ANTIFA AND ITS PROPAGANDA

By Martin Scott Catino, Ph.D.

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August 2020

Portland Protests: Day 50, Portland Untitled 1.74.1 (50148960596).jpg,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Portland_Untitled_1.74.1_(50148960596).jpg

Far more than the smoke of burning buildings and police cars is rising in American cities in the
aftermath of ANTIFA’s riots. ANTIFA is waging a well-contrived propaganda campaign used
as a smokescreen to cover its major activities and objectives which include gaining the
psychological, operational, and political space it craves to sequentially weaken and violently
overthrow the United States Government. As a self-professed anarchist-communist organization
often disguised as ordinary social or political advocacy groups, ANTIFA functions as the
national hub and web of violent and radical anarchists,1 and readily links with or directly
influences similar organizations, groups, and personality types.
Therefore, a major operation by the Federal government to destroy or degrade ANTIFA’s ability
to organize and operate would significantly degrade left-wing political violence in the United
States while lessening the opportunities and outlets it creates for other violent extremists and
criminal actors. However, these self-professed revolutionaries and their sympathizers in politics

1
Transcript. “Interview With St. Paul, Minnesota, Mayor Melvin Carter; Interview With Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ);
Interview With Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms; Interview With U.S. National Security Adviser Robert
O'Brien; Interview With Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD). Aired 9-10a ET.” CNN. May 31, 2020.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2005/31/sotu.01.html . See comments on ANTIFA by U.S. National
Security Adviser Robert O'Brien.
and the private sector will not easily be deterred. ANTIFA draws organizational strength from its
lessons learned globally, two centuries of radical doctrines, and sophisticated street tactics--
including propaganda techniques—calibrated in the current urban unrest occurring in the
aftermath of the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.2 University professors and other
educators, mainstream media, policy groups, and left-wing politicians further strengthen the Page | 2
organization by justifying and amplifying ANTIFA’s propaganda, making it even more
deceptive and dangerous.
In addition to its radical and covert nature, this decentralized anarchist movement possesses a
dynamic organizational learning culture that drives its leaders and associates to effectively adapt
its major activities which simultaneously threaten American institutions like universities, the
media, city councils, and the judiciary while exploiting them for political gain.3 These adaptive
and lethal tactics rapidly disseminate among ANTIFA and other anti-government extremists
through social media, trainings, and practice, and thereby increase their operational effectiveness
as well as further threatening public safety by attracting violent imitators and criminal
opportunists--as well as creating cultures of urban violence.

Huntsville Alabama Police Department Identifies Specialized Roles of ANTIFA and their Associates,
https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/videos/huntsville-city-council-special-session-june-18-2020/

2
For instance, see anarchist website https://crimethinc.com/ .
3
Sarah Jaffe, “Trump Interruption A Conversation with Legba Carrefour.” The Baffler.com. January 19, 2017.
https://thebaffler.com/latest/interviews-for-resistance-carrefour .
Do not be misled regarding the danger posed by ANTIFA’s occupied zones, political
engagements, “direct action,” black bloc formations, disruption tactics, and “community
building.” These operations pose an immediate danger to key leaders and local communities and
create recruits and expanded networks mobilized for even more capable and lethal operations in
the future. Given their cover, adaptability, and disinformation, many of these young and Page | 3

apparently inexperienced associates of ANTIFA have successfully eluded identification,

investigation, arrest, and prosecution, and thus pose a persistent and growing threat to public
safety.
Therefore every dedicated American should understand ANTIFA’s violent nature, destructive
objectives, and propaganda used to conceal these characteristics. Here are a few of the major
disinformation messages disseminated by anarchists and the mainstream media.
“ANTIFA IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION BUT A MOVEMENT WITH NO SINGLE
IDEOLOGY—AND YOU CAN’T DEFEAT A MOVEMENT.” Although some minor diversity
of radical ideology exists among anarchist-communists, the ANTIFA movement is united on the
objective of the violent overthrow of the United States Government and the destruction of
American values, culture, institutions, and systems.4 ANTIFA is an organized movement but a
decentralized one creating and mobilizing vast networks of domestic and international groups to
achieve their malign objectives while organizing, spreading, and leading nationwide political
violence. Relying not on professional, hierarchical, and foreign training or indoctrination like
the Communist groups of the Cold War era, ANTIFA cements its internal unity by building its
groups and networks from friendship, social, workplace, and even sports associations, and thus
creates a bottom-up and horizontally linked organization. These organizations spread, interact,
and connect through social media propaganda, radical educators, and mobilized street action and
other events, which serve as much as recruitment and networking activities as violent
confrontations and actions.
However, these networked groups can be defeated or degraded like others of the same kind
(Earth Liberation Front, Animal Liberation Front, etc.) through local and state political
leadership committed to public safety; rigorous law enforcement; community support; and
responsible journalism and public discussion.5 Public safety measures including no mask laws,
curfews, prohibitions against weapons and unlawful assembly, laws against teaching the making
or use of explosive devices, and anti-riot laws have proven highly effective against ANTIFA or
their types.
Federal government law enforcement support is likewise important for the defeat, degradation,
and diminishing of ANTIFA’s destructive capabilities. Most importantly, the Federal

