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REMEMBER THE RIOTS? Pt. 2. Yesterday’s memo was about the persistence of civil unrest in Portland, Seattle, and other cities — even though media attention has moved on to other things. Much of the agitation is the work of the violent extremist group Antifa. But Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden refuses to recognize that Antifa exists as anything other than an “idea.”
“Antifa is an idea, and not an organization,” Biden declared at last week’s debate with President Trump. “That’s what his FBI director said.” Given Biden’s claim, it’s worth looking at what the FBI director, Christopher Wray, actually said about Antifa.
Biden was referring to testimony Wray gave on September 17 before the House Homeland Security Committee. In response to questioning by the chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, Wray referred to “anarchist violent extremists, people who subscribe to Antifa or other ideologies…” To that, Thompson quickly responded, “If I’m hearing you correctly, you’re saying that [Antifa] is really not an organization so much as it is ideology.”
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“We look at Antifa as more of an ideology or a movement than an organization,” Wray said. “To be clear, we do have quite a number of properly-predicated domestic terrorism investigations into violent anarchist extremists, any number of whom self identify with the Antifa movement.”
Antifa is a “real thing,” Wray said, but “it’s not an organization or structure.” But then Wray repeated that the FBI has opened “quite a number” of probes this year into “violent anarchist extremists who self-identify with Antifa.” By “self-identify,” Wray explained, he meant that the suspects literally say, “I am Antifa.” On four occasions, he referred to “the Antifa movement.” And then: “When I make comments about movements and ideologies, I want to be very clear that I’m in no way minimizing the seriousness of the criminal conduct and the violence that we’re investigating.”
Then Wray seemed to expand his own definition. “We have seen individuals…identified with the Antifa movement coalescing regionally into what you might describe as small groups or nodes. And we are actively investigating the potential violence from those regional nodes.” In addition, Wray said the FBI is investigation “the source of funding, the source of supply” for such activity.
So how to best refer to Antifa, at least by Wray’s standard? Well, it’s certainly not an “idea.” Wray never called Antifa an “idea.” Probably the best thing to call it would be the “Antifa movement,” although it is a movement that is “coalescing” into groups in some places. As National Review noted, “No, there is no headquarters campus of the National Association of Antifa and they don’t have a set membership list, ranks, branch offices, website, human-resources department, and a 401(k) plan.” But they are real, they are violent, they have money, and they are organizing.
And that is the point Trump was making in the debate when he said, “When a bat hits you over the head, it’s not an idea. Antifa is a dangerous radical group.” And indeed, in Portland, Seattle, and elsewhere, Antifa adherents are setting fires, attacking police, destroying property, and getting arrested while possessing all sorts of weapons. So if someone denies that Antifa is an organization, just call it a violent movement that is “coalescing” into regional groups. And then point out the latest violence from Portland — there’s sure to be some — and note that it’s not an “idea.”
