FBI Labels Anti-Fascists and Anti-Racists as Violent Extremists

A recently released Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) document titled “Domestic Terrorism Symbols Guide”* links common protest symbols to “terrorism” — another marker in a common theme of conflating militant protest for social justice with deadly terrorist violence within the United States. Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Brennan Center have raised warnings about such documents, citing inadequate protections for people’s constitutional rights.

YoBuckStopsHere,
@YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world avatar

So, being pro-democracy means you are a Violent Extremist?

EatYouWell,

It does to the people trying to burn that democracy to the ground.

cuck4mai,
@cuck4mai@lemmynsfw.com avatar

Who are also employed all throughout our government and police forces.

21Cabbage,

Bbbbbbbut the REAL Americans only vote for OUR people. -Corpratists that don’t realize that’s what they are.

EatYouWell,

I have no idea what point you’re trying to prove, but I’m certain you’re mistaken.

captainlezbian,

Sometimes yes. Authoritarians sometimes refuse to cede without violence. The FBI appears to have taken that position

Zorque,

Being violent doesn't mean being an extremist, though. Especially if they are opposing authoritarians.

captainlezbian,

It depends on what the culture defines as acceptable politics. It’s so extreme that it’s an executable offense in some countries and has been so in our culture too. We have to fight to keep it from that

Pipoca,

vault.fbi.gov/…/view

No.

The document lists symbols that violent extremists use, but explicitly calls out that not everyone who uses those symbols is a violent extremist.

The punisher skull is also in there, but that doesn’t mean they’re claiming every asshole with a punisher skull on their truck is a terrorist. Just that if someone with a punisher skull on their truck shoots up a mosque, that the punisher iconography is evidence that it was an act of right-wing militia terrorism.

agitatedpotato,

I refuse to believe those groups are terrorist organizations because the CIA has never armed them.

SupraMario,

Yet…have yet to arm them you mean…or they have and we won’t know for 50 years.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod,
Semi-Hemi-Demigod avatar

All I know is I'm still waiting on my check

Random_German_Name,

According to highly credible german far right Qanon followers german antifascists get paid 600€ (656,15$) per demo they visit. They also get 20€ (21,87$) per sticker they spread. I demand the same payment for any antifascist worldwide! International Solidarity!

stevedidwhat_infosec,

Somehow I feel like selling the future short is a bad idea

Burn_The_Right,

Wait. Why the fuck am I still paying for my own guns and ammo?

PhlubbaDubba,

Someone at the Pentagon just had PTSD flashbacks to that time they armed Castro because of this comment

Zorque,

Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if there were syops to radicalize anti-fascist groups to make them less appealing to the masses.

PM_Your_Nudes_Please,

This is essentially my pet conspiracy theory about Alex Jones. He was a plant by the CIA, to make all conspiracy theorists look absolutely batshit crazy. By having him peddle the extreme theories right alongside the “these are a little too close to reality, and the people are getting dangerously close to figuring it out” theories, they’re able to discredit those accurate theories. Because now they don’t need to attack the individual theory; They can just attack the face of conspiracy theories.

Zorque,

Anti-fascists aren't conspiracy theorists, though, they're just people who oppose fascism.

agent_flounder,
@agent_flounder@lemmy.world avatar

What utter monsters. /s

humorlessrepost,

I prefer udder monsters.

irreticent,

Kinky.

humorlessrepost,

Only if they get bent at too sharp an angle.

peopleproblems,

Which is funny

I’m now a violent extremist because I am anti-facism.

captainlezbian,

But are you willing to fight for it? Maybe take up arms, defend your friends and neighbors, or even travel the world to resist fascism wherever it arises?

Labeling antifascism as violent extremism isn’t new, it’s a way that Americans were punished for fighting fascists in other countries before we went to war with them like in Spain.

peopleproblems,

You better believe it. If I don’t defend my friends and neighbors when they need it, who will defend me when I need it?

fosforus,

Anti-fascists aren’t a single thing.

