President Donald Trump has repeatedly cited antifa as a destructive menace responsible for all violence that's taken place during anti-police brutality demonstrations across the United States.
However, an internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by the Washington Post's Greg Sargent shows that there is no mention of antifa in the agency's assessment of the biggest "protest-related" threats to law enforcement officials.
Instead, the document lists anti-government demonstrators who tend to fall on the right-wing side of the spectrum, as well as anarchist demonstrators who are more left wing.
Even though there could be overlap between anarchists and antifa, Sargent notes that "antifa isn’t even a group, and adherents are characterized by specific resistance to perceived neo-fascist movements," not necessarily a broader desire to bring down American capitalism.
“This document shows that the government itself does not view antifa as a significant threat in the homeland,” Juliette Kayyem, a former DHS official, tells Sargent.
Kayyem also said that document made the Trump campaign's constant fear mongering about antifa look "absurd."
Read the whole report here.
