After President Donald Trump announced he would label the leftist group Antifa as a terrorist organization following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, one expert said the president has “powerful” ways to go after the group.
Michael Balboni, an attorney and former member of the New York State Assembly and Senate, explained this. While in office, he chaired the state senate’s Homeland Security Committee and later served on the state’s Domestic Terrorism Task Force under Governors Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul.
U.S. terrorism laws under the Immigration and Nationality Act only cover foreign groups, which means there isn’t a federal law to prosecute domestic groups as terrorists. Still, Trump could use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to target Antifa.
“RICO doesn’t relate only to one specific act and one specific time,” Balboni told Fox News Digital. “It could be an analysis of an ongoing criminal enterprise.”
He explained that to convict someone under RICO, there must be proof of an enterprise, a pattern of criminal activity in the last ten years, evidence that the criminal behavior might continue, and a link between the defendant and the group.
“Perhaps you could even use RICO or other statutes to try to do an enterprise-wide roll-up of these individuals, whether or not you need to designate them as a terrorist group,” Balboni said. He called it a “very powerful tool.”
However, Balboni warned that the Trump administration must be careful not to violate the First Amendment rights of Americans peacefully protesting, while still going after far-left groups that commit violent acts, like those seen after George Floyd’s death in 2020 or during anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles earlier this year.
“It’s a very fine line, but once somebody steps over the line and lights a building on fire, most people would assume, yes, that’s a criminal act, that’s arson, and regardless of your argument, you’re going to go to jail,” Balboni said.
Citing Trump’s record, Balboni believes the president has a strong chance of using current laws to make a real impact against Antifa.
“He’s been able to take a concept and then kind of take the existing laws and wrap it around the concept,” Balboni said.
Balboni also noted that it’s hard to imagine a group less sympathetic than Antifa.
“If you’re advocating the overthrow of the United States, if you’re advocating the use of violence to promote your agenda, if you’re advocating civil disruption, I’m not sure who’s going to stand up for you,” he said.
“But, you know what I think the president is trying to do is point out, in his own words, these are agitators, professional agitators that are out there and are trying to cause disruptions, and they should be called out for what they are,” Balboni said.
For a long-term solution to control domestic terrorism, Balboni suggested that Congress could create a law against domestic terrorism or change the current law to include domestic terrorists.
Trump announced Wednesday that he would designate Antifa as a “major terrorist organization” and said he will “strongly recommend” investigating those who fund Antifa “with the highest legal standards and practices.”
Trump made this announcement a week after Charlie Kirk, a conservative leader and supporter of open debate, was shot and killed on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University during his “American Comeback Tour.” Family members said the suspect, Tyler Robinson, had been “radicalized” as he became more political and shifted left.
