Here we have a presidential declaration that legally means little but politically means a lot.
NBC News, June 3, 2020
As aggressive protests sweep the country, President Donald Trump answered calls for action with, rather predictably, a tweet: “The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization,” he wrote Sunday.
The word “antifa” refers to a loose collective of militant anti-fascist protesters. You find them often at far-right rallies or standing in solidarity with those protesting the death of George Floyd. But among Trump’s base, antifa inspires a great deal of fear and revulsion.
Put those two things together and you get a declaration that legally means little but politically means a lot — and, ultimately, will likely put some people in danger, all while inflaming existing political and cultural divides at a pivotal moment. Already, we are seeing some of this, with rumors about fake antifa activity proliferating on social media, with no evidence. In at least one case, a fake post was actually created by a white nationalist group for the express purpose of sowing discord and paranoia.
