Opinion

CHARLIE KIRK: Democrats Are In Willful Denial About Antifa

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Charlie Kirk Contributor
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The Democratic Party continues to deny the grim truth about antifa, insisting that the ongoing wave of violence across America is merely a figment of our collective imagination.

Just days ago, Rep. Jerry Nadler — one of the most influential Democrats in Congress — openly claimed that Antifa’s streak of destruction in Portland is “a myth that’s being spread only in Washington, D.C.”

As bewildering as it might seem, Nadler’s denial of antifa’s true nature follows a familiar script that the Democrats have peddled for many years. In the eyes of the “progressive left,” riots are a necessary form of political subversion — particularly when the desired reforms are too radical to make it through the democratic process — necessitating a balancing act between quietly condoning political violence and outwardly expressing at least nominal support for the rule of law.

Over the past several months, liberal activists and lawmakers have campaigned to defund and dismantle law enforcement, backed the so-called “autonomous zones” set up by antifa organizers to defy local authorities and ignored widespread looting in our cities.

Presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden has also played an important role in this disgraceful campaign, calling antifa thugs “peaceful protesters” while condemning President Trump’s calls for law and order.

“We have a president who is determined to sow chaos and division. To make matters worse instead of better,” Biden said recently, accusing the White House of using “egregious tactics” to curb civil unrest.

In reality, of course, the only “egregious tactics” are the ones employed by the rioters, who have laid siege to federal property and attacked federal agents with the explicit support of local officials, including Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler.

The Democratic Party’s willful ignorance toward Antifa, however, doesn’t change the facts — what the rioting anarchists have done to our cities in recent months is nothing short of domestic terrorism.

A teenage boy was killed, and another one wounded, inside antifa’s infamous “autonomous zone” in Seattle in late June. Earlier that month, “peaceful protesters” shot and killed a federal law enforcement officer in Oakland. Efforts to defund the police have also had deadly consequences in New York City, where a recent wave of violent crime led to the tragic murder of a toddler in July — one of 772 New Yorkers shot during the first seven months of the year. The list of similar incidents goes on and on.

Notably, Nadler’s claim about Portland is directly contradicted by the city’s police bureau, which was forced to declare the protest a riot after demonstrators breached federal buildings.

“People wore gas masks, carried shields, hockey sticks, leaf blowers, flags, and umbrellas specifically to thwart police in crowd dispersal or attempt to conceal criminal acts,” the Portland Police Bureau said in a recent statement.

These tactics are nothing new; they’ve been a hallmark of Antifa uprisings for years. Despite this sobering reality, the Democrat Party has enabled the antifa radicals, consistently protecting them from scrutiny in the press and offering excuses for their violent outbursts. Some elected Democrat officials — such as former Rep. and current Attorney General of Minnesota, Keith Ellison — have even publicly endorsed the anarchist organization. In 2018, Ellison tweeted a picture of the so-called “Anti-Fascist Handbook,” stating approvingly that it should “strike fear in the heart of [President Trump].”

The same year, failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton opined that the left “cannot be civil” with the GOP because “the only thing that the Republicans seem to recognize and respect is strength.”

American voters cannot trust the Democratic Party to reform the police and make our country “safer” than it is today. A party that is willing to overlook the clear pattern of organized criminal activity committed by Antifa clearly has no interest in ensuring public safety or maintaining law and order.

Charlie Kirk is the founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, an advocacy group for young conservatives.