Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security asked a simple question yesterday during a congressional hearing: which domestic organizations does the FBI consider the top threats to the country right now?
Michael Glasheen, who oversees national security for the FBI, didn’t name the groups or networks with an actual documented history of violence. He didn’t mention rogue militias, ISIS, white supremacist organizations, or any of the organizations who have shown they can coordinate mass casualty or lone-wolf terrorist attacks.
Instead, he went straight to Antifa.
His entire rationale rested on Trump’s executive order from September, the same one Thompson actually criticized for having no legal basis. Thompson said back in September that labeling Antifa a domestic terrorist organization “serves no purpose other than to stifle dissent,” giving the administration a way to target anyone they don’t like as a potential threat.
Yet when Thompson pressed Glasheen for details on this particular risk to domestic security, everything immediately fell apart. Where is Antifa headquartered? How many members? What data supports calling it the “most immediate violent threat”? Glasheen had nothing, saying: “We are building out the infrastructure right now.” In short, he couldn’t answer the question because there’s not an actual threat to address. When asked for numbers, he ducked behind the smokescreen of “active investigations.”
Thompson eventually asked the only question left worth asking: “So you would come to this committee and say something you can’t prove?”
That’s the whole story. The administration framed a political perspective as an actually terrorist group and now federal officials have to threat this like it’s real threat. There’s no law in place that actually allows for a domestic group to be labeled a “terrorist organization.” That power resides with the State Department for organizations and individuals operating abroad. In the case of Antifa (or whatever they mean by this) there’s no organization to point to: no centralized command structure, no active membership, no prevailing ideology. There’s just a talking point that keeps getting repated to suppress political dissent.
For those who don’t know, Antifa simply means anti-fascism. The idea goes back to the 1920s, when dictator Benito Mussolini tightened his grip on Italy and anti-fascist movements rose in response. By the time the Second World War was ravaging Europe, anti-fascism wasn’t a fringe movement, it was America’s guiding purpose. Fighting fascism was so central to national identity that entire generations grew up treating it as a moral baseline.
Glasheen knows this, which is why yesterday’s Homeland Security Committee hearing landed exactly the way it did.
Richmond’s been here before. From the actual white nationalist terror attack in Charlottesville in 2017, to the racial justice protests of 2020, to student organizers over their support for Gaza. Any time there’s a “threat” to public order, some version of this fear mongering gets rolled out. The difference now is that it’s being directed with the full force of the federal government.
Meanwhile, the people and groups who stormed the Capitol on January 6th or march under banners of white supremacy get handled carefully, almost respectfully. This is how misdirection works. Take an idea; inflate that idea into a structure, then point to that invention whenever it is convenient for politics to conjure up a threat in the name of “law and order.”
It shifts the public’s focus away from what the actual underlying issues are. In this case, the failed policies of Trump’s MAGA agenda. Richmond has seen these strategies and tactic for years. Keep spotlighting the wrong threat long enough, and people forget to look for the right one.
Photo by Tyler Merbler from January 6 United States Capitol attack Wiki entry
Support RVA Magazine. Support Independent Media in Richmond.
At a time when media ownership is increasingly concentrated among corporations and the wealthy, RVA Magazine has remained one of Richmond’s few independent voices. Since 2005, the magazine has provided grassroots coverage of the city’s artists, musicians, and communities, documenting the culture that defines Richmond beyond the headlines.
But we can’t do this without you. A small donation, even as little as $2, one-time or recurring, helps us continue to produce honest, local coverage free from outside interference. Every dollar makes a difference. Your support keeps us going and keeps RVA’s creative spirit alive. Thank you for standing with independent media. DONATE HERE.
We’ve got merch HERE
Subscribe to the Substack HERE
And Reddit HERE
And YouTube HERE
