We were always terrorists, we were always illegal.
Whether it’s on the streets, during some occupation, or just sat at home, the weight of the state is always upon us. Every Anarchist knows this; whether they have the paperwork to back up their actions is a secondary thought. Should they wish, at any point, unless you’ve gone to remarkable lengths, you are subject to being disappeared. State repression is the reality of resistance. Whether that’s spy-cop rapists infiltrating eco-movements, Occupy activists being classed at “domestic extremists” for setting up tents, or to the point, back in 2004 when “Antifa” first came together under the name, they spent five years under immense pressure from the state, not just when they were out and about, but organisationally and personally. Our would-be masters have no conscience and will use every means to end each and every act of rebellion and civil defence which they cannot control.
Unfortunately for them in this last case, by the time Antifa got together and said, ok let’s call it a day and put our focus elsewhere, the seeds of decentralised resistance and community defence had been planted and the organising model had grown roots. Anti-fascist youth across Britain, America, Europe and beyond had adopted it, taking the lessons of the previous decades and putting them into action. Into the 2010s, whenever a fascist gathering took place, a local Antifa would spring up to respond and these informal networks became a catalyst for something more in “Red scare” USA as fascism, in it’s many aspects, became bolder and more active: a reactionary counter-point to a period of progression.
No leadership, no financial backing, no sinister plot. Just working-class locals actively resisting the most odious elements of our society. Overwhelmingly compromised of people aged 18-25, yet to be beaten down by the compromises we all make to capital and the agony of movement failures. They saw the terrible threat before them, the hate filled men and their cadres of alienated boys packing weapons, electrified shields, bear mace, bats, and the rest, who craved self-affirming violence and specticle in order to forward their poison. Antifa youth, saw this and held the line.
Sure, there were goofy moments and bad optics but overwhelming time after time, as the police stood aside, it was local youth in black, masked up for protection and with love for their communities fuelling them holding the line and keeping the brutal wave of aggressive fascists from attacking their passive and liberal peers. They spoke clearly against the rising tide of Nazism, Christian nationalism and fascism. As we saw time after time, fascists shooting children, planting bombs, and leading campaigns of horrific violence, it was those who stood against them which the state would focus on. The fascist does not represent an existential threat to the oligarchial order of the state. The Anarchist does that, so it is the Anarchist who is subject to their ire.
In the USA (and seemingly shortly in the Netherlands, a liberal democracy, and Hungary, under overtly fascist authority), the government has, somewhat out of the blue, sought to criminalise “Antifa” – that is, decentralised, ad hoc anti-fascism, a social movement without leadership and with only the loosest threads of organisation – as terrorists. The executive order as written weaves in the periphery of antisemitic conspiracy theories and absurd, categorically inaccurate statements. Its purpose isn’t to be accurate. It is a distraction piece and a political tool, used for effect during a time of great tension and anxiety from the political right, to demonise adversaries and legitimise the maximum force response: first on those they can designate as “Antifa”, then on anti-fascists in general, and finally on anyone they damn well please.
We’ve seen this build-up for over twenty years. If you can deem someone a “terrorist”, then you can silence them en masse via extrajudicial murders, drone strikes, dawn raids, infiltrated networks, and simply disappearing them. Once the policy shift is enacted, you can not only prosecute any dissenting element with ease, you can erase the infrastructure around them and manifest toe-curling associations by use of the word alone. It’s an old trick. “Terrorism” is now merely the latest term on their euphemism treadmill. This word, which used to describe some of the most odious acts of indiscriminate violence (overwhelmingly by conservative elements), is now weaponised with fleeting malice for shock value by hyper-individualistic governments treading from one populist moment to the next.
In the UK, we have seen first-hand what the “terrorist” offence of red paint and a bit of property damage will do. If you express any solidarity with “Palestine Action”, you are open to immediate and summary arrest. You don’t even need to go that far: if you speak openly against the genocide in Palestine, you open yourself up to this association with a terrorist group. You are a terrorist now. Our stateside peers should not take the impact of this lightly. The paperwork to legitimise overt fascism is there, and you are the target.
These executive orders, laws, and legislations are not about “Antifa” or even Anarchists in general. We were always their terrorists, we were always illegal in their eyes. they are about disarming every person who stands against the rising tide of their fascism. Whether they are leftists, liberals, or right-leaning folk who still believe they live in a democracy. The purpose is to remove the social layer of community protection and leave us all open to being next. Nice and legal. If you resist their kidnap gangs, resist their totalitarian policies, objectively comment on their openly fascist speeches at a funeral-cum-political rally, if you speak openly against the rising authoritarianism and mal-informative propaganda, you open yourself up to this association with a terrorist group. You are now a terrorist.
