Image copyright
Getty Images
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed Antifa for rioting amid George Floyd protests
The US will designate the anti-fascist group Antifa a terrorist organisation, President Donald Trump says.
The president accused Antifa of starting riots that stemmed from protests over George Floyd’s death.
Mr Floyd, a black man, died in police custody earlier this week, reigniting anger at police treatment of African-Americans.
Protests over his death have turned violent, prompting major cities to impose curfews.
On Saturday, Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz suggested that foreign influences, white supremacists and drug cartels were behind the violence, giving few other details.
On Twitter Mr Trump blamed “Antifa-led anarchists” and “Radical Left Anarchists” for the unrest, again without providing more specifics.
What is Antifa?
Antifa – short for anti-fascist or Anti-Fascist action – is a protest movement that strongly opposes neo-Nazis, fascism, white supremacists and racism.
Most members oppose all forms of racism and sexism, and strongly oppose what they see as the nationalist, anti-immigration and anti-Muslim policies that Mr Trump has enacted.
Anti-government and anti-capitalist, Antifa’s members are often perceived as more closely aligned with anarchists than the mainstream left.
The movement gained new prominence in the US for its role in confronting white supremacists at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
Media playback is unsupported on your device