LavaPlanet,

Oooh, I’ve noticed this, too. That there are some ‘conspiracies’ that are / could be true, but if you talk about them to anyone you are instantly one of the crazies. They have weponised the stupid.

Notorious_handholder,

I feel like that conspiracy is too smart for the CIA. Remember this is the same organization that regularly had employees secretly drugging each others coffee with LSD so much that it became common place around the office. And also tried to convince communists in the Philippines that vampires where real despite Philippine culture/mythology not having vampires.

unoriginalsin,

I feel like that conspiracy is too smart for the CIA

That’s exactly what they want you to think!

IHadTwoCows,

Alex Jones says the same thing the FBI does about antifascists. He edges for violence daily, and is using radical christianity to do so. He is absolutely not a plant; he is the face of radical christofascist terrorism. It doesnt matter if he’s serious or not; it doesnt matter that he’s just bilking listeners for money… The fact is that he is a terrorist leader and agitator and should be arrested or executed. If the FBI hasnt done so then we know where their allegiances lie.

Zevlen,

Umm , why’s it gotta be execution tho?

Putting him in prison and taking away his business/ dissolving it and taking away his assets should be enough. There’s no reason for two wrongs when You’re trying to go for justice ⚖️ / just society.

Eye for an eye never got us no where ( xept sometimes)

IHadTwoCows,

I did say either/or. I am fine with taking all his assetts and doing both.

umbrella,
@umbrella@lemmy.ml avatar

This is literally on one of those declassified 3-letter agency docs. Dunno about Alex Jones but they do shit like this.

captainlezbian,

See I believe that for 20th century conspiracy theorists. I fully suspect there was an effort to combine aliens, government mind control (and what would eventually be revealed as MK ULTRA), the remnants of the protocols of the elders of Zion and other similar conspiracy theories, COINTELPRO, and other things all together by the FBI. It’s part of COINTELPRO style tactics. Make them sound ridiculous and drive them so far to the extreme they’re hard to listen to.

That said Alex Jones seems pretty much an unintended consequence of all the conspiratorial milieu

Semi-Hemi-Demigod,
Semi-Hemi-Demigod avatar

The alien thing is especially bad.

This guy - Paul Bennewitz - was a radio operator in WWII and opened a radio repair shop near an Air Force base. He picked up some encrypted signals from the base and went public with them, claiming they were from aliens.

The Air Force decided this was a great cover story, and teased him with information including sending "Men in Black" to look for him, until he was convinced. He got so convinced he became a paranoid schizophrenic, and died in a mental institution not tool long ago.

All of that alien sci fi stuff has its origin with this poor man. The X Files, two Will Smith movies, and everything in that oeuvre including the excellent Resident Alien, all have their roots in the mental abuse my government perpetrated on this poor, curious man.

ShittyBeatlesFCPres,

Oh no, what will we do if the FBI targets left-wing activists for insane reasons? They might give the J. Edgar Hoover Building a bad name.

stevedidwhat_infosec,

Excuses to label you as a criminal so their overreach is justified.

Talk about double speak, being against fascists and racists means you’re terrorist now, LMAO.

FBI has long since been relabeled as the face of the cia, nsa and are the gen pop wranglers.

Call this shit the fuck out for what it is, an attack against Americans of ALL political backgrounds. This is a unified issue, they might only be banging on your neighbors door but you are next.

Enkers,

Unfortunately, the face-eating leopard party is not generally concerned with their own faces, so long as people-they-hate’s faces are being eaten too.

bobs_monkey,

Yup, it’s setting up a legal framework that allows them to designate anyone that ruffles feathers or speaks out as a violent extremist, and haul them off without much recourse (it’s worth noting that if you’re arrested on terrorism charges, your rights are automatically suspended).

DeathsEmbrace,

Isn’t that unconstitutional to take away human rights for any reason?

totallynotabot,

I too am curious on the legal basis for the rights forfeiture.

