Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Political leaders in the Netherlands and Hungary are backing proposals to designate Antifa as a terrorist group after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he would take such an action in the United States.
“Dutch Parliament votes in favour of my party’s proposition to declare Antifa a terrorist organization,” Thierry Baudet, founder of the Forum voor Democratie (FvD) party, said in a Sept. 19 X post.
“Enough is enough! The violent and criminal terrorist organisation that is Antifa, with chapters all over the world, will finally be OUTLAWED in the Netherlands. This is just the beginning.”
In a Sept. 19 X post, Member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, posted a request that was filed at the Netherlands’ House of Representatives to designate Antifa as a terror outfit in the country.
The request said the United States has already decided on such a designation and warned the group’s cells “are also active in our country, which regularly engage in bad language, make threats, intimidate city dwellers and journalists, and do not shy away from using violence.”
Zoltan Kovacs, Hungary’s State Secretary for International Communication and Relations, on Sept. 19 posted a video clip on X featuring the country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban saying he wants Antifa to be designated as a terror group.
“I was pleased with the U.S. president’s decision and I will take the initiative to do the same here in Hungary,” Orban said. “Antifa is a terrorist organization. They have come to Hungary, beaten peaceful people in the streets, beaten some half to death, and then gone to become MEPs, and from there they lecture Hungary on the rule of law.” MEP refers to a Member of the European Parliament. He did not explicitly identify any MEP’s Antifa affiliation in the video.
“The time has also come in Hungary for organizations like Antifa to be classified as terrorist organizations, following the American example,” Orban said.
During a White House news conference on Sept. 15, Trump was asked about U.S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s assassination and whether he would designate Antifa as a terror outfit.
“It’s something I would do, yeah, if I have support from the people back here,” Trump said, referring to officials standing behind him, including Attorney General Pam Bondi. “I would do that 100 percent,” he said, adding that “Antifa is terrible.”
Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the assassination, is said to have followed leftist ideologies during recent years, according to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and FBI Director Kash Patel.
In a Sept. 18 Truth Social post, Trump doubled down on his stance.
“I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating Antifa, a sick, dangerous, radical left disaster, as a major terrorist organization. I will also be strongly recommending that those funding Antifa be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices,” the president wrote, partially in capital letters.
When Trump met with Britain’s royal family at Windsor Castle on Sept. 17, Antifa members gathered outside the castle, chanting “Charlie’s in a box.”
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers announced plans to introduce the No Political Enemies (NOPE) Act to counter what they alleged was the administration’s attack on free speech, according to a Sept. 18 statement from Rep. Chrissy Houlahan’s (D-Pa.) office.
“The announcement follows threats from President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and White House Senior Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller to use the tragic shooting of Charlie Kirk as justification to weaponize the federal government to go after left-leaning individuals and organizations that don’t align with Trump’s political agenda,” said the statement.
“This bill would reaffirm the constitutionally protected right to free speech and establish clear and enforceable protections to deter abuse, empower individuals and organizations to defend themselves, and create meaningful accountability.”
In January, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) introduced a House Resolution aiming to designate Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.
The bill calls on the Department of Justice to “use all available tools and resources” to combat the spread of domestic terrorism committed by Antifa. The measure has been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Trump had previously raised the idea of categorizing Antifa as a terror outfit back in 2020. According to former Attorney General William Barr, Antifa was present in some of the violent protests that followed the death of George Floyd.
Historically, Antifa began as a part of the Soviet Union’s front operations to bring about communist dictatorship in Germany.
One of the distinctive operational modes of the organization, then, as now, has been to label all rival parties as “fascist.”
The group works in a decentralized and covert format, often advocating extreme violence and anarchy.