Trump says he would support designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization

President Donald Trump said he is open to designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization and blamed left-wing radicalization when asked about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Asked by a reporter at the White House on Monday if he planned to designate Antifa, Trump said: “Well it’s something I would do. I would do that a 100% and others also by the way, Antifa is terrible.

“There are other groups, we have some pretty radical groups and they got away with murder,” Trump added. “I’ve been speaking to the Attorney General about bringing RICO against some of the people you’ve been reading about that have been putting millions and millions of dollars for agitation.”

Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” is generally described by experts as a loose movement rather than a formal organization, with no central leadership or structure.

Trump was also asked if the FBI is investigating whether left-wing organizations were involved in Kirk’s killing and whether the suspect acted alone.

“I don’t know, he didn’t work alone on the internet because it seems he became radicalized over the internet,” Trump said. “Looks like he was radicalized on the left, he is a left, a lot of problems with the left, and they get protected, they shouldn’t get protected.”

Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated on Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He was struck by a gunshot to the neck from a sniper on a nearby rooftop. Utah Governor Spencer Cox described the incident as a “political assassination.”

Authorities launched a manhunt and arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. Robinson is being held without bail on charges including aggravated murder. Officials said he was identified after confessing to a relative.