The Homeland Security Secretary Equates Antifa to Mara Salvatrucha, the Palestinian Militant Group, the Lebanese Faction and ISIS

At a White House policy meeting, Kristi Noem on Wednesday likened the loose network of antifascist activists to MS-13, the Gaza-based organization, Hezbollah and ISIS, describing the decentralized protesters “just as dangerous” as officially recognized terror groups.

“They are just as sophisticated as MS-13, as TDA [Tren de Aragua], as the Islamic State, as the Lebanese militia, as the Palestinian faction, as all of them, they are just as dangerous,” the secretary stated. “Their goal is to dismantle our society, similar to other extremist groups we have confronted for many, many years.”

The roundtable featured rightwing social media journalists such as Andy Ngo, Nick Sortor, Katie Daviscourt and others who report on antifa protests.

Some of the groups mentioned by the secretary – the Palestinian, Lebanese, and jihadist factions – are officially classified as terror groups that hold land, operate military wings, have hierarchical leadership and have executed mass casualty attacks including explosions, kidnappings and targeted killings.

Extremism experts have long described antifa, in comparison, as lacking a central command, formal membership or structured hierarchy, and it has generally been described by national authorities as a decentralized movement of campaigners who engage in protest activity, some of which has included property destruction and public clashes.

This meeting follows an executive order issued in September designating anti-fascist activists as a “homegrown terror group”.

Days before the announcement, Joe Biggs who was convicted and then pardoned for his actions during the Capitol events wrote on social media: “Who’s ready to go ANTIFA hunting? Because I know a few guys.”