Smashing property, burning flags and chanting “Black Lives Matter” – protestors and activists triggered by the death of George Floyd have choked the streets of the United States and Europe as of late.
What started out as peaceful protests has descended into rioting and looting. Branded stores including Target and Macy’s and non-branded retailers alike have fallen victim to vandalism and looting.
► READ: Iconic New York Macy’s Looted in Chaotic Night of Smash-and-Grab Thefts
Recently, several reports suggest that there is a coordinated effort in sowing hatred and creating the chaos that we see now.
In particular, U.S. federal officials including President Donald Trump have pointed to Antifa for exploiting the protests for their own agenda.
Since Trump’s presidential election victory in 2016, left-wing protests and radical movements in the United States have sky-rocketed.
A Project Veritas video in January showed Bernie Sanders’ supporters and staffer warning of major unrest and violence should Trump win a second term.
While peaceful protests over the death of George Floyd took a turn and escalated overnight into street violence, many felt that the unrest was no mere coincidence in the lead-up to this year’s presidential election.
Trump accused Antifa of inciting violence at street protests, prompting major cities to impose curfews. The president has since called for the designation of Antifa as a terrorist organisation.
► READ: Trump Says Antifa to Be Designated a Terrorist Organization
► READ: Antifa, Other Far-Left Groups Exploit Protests for ‘Revolution’
What is Antifa?
Although short for “anti-fascism”, Antifa is not what you think it is.
According to Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), when Antifa members speak of “fascism”, they actually are referring to “capitalism”.
A common tactic used by Antifa members to silence who they perceive to be ideological enemies is to smear them as fascists, Nazis, and racists.
An earlier report by The Epoch Times on Autonome Antifa and German booklet ‘80 Years Of Antifa Action’ traced Antifa to the 1921 Third International, also known as the Communist International, an international organization that advocated for global communism.
Founded in the 1930s, Antifa has gained prominence in Europe and the United States. The group comprises mostly youth, who advocate violence and radical far-left ideologies. Antifa in Italy and Spain are also known to unreservedly advocate communism.
► READ: The Communist Origins of the Antifa Extremist Group
Who’s Backing Antifa?
Who bails out Antifa members, offers them free legal representation and supports their protests? The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) – Antifa’s ‘legal arm’ with historical links to the Communist Party of the United States.
The guild is funded by philanthropists, such as the Ford Foundation and billionaire investor George Soros, who was accused in a 100,000 signature petition in 2017 of using radical terrorism strategies to destabilise social order in the US.
Formed by thousands of far-left lawyers in over 150 chapters across the US, NLG openly coordinates legal proceedings and public activities that support Antifa. Contact information and helplines of NLG lawyers often appear on Antifa’s website and social media.
“Legal Bastion of the Communist Party”
Discover the Networks, a website run by the David Horowitz Freedom Centre that maintains records and data on leftists in academia, politics and the media, said NLG members spied for the Soviet Union in the 1940s to 1950s.
The House of Representatives of the American Activities Committee called NLG the “legal bastion of the Communist Party”.
In the 1970s, NLG advocated for communist activities such as the Black Panther Party revolution, the American Indian Movement and the Puerto Rican Independence Movement.
NLG advocates a “militant and direct confrontational” and “human rights over property rights” operation, exhibited by Antifa members in ruining properties and attacking people during riots.
Last year, 15 Antifa members blatantly assaulted Vietnamese reporter, Andy Ngo, on the streets of Portland, Oregon when he reported Antifa in the news. Only two members of the group were prosecuted, as a result of NLG’s influence.
The NLG often prosecutes the police and leads the so-called Legal Observer campaign, during which hundreds of volunteers monitor the police during Antifa protests to safeguard “participants’ rights”.
NLG would offer free legal counsel to the arrested participants, but would turn a blind eye to conservative activists who face the same situation.