Fedizen,

This has always been the case with stuff like cointelpro. The FBI’s job isn’t really to solve crimes but to crack down on things that the powers that be don’t like. The FBI and similar organizations need more public oversight and the definitions of terrorism need to be restricted and narrowly defined.

Because businesses will see disrupting like a ceo as “terrorism” etc. The pipeline protests were treated this way.

TheLurker,

I said it back in 2001 when the war on terror started.

First it will be the “terrorist”, then the “extremists”, then it will be the “dissidents” and then finally the “undesirables”.

Seems we are at the dissidents stage.

The idiots behind this shit really should have paid more attention in history class.

SCB,

Except the FBI also labels the entirety of MAGA as the same, so no, this isn’t what’s happening.

What’s happening is some of these groups are radicalizing and yes, that is indeed a bad thing.

brawleryukon,
@brawleryukon@lemmy.world avatar

The idiots behind this shit really should have paid more attention in history class.

Oh, they paid plenty of attention. That’s the problem - they’re using it as an instruction manual.

phoenixz,

Yes, the radical right is a problem but that doesn’t mean that the radical left isn’t one. Yes, right may be a bigger problem than left but that isn’t the point

The point is that radicalism is the bad thing here, whether it’s left or right. I’m tired of having discussions about why it’s actually ba bad thing to “kick a Nazi” as some people just don’t understand the obvious.

Nurse_Robot,

It’s not a bad thing to kick a Nazi

SoylentBlake,

Some people just don’t understand the obvious

Mediocre_Bard,

lol, the fact they know some of the imagery was directly opposed to Nazis and still posted this. smh

JustMy2c,

Well, they are. Not saying they’re wrong. But they are.

BlackSkinnedJew,

So they are publicly claiming the agency to be fascist and racist?

masquenox,

Nahh… that would be too on the nose.

indigojasper,
indigojasper avatar

i found some symbols that represent the real domestic terrorists

Adalast,

Bookmarking this. Thank you.

masquenox,

You forgot to include the symbols of the largest domestic terrorist group around.

indigojasper,
indigojasper avatar

lmao good looking out

Mango,

“Stop resisting!”

Often repeated by terrorists appealing to their body cameras.

NutWrench,
@NutWrench@lemmy.world avatar

“Anti-fa” literally means anti-fascist. The allies storming the beaches of Normandy were “anti-fa.” The only thing “anti-fa” wants these days is for cops to stop murdering them. Needless to say, I support that position.

Some idiot put that in the list for purely political reasons.

HiddenLayer5,

It’s easy to hate antifa if you’re fa.

daed,

No, it’s important to separate ideology from actions. Most, and all reasonable, would agree that fascism is bad. Most people are anti-fascist as is morally right and just.

The novel group of activists that call themselves Antifa have performed inexcusable, terrorist actions in the name of the movement and perverted it’s noble goals. Fascism is bad, as are those that make misguided and foolish mistakes that harm innocents in the name of righteousness.

CileTheSane,
@CileTheSane@lemmy.ca avatar

The novel group of activists that call themselves Antifa

Can you name any members of this group or share a news story of any action they have been a part of?

Furbag,

Antifa have performed inexcusable, terrorist actions in the name of the movement

Name one. And before you say it, no, looting after a protest goes south isn’t an act of terror.

criticalthreshold,

Your first half was good, but impugning terrorist actions on them wasn’t the way to go.

I do agree though: setting fire to courthouses, or creating an environment of lawlessness that guarantees small mom and pop businesses get looted is also not a winning cause. Protesting and counter-protesting where normal operations can continue is essential. The moment you start fucking with people’s day-to-day is where you lost.

root_beer,

Isn’t protest supposed to make things inconvenient for people and to make them uncomfortable? I agree that local small businesses should not be wrecked because that just makes you the bad guy, but if people are able to go about their day without having to make any adjustments, then is the message being properly conveyed?

criticalthreshold,

Make who uncomfortable though? Those you are protesting against? Ok sure maybe.

