Attorney General William Barr declared that the violence being “instigated and carried out” by “antifa and other similar groups” in connection to nationwide rioting is “domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly.”
“With the rioting that is occurring in many of our cities around the country, the voices of peaceful and legitimate protests have been hijacked by violent radical elements,” he said in a Sunday statement. “Groups of outside radicals and agitators are exploiting the situation to pursue their own separate, violent, and extremist agenda.”
George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed black man, died in police custody last week after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinned him down by placing a knee on the back of his neck for several minutes. Footage of the incident set off a wave of outrage, leading to protests in major cities across the nation, some of which became violent as some protesters rioted, looted stores, destroyed property, burned buildings, and clashed with police.
Chauvin is facing charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter, but Floyd’s family believes the charges should be upgraded to first-degree murder because there may have been “intent.”
Earlier on Sunday, President Trump tweeted that “the United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.” Antifa, which claims to be anti-fascist, is an often-violent activist group whose masked supporters protest law enforcement and work to promote left-wing policies. Antifa was declared a terrorist organization by the New Jersey Homeland Security office in 2017.
Barr said on Saturday, it appears that “many places” across the United States are seeing violent protests spurred by “anarchic” and “far-left extremist groups.” He said these agitators are using “antifa-like tactics” and that many of them are traveling from out of state to participate in the protests. He also noted that such people could be committing federal crimes and asserted that authorities will be enforcing the law.
The attorney general said Sunday that “it is time to stop watching the violence and to confront and stop it” and that “federal law enforcement actions will be directed at apprehending and charging the violent radical agitators who have hijacked peaceful protest and are engaged in violations of federal law.” He added that the Justice Department would be using its network of 56 regional FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces to “identify criminal organizers and instigators” as the DOJ works with states and cities.
“The continued violence and destruction of property endangers the lives and livelihoods of others, and interferes with the rights of peaceful protestors, as well as all other citizens,” Barr said. “It also undercuts the urgent work that needs to be done _ through constructive engagement between affected communities and law enforcement leaders — to address legitimate grievances. Preventing reconciliation and driving us apart is the goal of these radical groups, and we cannot let them succeed.”
The National Guard Bureau announced Sunday that approximately 5,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen had been activated in response to civil disturbances in 15 states — Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin — and the District of Columbia, with another 2,000 prepared to activate if necessary.
Barr said that “it is the responsibility of state and local leaders to ensure that adequate law enforcement resources, including the National Guard where necessary, are deployed on the streets to reestablish law and order.” He added, “We saw this finally happen in Minneapolis last night, and it worked.”
The attorney general emphasized over the weekend that “already initial charges have been filed by the state” against Chauvin as he promised that “justice will be served.” The FBI and Justice Department are carrying out a separate investigation into whether the Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd’s death violated any federal civil rights laws.
Chauvin and three other officers involved in Floyd’s detainment were fired this week, and since then, large and often violent protests have broken out in Minneapolis, St. Paul, New York City, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Dallas, and dozens of other cities.
