The United States will be designating left-wing militant movement Antifa as a terrorist organization, President Donald Trump announced.
President Trump made the statement on Twitter following tweets that accused the movement of perpetrating violence during protests over the killing of Mr George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn.
“Congratulations to our National Guard for the great job they did immediately upon arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last night,” Trump stated.
“The ANTIFA led anarchists, among others, were shut down quickly. Should have been done by Mayor on first night and there would have been no trouble!”
His announcement comes amid a surge in violence across American cities on Saturday night.
Several of the protests, which initially started out peaceful, erupted into clashes that have injured many and left both police property and private businesses destroyed.
In an attempt to stop the violence several states have mobilised their national guards.
U.S. government officials have since pointed the finger at a flood of outsiders as being the source of some of the widespread rioting.
Those officials, however have been differing in their assessment of who to blame, accusing either left-wing extremists or far-right white nationalists of being the source of the violence.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Saturday, told reporters that white supremacists were coming from outside to take advantage of the chaos.
The state’s commissioner of public safety, John Harrington also stated that there were reports of white supremacists.
“But I cannot say that we have confirmed observations of local law enforcement to say that we’ve seen cells of white supremacists in the area,” he said.
Federal officials on the other hand have pointed at far-left extremist organizations, with President Trump alleging the that the violence was being led by Antifa and other radical groups.
Antifa, which is short for anti-fascists, comprises several activist groups in the United States that have been known to use direct action or physical violence to resist white supremacists or neo-Nazis at demonstrations.
Many were also quick to point out that the United States could only classify foreign entities as terrorist organizations.
The United States does not yet have a domestic terrorism law, meaning that there is no legal mechanism in place for the president to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization.
White supremacist groups operating in the United States, such as the KKK, have not been designated as terrorist organizations.
In a statement on Sunday, addressing both Floyd’s death and the resulting riots, U.S. Attorney General William Barr accused violent radical elements of hijacking the peaceful protests, specifically naming Antifa.
“Groups of outside radicals and agitators are exploiting the situation to pursue their own separate and violent agenda,” he stated.
“In many places, it appears the violence is planned, organized, and driven by anarchistic and far left extremists, using Antifa-like tactics, many of whom travel from out of state to promote the violence.”
“In that regard, it is a federal crime to cross state lines or to use interstate facilities to incite or participate in violent rioting. We will enforce these laws.”