Other citizens that don’t have an interest/stake in the matter? Getting them involved isn’t wise.

EldritchFeminity,

Everybody. Getting the general populace that has no interest/stake in the matter involved is literally the point of protesting. The oppressor doesn’t care if you make a racket about the boot on your neck, they’re not going to lift their foot because you asked nicely.

But if you make enough noise that everybody has an opinion on it/gets involved, now they can’t just sweep it under the rug and wait until the oppressed run out of resources to keep up the protests.

Civil Rights didn’t get passed because a bunch of people handed out pamphlets or something, they got passed because a million people ground the entire city of Washington D.C. to a halt. They got passed because a black WW2 vet trained a militia in the Bible Belt to protect black kids and their families using sandbag emplacements and machine guns to keep them from getting killed by the KKK for daring to go to white kids’ schools. They got passed because several billions worth of property was burnt to the ground across the entire nation after MLK was assassinated. Years of protests got politicians to wring their hands. A week of burning cop cars and city districts had the bills drafted, voted on, and passed.

root_beer,

If you can’t get the attention of the people who don’t have an interest and at least attempt to change their minds, then you’ve failed. You may end up turning people against you, but I guess that’s a risk you need to take. Part of the point of protest is to bring injustice into light so people who haven’t been paying attention may finally do so.

masquenox,

Other citizens that don’t have an interest/stake in the matter?

You mean the people who don’t mind fascism?

EldritchFeminity,

Exactly, that’s literally the point of protesting. To inconvenience people and make them aware of the issues. And to show those in power that you’re not just going to go away if they ignore you. “Peaceful” protests are the show of force in the same way that worker strikes are the compromise workers and bosses agreed to to voice issues instead of going straight to dragging the bosses out of the factory and beating them to death in the streets.

The same things they’re saying today about protesters are the exact same things they said about MLK and the Civil Rights Movement. The hand-wringing about protesting “the right way” has always been about making it easy to sweep the issues under the rug. And that’s not even getting into the number of times stuff like undercover cops were found attempting to instigate violence during Anti-Fa protests so they could justify using violence against the protesters.

The Million Man March on Washington wasn’t a “peaceful protest,” it was a statement. It disrupted the entire city and made white people across the country afraid. Because if black people could assemble a million people to “peacefully” march across the city, disrupting the entire life of the city, what would they be willing and capable of doing if things got worse?

https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/pictrs/image/988a8527-385b-4e75-9448-180337f86a1b.jpeg

BlackSkinnedJew,

If there is something fascists really hate are peaceful protests, in fact peaceful protests have better impact into society than violent protests and they don’t give any reason to the fascists in turn to use violence and backup behind that pretext. Fascists love to push “legal” use of the force.

masquenox,

they don’t give any reason to the fascists in turn to use violence

Lol! You think fascists need an excuse to use violence?

BlackSkinnedJew,

They don’t but when it’s a matter of being better equiped in a protest usually the state have better chances.

Katana314,

Even Gandhi has been misunderstood on this subject. I see people cite him very vaguely as a way of trying to get people to “quiet down and be peaceful (obedient and subservient)” but Gandhi, while non-violent, didn’t avoid confrontation. He just didn’t use violence to achieve it. He absolutely had an end goal of change, and did not accept the law as a barrier to achieve it.

We don’t have to accept war for change, but we often have to accept some form of confrontation.

TheSanSabaSongbird,

This is just another reason why the left continues to lose the working class. Poor working people are not going to react well when you are fucking with their livelihoods. I’ve seen it first hand as a union organizer.

TheSanSabaSongbird,

There are ways to be smart about how you do it. I live in Portland and the way Antifa did it here was singularly successful at turning a majority of the city’s population against them and their cause.

And keep in mind that Portland is very much a left-leaning city who’s voters would otherwise have been quite sympathetic to the cause of police reform.

masquenox,

Oh look… a confused fascist!

urist,
@urist@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

No, it’s important to separate ideology from actions.