It is quite clear that the America state has chosen to capitalise on the death of a supposed free-speech advocate at the hands of one of their own. The first step is to clamp down on free speech as per the usual performative motions of an authority on the edge of implosion. this provides a nice sensational distraction from the imminent bankruptcy of several states, the military build-up off the Venezuelan coast, the catastrophic failure to bring peace to Palestine and Ukraine, the tin-foil-hat healthcare policy, the refusal to release the list of paedophiles, that Project 2025 is nearly halfway through its programme in only a quarter of the time, the political erasure of poverty monitoring statistics, the polling numbers, and all the rest of it. They hope these distraction pieces will keep them alive until the next “win” in this the format of modern “debate me bro” Populism. The oligarchy is a bloated behemoth in its death throes, trying to keep afloat. It is desperate. Likely it will either steer towards thepre-existing artifice of electoral democracy, calmer heads and rational attitudes, likely getting devastated in the mid-terms and taking it like grown-ups, or it will steer towards removing the mask and openly embracing the new despotic empire, a third term sold as patriotic duty perhaps?
Regardless of what anyone else thinks, prominent fascists seem to believe this is their moment. They have their Reichstag fire, truth be damned. They have their eternal enemy within, they have political might, a military ready for an endless war, and they are elated. They feel this is their moment. They have leaders on stage promising a “Storm”, and the perpetual “We’re back” and “civil war” narratives which have grown thin are now leaning towards being open about what “MAGA” means: the authoritarian rule of an elite few, a nepotistic oligarchy built upon “traditional” values rooted in the various aspects of fascism; theological, civic, and ethnic.
Anarchists in the States who have spent endless energy this past year educating against the thought-terminators of “It was always like this” and “It’ll never happen here” are now having to face the horrific realities of being perpetually right: this is a shift, and it is happening. While there are no great networks as such, as the state legislates, there are a vast array of affinities and communities and they are stirring, terrified yes, but with gritted teeth and a belief in freedom. These are dark moments for those of us who work towards a society built upon a foundation of compassion and solidarity, who reject the idea that a chosen few should wield the power and control the resources. The few who believe that “liberty” actually means something. Yet, there they are: “unbent, unbroken, unbowed”, and keen to fight for the future, whatever that shall look like.
We’ve seen comrades around the world – Indonesia, Ecuador, Nepal, the Philippines and more – take a stand. the Terrorist Youth of the world standing up and fighting back against the corrupt state and reactionary bigots around them. Be inspired. You cannot afford that “If only we could do that here, but Americans would never” energy. You have to believe a better world is possible; if not you, then who? While comfort, privilege and liberalism overwhelmingly pacify and breed inaction, we’re all capable of active resistance, we just need to work on that collective empowerment. Getting ourselves used to civil disobedience, having and surviving a few run-ins with the police, pushing and developing. Growing. It can start with individual or affinity practice, but it’s our role as organisers to forward this. Even if we can’t do it ourselves personally due to capacity and such, we can help those who are.
Whatever the state does to try to stop militant anti-fascists, so long as there are fascists on the streets and in positions of power, there will be working-class resistance against them.
To the revolution now,
Solidarity with all of our fellow Anti-Fascist Terrorists.
The Organise Editorial Collective
Full text:
Section 1. Antifa as a Terrorist Threat. Antifa is amilitarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law. It uses illegal means to organize and execute a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide to accomplish these goals. This campaign involves coordinated efforts to obstruct enforcement of Federal laws through armed standoffs with law enforcement, organized riots, violent assaults on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement officers, and routine doxing of and other threats against political figures and activists. Antifa recruits, trains, and radicalizes young Americans to engage in this violence and suppression of political activity, then employs elaborate means and mechanisms to shield the identities of its operatives, conceal its funding sources and operations in an effort to frustrate law enforcement, and recruit additional members. Individuals associated with and acting on behalf of Antifa further coordinate with other organizations and entities for the purpose of spreading, fomenting, and advancing political violence and suppressing lawful political speech. This organized effort designed to achieve policy objectives by coercion and intimidation is domestic terrorism.
Sec. 2. Designation as a Domestic Terrorist Organization. Because of the aforementioned pattern of political violence designed to suppress lawful political activity and obstruct the rule of law, I hereby designate Antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization.” All relevant executive departments and agencies shall utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations –especially those involving terrorist actions — conducted by Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa, or for which Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa provided material support, including necessary investigatory and prosecutorial actions against those who fund such operations. Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
(b) This order shall be published in the Federal Register.
DONALD J. TRUMP
THE WHITE HOUSE,
September 22, 2025.
