Law enforcement and federal officials say outside elements from both far-right and far-left groups are helping fuel the violence across the country in recent days. President Donald Trump has condemned Antifa and the far left, but officials are now saying it may be both sides. Interference may indeed be what is happening, but at this point local and federal officials have yet to provide any evidence to the public.
CNN reports that officials at all levels are still trying to grapple with how significant a role the outside groups are playing in the unrest. It seems as though some believe all of the violence is being sparked by solely outside groups. Others contend none is being influenced by extremists. Either way, violence has spread to cities all over the United States, and officials are scrambling to identify the affiliations of extremists taking part in riots.
Property destruction and attacks on police, and allegations of foreign influence stoking the unrest online are being actively tracked. Minnesota’s Governor, Tim Walz, said on Sunday that ultimately the catalyst of the protests was the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was held down at the neck by white police officer Derek Chauvin.
Chauvin has since been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. City of Minneapolis officials and state of Minnesota officials are looking at data from their arrests and human intelligence that points to some outside influence seeking to capitalize on the situation and create unrest throughout the United States of America.
These are two of the first times it was publicly stated by officials this may be outside influence:
This is insane. Both @ChiefLinskey and @GovTimWalz are saying that legitimate outrage is being hijacked by outside forces
"A group outside the US is using this as a way to destabilize our society"#BlackLivesMatter #GeorgeFloyd #USARevolts #Riots2020 #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/1qPiOgXgz8
— Gabriel Schray (@schrayguy) May 31, 2020
United States President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that the United States would designate Antifa, which is short for anti-fascists, as a terrorist organization. Attorney General William Barr also singled out the group in a statement denouncing the violence as domestic terrorism.
“Saying there are outside forces is not to deflect and pretend we don’t have that,” Walz said of the problem
AG Barr announced that federal law enforcement would use its network of Joint Terrorism Task Forces to apprehend and charge those taking part in the violent confrontations. According to the Associated Press, the US government has no existing legal authority to label a wholly domestic group in the manner it currently designates foreign terrorist organizations.
Here is a summary of what Antifa is from WYFF:
“Antifa is short for anti-fascists. The term is used to define a broad group of people whose political beliefs lean toward the left — often the far left — but do not conform with the Democratic Party platform. The group doesn’t have an official leader or headquarters, although groups in certain states hold regular meetings.
Antifa positions can be hard to define, but many members support oppressed populations and protest the amassing of wealth by corporations and elites. Some employ radical or militant tactics to get their message across.
Scott Crow, a former Antifa organizer, says the “radical ideals” promoted by Antifas are starting to be adopted by liberals. “They would never have looked at (those ideals) before, because they saw us as the enemy as much as the right-wingers.”
The majority of Antifa members don’t fall into a stereotype. Since the election of President Trump, however, most new Antifa members are young voters.”
The FBI and other agencies are tracking groups from both the extremist right and left involved in the riots and attacks on police, according to CBS News. Federal law enforcement officials have reported that they are aware of organized groups who are seeking to carry out the property destruction and violence, using the cover of the legitimate protests in Minneapolis and elsewhere.
Those domestic extremist groups include anarchists, anti-government groups often associated with far-right extremists and white supremacy causes, and far-left extremists who identify with anti-fascist ideology. Based on that alone, one could come to the conclusion the wide variety of groups involved is part of the problem. That, however, would be an opinion and not a fact.
Some groups have been known to organize and travel specifically to confront law enforcement officials and to destroy property. Federal law enforcement officials say they’ve seen a similar pattern in Minneapolis and other cities where protests have turned violent in recent days.
Look at this. Protests have erupted in at least 140 cities across the United States, according to the New York Times
Some demonstrations have turned violent, prompting activation of the National Guard in at least 21 states
MORE: https://t.co/qpKKhWpfSz pic.twitter.com/WCtdW3dQCi
— Gabriel Schray (@schrayguy) June 1, 2020
The FBI and other federal agencies are working with local authorities to track social media posts and other communications to identify those who have crossed state lines to carry out violence. President Trump has blamed Democratic officials in Minnesota and other states where violence has occurred. “Get tough Democrat Mayors and Governors. These people are ANARCHISTS. Call in our National Guard NOW,” Trump tweeted on Sunday.
“Many of these professional agitators don’t fit a simple left vs right identity,” Senate Intelligence Chairman Marco Rubio said. “They are part of a growing anti-government extremist movement. They hate law enforcement & want to tear the whole system down even if it requires a new civil war.”
At a news conference on Sunday morning, Minneapolis Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said that one-fifth of the weekend arrests to date were from outside the state. Among those arrested Saturday were residents of Arkansas, Kansas City, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan, Harrington said, though he did not have arrest data from overnight.
Walz also said the state was looking at who was behind a “very sophisticated” denial of service attack on all state computers that was executed on Saturday. “That’s not somebody sitting in their basement, that’s pretty sophisticated,” he said.
Minnesota's @GovTimWalz estimates that about 80% of destructive protesters are from out of state. Commisioner Harrington says they are looking into organizations leading the rioting #COVID19 #GeorgeFloydProtests #Protests2020 #Riots#BlackLivesMatter
pic.twitter.com/WXgU87Ffqp— Gabriel Schray (@schrayguy) May 31, 2020
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Sunday he “wouldn’t be surprised if Antifa” was behind some of the actions in his city. “We don’t have the specific information they’re directly engaged, but we have intel, we have watched and intercepted, frankly, groups coming into Denver. We have confiscated weapons, including assault weapons, that were heading to the demonstrations.”
Investigators are searching social media to identify leaders who are trying to get protestors to gather to incite violence, a law enforcement official told MSNBC. Investigators there have seen antagonizers more affiliated with Antifa and far-left causes, and not necessarily white supremacist groups. “They do not represent the peaceful New Yorkers that want to protest,” the official said.
Allegations of foreign influence attempting to influence and stoke the disruption in the US have quickly followed the violence coming out of the protests. O’Brien pointed to Chinese social media messages gloating about the chaos. On ABC’s “This Week,” he also acknowledged some Russian activists and mentioned Zimbabwe and Iran.
But the role and effectiveness of foreign actors is hard to measure. A report from CNN suggested their role may be additive, not initiating any unrest. Rubio tweeted over the weekend that he was seeing “VERY heavy social media activity on #protests & counter reactions from social media accounts linked to at least 3 foreign adversaries.”
Via @LWarmTakes: "Tonight is a heartbreaking night for the United States of America" 🇺🇸#BlackLivesMatter #GeorgeFloyd #USARevolts #Riots2020 #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #DCProtests pic.twitter.com/R3qGTCLQvG
— The Grand Old Tribune 🇺🇸 (@GrandOldTribune) May 31, 2020
This article was written citing information and media from the AP and Fox News For more sports, news and entertainment follow the Midwest Sports Network on Twitter @MWSNsports or like MWSN on Facebook.
