President Donald Trump is stepping up his fight against free speech following the assassination of Charlie Kirk with an unexpected and unusual move to designate “AntiFa” as a terrorist organisation. AntiFa is a shortened term for “Anti-Fascist” and a popular term used to describe a political ideology, however there is no specific group that is called “AntiFa”.
A historical organisation in Europe that has traditionally been known as an “AntiFa” organisation is the Unite Against Fascism (UAF) organisation in the UK which was originally the Anti-Nazi League and formed in 1977. There is no historical equivalent in the US. Organisations which may have similar views withย the UK’s UAF in the US include the Anti-Defamation League and Anti-Racist Action.
Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, President Trump said that he will go after the “extreme left” and his Attorney-General said that the government will clamp down on hate speech. The clampdown on left-wing groups has also been announced by the President’s Vice-Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel was fired from his show on the ABC network after joking about President’s Trump reaction to Charlie Kirk’s murder. Jimmy Kimmel was also accused of lying by pro-Republican commentators when he said that Charlie Kirk’s murderer suspect was “one of their own”, implying that Tyler Robinson was a Republican. Tyler Robinson did indeed have a right-wing and Republican background via his family and upbringing but there has been no publicly verified information about his views and intentions.
An article by the Rolling Stone published statements by the network’s executives saying that Kimmel’s comments didn’t offended them, but feared retribution by President Trump.
Newsroom
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