President Donald Trump took to Twitter last week to announce that the United States is gearing up to label Antifa (anti-fascists) a terrorist organization. It is worth mentioning here that the US government is not legally authorized to classify a fully domestic group as it can currently label foreign terrorist organizations.

According to both current, as well as former government officials, it would not be constitutional for the US government to outlaw activity protected under the First Amendment, particularly because it is taking place inside the country and is based on simple ideology. US law understandably allows terrorists labeling for foreign groups as they are not First Amendment-protected activities.

According to CNN, Antifa comprises a wide range of people with political beliefs leaning towards the left, usually the far left. These people are not guided by the Democratic Party platform. The position acquired by this movement isn't easy to define, but it is worth noting that many of its members are oppressed populations supporters and are against other elites and companies accumulating wealth. They often adopt militant or radical tactics to convey their messages.

The problem with Trump's claims is that Antifa is unstructured, meaning, it does not have a central leadership; however, some local activists have displayed highly organized natures as per federal law enforcement officials.  As a result, US law enforcement is finding it hard to deal with violence triggered by the members of these groups that tout themselves as Antifa.

The president's decision to label Antifa terrorist comes as Attorney General Bill Barr accused the far-left groups of causing several violent protests across the nation.

In an interview with CNN, Federal law enforcement officials said they are aware of external groups that have caused violence and property destruction while hiding under the cover of the legitimate protests in Minneapolis.

These outside extremist groups comprise anarchists, along with far-left extremists, white supremacists, and others with overlapping affiliations. On May 31, the Justice Department ordered to employ Joint Terrorism Task Forces around the nation in a bid to determine who were behind the violence in major cities. This order singles out leftist Antifa activity, although US law enforcement officials suggest the involvement of both the extremist left and right in the riots and attacks on police.

Trump and Barr's targeting left-leaning groups do not coincide with US law enforcement warnings that tout the rise of white supremacist groups as the most disturbing domestic terrorism challenge. FBI Director Christopher Wray has expressed concerns regarding the rise of white supremacist activity that triggers domestic terror threats that in most cases exceed threats from foreign terrorist groups.