized and isn’t opposed to.
“I do believe that cops have escalated situations by inciting or doing property damage themselves, they’ve been caught on tape doing it,” Sabo says, but adds that most of the carnage came from genuine anger from the people. “A lot of that is just a natural reaction to watching a government employee murder somebody in broad daylight, with a big crowd of witnesses and cameras on them and their co-workers just standing by and it wasn’t necessarily apparent that there was going to be any government response to that in terms of there being justice.”
“Police exist to protect the wealthy and businesses and I think we've seen that in the Milwaukee protests,” Sabo continues. “The times I've seen them lose their mind with the tear gas, the rubber bullets, and the tire spikes, was when we were approaching either the downtown business district or moving up into the wealthier neighborhoods like Shorewood and getting up towards Bayshore Mall. That's where they just lost it and started making mass arrests.”
“I think it can be summed up by saying—sometimes if a system or government gets out of control, then an out of control response is necessary,” says Citizen B.
“It depends,” Keep says on these tactics. “A big pillar of Antifa ideology is the understanding of the paradox of tolerance-- being that sometimes you need to break peace in order to maintain it, and sometimes there are things that can’t be tolerated because they put tolerance in jeopardy.”
“I am fundamentally in favor of black bloc techniques, but would not bring them into this movement unless BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) leaders called for it,” says Lena. “In the right context, black bloc techniques can play a valuable role in confronting a government which values property over human life. Antifa is not about co-opting the Black Lives Matter movement and making it our own, it’s about being supportive and following the lead of BIPoC.”
Black Bloc tactics have led to criticism of the group.
“All forms of Antifa violence are problematic. Additionally, violence plays into the ‘victimhood’ narrative of white supremacists and other extremists and can even be used for recruiting purposes,” an entry on Antifa on the Anti-Defamation League’s website reads, though they do also note “that said, it’s important to reject attempts to claim equivalence between Antifa and the white supremicist groups they oppose,” noting that while white supremacists have killed hundreds of people in last ten years, “there have not been any known Antifa murders.”
Rounding up Antifa
With no leadership or membership rosters, Trump’s declaration that the philosophy is a “terrorist organization” could lead to law enforcement agencies creating their own definitions of Antifa. Is someone wearing a black bandana at a protest “Antifa?” What about someone who frequents a radical bookstore or is part of an anarchist group page on Facebook?
“What they are doing is at the very heart of authoritarian fascist rule. They want to label anyone who doesn't agree with them/him as ‘Antifa,’ as terrorists, allowing them to be held without trial,” Citizen B says. “The fact that the administration has the audacity to make a claim like this publicly just shows how necessary ‘we’ are becoming.”
We saw an example of Trump’s Antifa scare tactics this week. A disturbing video of police in Buffalo circulated, showing them shoving a 75-year-old peaceful protester to the sidewalk, where blood poured out of his ear. Trump labelled the protester as a possible “ANTIFA provocateur” in a tweet, saying he was covertly scanning police communications with a device to “black out the equipment,” despite the fact that no law enforcement made any such claim and there is no evidence to support it. Trump’s source was One America News Network, a far right cable channel that often disseminates conspiracy theories.
“Donald Trump and the right-wing establishment uses (Antifa) as a boogeyman, they talk about it as if this is an international conspiracy organization,” Noah says. “The right always uses scapegoats. Donald Trump tells working class white people that immigrants are taking their jobs, right-wing people tell white people that black people are the problem to sow discord and disunity among the working class. Antifa is just a convenient scapegoat to whip people up into thinking that there is this panic and problem that doesn't really exist.”
Not Just Scaring Nazis
“Black bloc is only one potential method of fighting injustice. Antifa also means building strong communities in day-to-day life that care for each other through things like sharing resources such as food, transportation, housing, childcare, and aid,” says Lena.
“A secondary mission of most but not all anti-fascists is the promotion of peace (antiwar/antifa) and inclusion,” adds Keep. Other Antifa activities in recent years include protests, counter-demonstrations, “clinic defense” for women seeking health care. It’s unknown exactly how many people in the Milwaukee area identify as Antifa, but some actions have seen as many as a couple hundred.
“Most people that are involved in anti-fascism they're also involved in union organizing and other kinds of socialist or anarchist or left-wing organizing projects that don't always mean it's scaring away Nazis or being tough,” Noah says.
Citizen B concludes by saying that Antifa “shouldn’t be feared—if you are anti-fascist, then you are Antifa. Antifa isn't going anywhere, it’s here to protect, to uphold, to stand and rise against authoritarian values, and fascist ideals.”
For more of our coverage of the protests occurring across Milwaukee, click here.
