The Rise of Antifa

The inauguration of President Donald Trump kicked off a wave of political protests across the country, many escalating into violence. Charlottesville, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; Portland, Oregon; Berkeley, California, and scores of other American cities reverberated with the sounds of angry protesters and explosive dispersants.

While most opponents of white nationalists are part of progressive movements that contrast their peacefulness and inclusiveness with the racism of neo-Nazis and other extremists, the anti-fascist militia known as Antifa adopts some of the same styles and attitudes of extreme far-right movements.

Its aim, according to Dartmouth professor Mark Ray, who has studied it, is to forcibly repress all forms of hate speech, denying a platform to white nationalist groups. But its own belligerence alarms the FBI and other law enforcement officials.

At two separate rallies in Berkeley, Antifa members engaged in violence while seeking to counter “free speech” rallies organized by far-right groups.

Few among the anti-fascist movement give open interviews to media organizations. Journalists themselves have been attacked amid chaotic scenes of violent outbursts. When the cameras face anti-fascists, the typical response is a crude gesture or suggested shout to photograph the police instead.

In one harrowing encounter, Antifa protesters struck an elderly Trump supporter with signs labeled “No Hate.” Al Letson, the host of the investigative radio program and podcast Reveal, who was also there to record the actions of the far right, leapt to the Trump supporter’s defense, shielding him with his body and pleading with Antifa protesters to stop beating the man. They complied and allowed the man to get to his feet and leave the area.

“I just put my body down on top of his, in the hopes that they would not hit me,” Letson would later tell NPR. The man who was beaten, Keith Campbell, told reporters that Letson “saved my life.”

As police stepped up enforcement of park rules, a protester named Yesenia Mendez was detained after allegedly throwing an object toward police, according to the East Bay Times. Her screams drew a crowd. Meanwhile, officers struggled to muzzle and detain Mendez’s service dog, while Mendez refused to relinquish the leash. POLITICO confirmed with local police that the animal was not injured during the arrest.

Supporters of the alt-right agenda are already planning more events for 2018. Law enforcement officials and campus administrators fear that more incidents of mass violence are likely to result, as Antifa fulfills its vow to show up at all such rallies. The fear is even greater in states with laws allowing the open carry of guns, such as Arizona. At a Trump rally in Phoenix last August, protesters and supporters of Trump alike could be seen carrying military-style long rifles.