Which is something the FBI has chosen not to do by calling the symbols of the ideology terrorist symbols instead of calling out any particular organizations that are doing anything actually criminal.

Antifa is not an organization, so if someone is labeling protest symbols as terrorism, we know where their loyalties lie. (hint: they don’t want freedom of speech, they want to suppress the ideology).

ghostdoggtv,

There are actual terrorist organizations operating in the United States that the FBI is actually choosing to turn a blind eye to because they’re afraid of the political ramifications of actually enforcing the law. Donald Trump is public enemy number one and protected only because the federal judiciary is too scared, the legislature too stupid and the executive too lazy to do anything about it.

stolid_agnostic,

LOL at this both sides copypasta.

quindraco,

Names are meaningless. The allies were fighting the “National Socialists”, who weren’t Socialists. Likewise, “Defund the Police” movement members need not actually support defunding the police - supporting lowering their funding without lowering it to zero still qualifies.

SCB,

“Defund the Police” movement members need not actually support defunding the police - supporting lowering their funding without lowering it to zero still qualifies.

I swear this was the worst slogan in the history of all of slogans, and it did irreparable harm to the reform movement.

masquenox,

and it did irreparable harm to the reform movement.

No. The reform movement did it all by themselves.

TheSanSabaSongbird,

You are both correct.

stolid_agnostic,

LOL at all the downvotes for saying that fascism is bad. The Western world is totally screwed.

Katana314,

Part of me loves that they kept the title, because it’s so easy to ask very brief questions to get the word’s user to start blubbering.

“Anti-what? They’re against ‘fa’? Oh, what is that short for? What idea are these people opposing? Tell me.”

aidan,

Yet when the Gadsen flag was put in the same leaflet there wasn’t any commenting on political reasons

Copernican, (edited )

What does antifa have to do with anarchy? I remember first seeing the symbol at Major League Soccer matches in Seattle in 2009. Lots of Amazon employees of liberal, but somewhat mainstream democratic POVs often raised the symbol. I thought it was just folks that hated racism and fascism,but not necessarily anarchist or socialist.

masquenox,

May have something to do with the fact that it’s only anarchists and (other) socialists that are willing to throw down with fascists without being ordered to do so.

Copernican,

No true Scotsman…

masquenox,

Go count the liberals in the black bloc, Clyde.

Salamendacious,
@Salamendacious@lemmy.world avatar

Anarchy as a label and the anarchy symbol are so diversely used it’s hard to say what they definitely mean. When I was young I first encountered it as a music symbol and it meant rebel to me or anti-Reagan. I’ve met and talked to anarchist who say there shouldn’t be any form of government at all to people who want a commune-type government to people who want to keep the existing government but want it to be extremely laissez faire. A lot of different people use the label and symbol and claim it for themselves.

Katana314,

Reminds me of Anonymous, the hacker group that once seemed to have some kind of meaning, until everyone realized anyone and everyone was using the label for some of the dumbest movements.

“Treyarch. You believe you have gotten away with anti-consumer behavior by nerfing the dual shotguns in the latest Call of Duty patch. But Anonymous, the very members of your playerbase, have been watching.”

RileyNorman,

I just knew all those punk bands were terrorists! Jello Biafra better get a lawyer… \s

highrfrequenc,

But they are not a punk band. He just a guy with a big enough dick and a small enough brain to be a star.

RileyNorman,

If you don’t think the Dead Kennedys are a punk band then I guess punk bands don’t exist.

highrfrequenc,

youtu.be/lUMT9OIaVvE?si=pNWLXA-zefDUab6I

Mongostein,

It’s ok, I understood

masquenox,

Oh… so the secret police of a fundamentally white supremacist empire that funds and enables fascist terrorism all over the damn planet doesn’t like anti-fascists and anti-racists?

Gee… who coulda thunk it?

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