By Sophie Perry

Copyright thepinknews

US president Donald Trump has vowed to designate Antifa a “major terrorist organisation”, despite the fact that the term doesn’t apply to any specific group.

“I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.

“I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Antifa, short for anti-fascist, is not a singular, specific organisation but instead refers to a broad movement of left-leaning organisations and grassroots groups which oppose fascism and far-right ideology including white supremacy and neo-Nazism.

The Anti-Defamation League states the label Antifa is “often misapplied to include all counter-protesters” and “persistent disinformation campaigns have dramatically affected the public perception” of the movement.

Trump recently told reporters during a press conference in the Oval Office that he would label the movement terrorist if the move had support from other top officials in his administration.

“It’s something I would do, yeah,” the president said. “I would do that 100%. Antifa is terrible.”

Trump’s announcement comes days after an unnamed government official said the administration was putting together an executive order on political violence and hate speech in the wake of the death of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

Kirk, 31, known for his gun rights advocacy and anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs, was shot in the neck during an open-air debate event at Utah Valley University in Orem last week. He was rushed to hospital but later died of his injuries.

After a huge manhunt, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was arrested for Kirk’s killing. He faces seven charges, including aggravated murder, which can carry the death penalty in Utah.

Trump and other right-wing allies have criticised left-leaning groups and activists, claiming their rhetoric contributed to Kirk’s death.

According to the official, as cited by Reuters, the new executive order is still being worked on by Trump’s top advisers and could be shared later this week.

Back in January, when Trump returned to the White House for a second term, he signed an executive order aiming to “secure the right of the American people to engage in constitutionally protected speech”.

The order, entitled ‘RESTORING FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND ENDING FEDERAL CENSORSHIP’, reads: “The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, an amendment essential to the success of our Republic, enshrines the right of the American people to speak freely in the public square without Government interference.

“Over the last 4 years, the previous administration trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans’ speech on online platforms, often by exerting substantial coercive pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to moderate, deplatform, or otherwise suppress speech that the Federal Government did not approve.

“Under the guise of combatting “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “malinformation,” the Federal Government infringed on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the United States in a manner that advanced the Government’s preferred narrative about significant matters of public debate.

“Government censorship of speech is intolerable in a free society.”

It is unclear how the new executive order, if it is indeed being worked on, would fit in with this previous order and the freedoms protected by the First Amendment.