4
“Voting vs. Direct Action,” Crimethinc.com. https://cloudfront.crimethinc.com/assets/zines/voting-vs-direct-
action/voting-vs-direct-action_screen_two_page_view.pdf . ANTIFA doctrinal pamphlets like this one frequently
state the objectives of the elimination of the state, democracy, and capitalism. More importantly, these documents
urge the operational and tactical actions for achieving these objectives.
5
Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Operation Backfire Searching for Two Final Fugitives.” FBI.gov. December 6,
2015, https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/portland/news/stories/operation-backfire .
government must designate ANTIFA as a terrorist group and subsequently commit the full
resources of the state to prosecute ANTIFA’s activities just like Al Qaeda or ISIS.
“ANTIFA’S MISSION IS TO FIGHT FASCISTS, WHITE SUPREMICISTS, AND
INJUSTICE-- NOT ORDINARY AMERICANS.” ANTIFA uses popular targets and issues to Page | 4
cover and soften appearances of its malicious aims of overthrowing the United States
Government. ANTIFA considers all supporters of President Donald Trump to be Fascists and
White Supremacists.6 These misguided anarchist youths and their more mature adherents also
consider liberal Democrats to be enemies of the people. Therefore the slogan of “anti-fascist”
used by ANTIFA creates a false legitimacy, appearance of a limited scope of operations rather
than its real objective of the overthrow of the United States, and diversion from its many acts of
violence against ordinary Americans which it claims to support.
“THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF ANTIFA’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE CURRENT CIVIL
UNREST AND RIOTS—SHOW ME THE EVIDENCE.” The overwhelming and nationwide
evidence of ANTIFA’s terrorism is found in their destructive actions, their doctrinal and social
media statements, Federal, state, and local law enforcement reports and testimonies across the
country, and many diverse and widespread public witnesses to the violence. Riots, threats,
sophisticated strategies, interstate deployments, staging for riots, black bloc formations including
specialized roles, advanced crowd manipulation tactics, and make-shift street weaponry
commonly occur and indicate ANTIFA’s political warfare scarring America’s urban and
suburban landscapes.7
These activities mirror their past operations in places like Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Berkeley,
Boston, San Francisco, and many other locations and likewise mirror ANTIFA’s doctrinal and
social media statements advocating destruction and urban insurgency. The evidence
demonstrates the well planned and sophisticated work of anarchists and not spontaneous,
amateur, or legitimate protesters.

6
There is some minor debate among anarchists on whether the Trump administration is more Fascist or White
Supremacist in political orientation, but the movement remains united on the aim of overthrowing it. See “Does
Trump Represent Fascism or White Supremacy? Crimethinc.com. https://crimethinc.com/2016/12/13/feature-does-
trump-represent-fascism-or-white-supremacy .
7
“Affinity Groups Essential Building Blocks of Anarchist Organization,”
https://cloudfront.crimethinc.com/assets/zines/how to form an affinity group/how to form an affinity
group_print_black_and_white.pdf .
 Page | 5

Front and back of shields used by anarchists

in Portland, Oregon to assault federal officers during the attacks
on Hatfield Federal Courthouse, July 2020

However, ANTIFA routinely covers the names and associations of its operators in order to
vehemently deny direct links.8 Furthermore these terrorists use the presence of right-wing
extremists and their false flag operations (mimicking ANTIFA) to cover the vast and
disproportionate numbers of ANTIFA’s violent actions. Pretending terrorist groups have open or
confessed affiliations, ANTIFA chides law enforcement statements, court records, and
government operations that fail to immediately identify ANTIFA elements that remain cleverly
hidden—the tactic is as deceitful as it is deadly as it allows the organization to continue its
terrorist activities.
The United States has achieved a record of freedoms, prosperity, and global influence
unprecedented in world history. The throngs of people around the world seeking to enter the
United States legally—and even illegally—indicate the radical perception of America as an
oppressive, racist, and unjust society is not only false but also opportunistic. Rather than a
Communist system which historically built walls and barbed-wire fences with armed guards to
imprison and even kill its fleeing citizens, the United States has created a free and open system
where the vast majority of Americans continue to embrace peaceful paths and seek reform
through the ballot--not the bullet. Strong religious and civil liberties, patriotic citizenship,
prosperous and dedicated families, secure local communities and property rights, free market
economies, and well-administered local, state, and Federal government united under the
Constitution have long proven to be the foundation and path to personal freedom and prosperity.
ANTIFA’s propaganda is clearly disingenuous and designed to gain raw power evident in the
occupied zones it creates where violence, theft, mobs, thugs, warlords, and crime reign. Every
concerned American should understand and assert America’s patriotic and proven values with
renewed resolve while resisting every attempt of ANTIFA and its anti-government extremists

8
A relevant quote from ANTIFA literature notes: “An affinity group could be a sewing circle or a bicycle
maintenance collective; it could come together for the purpose of providing a meal at an occupation or
forcing a multinational corporation out of business through a carefully orchestrated program of sabotage. Affinity
groups have planted and defended community gardens, built and occupied and burned down buildings, organized
neighborhood childcare programs and wildcat strikes; individual affinity groups routinely initiate revolutions in the
visual arts and popular music. Your favorite band was an affinity group. An affinity group invented the airplane.
Another one maintains this website.” “Affinity Groups Essential Building Blocks of Anarchist Organization,”
https://cloudfront.crimethinc.com/assets/zines/how to form an affinity group/how to form an affinity
group_print_black_and_white.pdf .
from imposing their criminal system on a free and dedicated citizenry. Contact your local, state,
and Federal politicians, write your local newspapers, and organize discussions on both American
foundational principles and anti-Communist measures so all Americans now and in the future
can enjoy the liberties that made America great.
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Dr. Scott Catino is a U.S. Fulbright Scholar and member of the Anti-Communist Action Team (ACAT). He is an
author, educator, scholar, and advocate for American Founding Principles. He served in the United States,
Bahrain, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the UAE in various research, supervisory, and advising posts for the United States
Government or private security programs. His research on civil unrest, terrorism, and insurgency has involved field
studies around the world as well as numerous publications in scholarly and industry journals.

http://www.spider-and-the-fly.com/