U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert has introduced a resolution to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization.
If passed, the resolution would designate Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, condemn all violence committed by the organization and its members, and require the federal government “to combat the spread of all forms of domestic terrorism.”
“Antifa, and the Democrats who support it, are enemies of the American people,” Boebert said in a news release.
The resolution, introduced March 26, lists incidents from 2020 and 2021 in which Antifa was associated with violent acts, including many accounts of violence in Portland, Oregon. It also notes that in 2016 the Department of Homeland Security under the Obama administration labeled Antifa efforts as “domestic terrorist violence.”
“Even the Obama administration classified Antifa efforts as ‘domestic terrorist violence,’” Boebert said in a March 27 tweet. “Now the Biden administration is pretending that Antifa is a myth. It’s time to hold Antifa accountable.”
Eleven other Republican representatives, including U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.; Randy Weber, R-Texas; and Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, co-sponsored the resolution.
Antifa is a left-wing, anti-fascist and anti-racist political protest movement that is made up of multiple different groups. Many Black Lives Matter protests that turned violent last summer were believed to have been orchestrated by Antifa.
“As the left discusses political violence this week, let’s not forget the violence of BLM and Antifa that happened for months on end this summer,” Boebert said in a Feb. 11 tweet referencing former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial concerning the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Boebert’s outspoken disdain for Antifa has also included criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris.
“When an organization targets the home of a sitting U.S. senator, burns down cities across the country and murders Americans because of their political beliefs, it would normally be designated a terrorist organization,” Boebert said in a news release. “Instead, Democrats like Kamala Harris fundraise to bail them out of prison.”
In June 2020, Harris posted a tweet in which she promoted the Minnesota Freedom Fund, an organization in Minneapolis that raises money to pay for people’s bail while they await trial.
“If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota,” Harris said in a tweet.
The tweet was posted while Black Lives Matter protests popped up across the U.S. in reaction to the death of George Floyd, who was suffocated to death by a Minneapolis police officer. Many protesters were arrested.
Boebert’s legislation is similar to a resolution introduced in 2019 by Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., which named specific acts of violence from 2017, 2018 and 2019 committed by individuals and groups associated with Antifa.
Green’s resolution was introduced in August 2019 but was never voted on. Green is not a co-signer of Boebert’s resolution.
No date has been given to discuss Boebert’s bill, but in a Democrat-controlled House, it is unlikely the resolution will receive much attention.
Grace George is an intern for The Durango Herald and The Journal in Cortez and a student at American University in Washington, D.C.
