Kristi Noem Compares Antifa to MS-13, the Palestinian Militant Group, Hezbollah and Islamic State
During a White House roundtable discussion, the homeland security secretary this week likened the loose network of antifascist activists to MS-13, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic State, describing the loosely affiliated protesters “equally threatening” as designated terrorist organizations.
“They are just as sophisticated as MS-13, as the Tren de Aragua, as the Islamic State, as the Lebanese militia, as the Palestinian faction, each one of these, they are just as dangerous,” Noem said. “Their goal is to dismantle our society, similar to other extremist groups we’ve dealt with for decades.”
The roundtable featured rightwing social media journalists such as several prominent commentators and others who cover anti-fascist demonstrations.
Some of the groups mentioned by the secretary – the Palestinian, Lebanese, and jihadist factions – are formally designated terrorist organizations that control territory, operate military wings, maintain command structures and have executed mass casualty attacks such as bombings, kidnappings and assassinations.
Extremism experts have frequently characterized the anti-fascist movement, by contrast, as lacking a central command, official membership or organizational structure, and it has often been portrayed by national authorities as a decentralized movement of campaigners who engage in protest activity, some of which has included property destruction and public clashes.
This meeting follows an executive order signed in September classifying anti-fascist activists as a “domestic terrorist organization”.
Shortly prior to the declaration, Joe Biggs previously convicted and later pardoned for his actions during the Capitol events wrote on social media: “Who’s ready to go ANTIFA hunting? Since I am acquainted with several individuals.”
