Antifa’s designation as a domestic terrorist group will help federal agents examine its networks, the FBI director said.
The FBI’s progress in obtaining intelligence on Antifa and tracing its financial networks has been boosted after the organization was labelled a domestic terror group, according to the agency’s director, Kash Patel.
“We are following the money and mapping out this entire network,” Patel told The Epoch Times’ senior editor Jan Jekielek.
“I think [at] the turn of the new year, you’re going to see some very righteous prosecutions and investigations being publicized,” Patel said in the exclusive interview, airing on EpochTV at 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 29.
Patel called the designation a “brilliant move” by President Donald Trump that gives the FBI tools similar to those available under a foreign terrorist designation.
In an executive order issued on Sept. 22, Trump designated Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, attributing political violence to the group. The order described Antifa as a “militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law.”
“It uses illegal means to organize and execute a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide to accomplish these goals,” the order stated.
The designation enabled enhanced intelligence capabilities, making it easier for the FBI to connect the dots across networks. These capabilities also enable federal investigators to work with the Treasury Department and leverage the banking sector to trace Antifa’s financial ties, Patel said.
Patel noted ongoing investigations and prosecutions related to Antifa’s actions in Portland, stating, “We’re treating them as a terrorist organization and mapping out their financial activities.”
Patel said that Antifa was responsible for the Prairieland attack outside a Texas immigration detention center this July. During this incident, an Alvarado police officer was shot in the neck and later discharged from the hospital.
Authorities have charged at least a dozen individuals involved in the shooting outside the Texas ICE detention center with terrorism-related offenses.
Federal prosecutors in Texas subsequently charged six more individuals with terrorism-related offenses for allegedly supporting Antifa, while six other defendants are expected to enter guilty pleas. Other charges include rioting, attempted murder, and weapons and explosives charges.
