The insidious dishonesty of Trump and the GOP's Antifa BS, that threatens our midterms
TAT readers,
Today I will dig back into my CT/ Counterterrorism background in order to warn everyone about one of the myriad of well-planned threats to our midterm elections. Yesterday’s sentencing of nine men in Texas on terrorism charges based on the false premise that Antifa is a terrorist organization, should terrify any American, regardless of party. If the administration gets away with this, any of us standing against the unconstitutional and illegal actions of this un-American and overtly corrupt administration, run the risk of being falsely accused of terrorism.
"A group of Texas protesters convicted of terrorism charges received unusually harsh sentences of at least 50 years in prison on Tuesday in a closely watched case that was widely seen as a test case of the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on dissent." - Texas anti-ICE protesters convicted of terrorism charges sentenced to at least 50 years in prison - The Guardian - Sam Levine - June 23, 2026
In the Guardian article quoted above, there is plenty of detail as to what did and did not occur however, this case is far from transparent. Of course the North Texas region where the trial occurred, is a hotbed of far-right Republicans, willing to embrace and act on the administration’s dog whistles to racism, white supremacy and unconstitutional activities. Then again, as Texan, this is to be expected from the only political party to run Texas for over thirty years, yet continues to blame the other side, for the miserable degradation of all things government services and the near nationally high property taxes that define our once proud state. Texans have lived under draconian, far-right and unconstitutional leadership since I moved here for the Army, in 2005.
"What is evident across this county — where in the 1970s the oilmen-rancher TV drama “Dallas” was filmed — is that extremism has gone mainstream in certain pockets of America. Hard-line sentiments that would have been whispered only years ago are now spoken unabashed. That worries Alonzo Tutson, a Black Independent, who said right-wing radicals here are everyday people who say “howdy to you at soccer practice. They just blend right in.” Texas was home to three dozen of the 377 alleged insurrectionists arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, tied with Pennsylvania for the most of any state, according to a study by terrorism experts at the University of Chicago. Of Texans charged, 20 live in half a dozen rapidly diversifying blue counties around Houston and Dallas, including several in McKinney’s Collin County." - In North Texas, schism deepens between GOP moderates and ‘skewed’ hard-liners - Los Angeles Times - By Molly Hennessy-Fiske - May 10, 2021
As you can see on the map below from CSIS, a prominent and highly credible national security think tank. There is a cluster of dots around the north Dallas area.
The official press release from DOJ reads like science fiction, and is so full of blatant falsehoods as to be laughable, were the lives of nine Americans not at risk. To be fair, those sentenced did commit limited vandalism and brought fireworks that those inside the ICE detention facility could hear and see during the planned protest. One individual did fire a rifle at a law enforcement officer who had drawn his weapon to threaten protesters. These crimes are legitimate for prosecution, but the rest of DOJs claims are as mentioned, “fiction.” Most were sentenced to fifty years in federal prison for vandalism and fireworks, plus having some pamphlets about the protest. Everyone that the White House has pardoned so far, has committed far worse crimes.
The US District Judge for Northern Texas who sentenced the defendants, also is the one who had declared a mistrial during jury selection, because the defendant’s lawyer was wearing a non-visible tee-shirt under her black blazer, with the faces of Dr. Martin Luther King and Shirley Chisholm on it. Any Texan would recognize such behavior as typical for many Texan judges, but this doesn’t make it right either. What is more infuriating for those that understand the law and the political landscape under this Republican administration whether in Texas or nationally, is that they are operating in the case regarding alleged “Antifa” terrorists, falsely. Antifa is not a terrorist movement and there is zero credible evidence to assert that they are. I wrote an entire deep-dive on this specific issue, back on October 13th of 2025.
"Now, let’s bring things up to where we are today. The current GOP regime that fully controls all three branches of our government, has been pushing ridiculous and unsupported battle cries with terms like, radical left, woke, extremists, terrorists and now most importantly, insurrectionists. In the mind of the GOP and their voters, anyone not as extreme right-wing as they are, are Antifa. Trump’s AG, William Barr tried this in Portland during the George Floyd protests, sending in all types of law enforcement from across the executive branch. After his failed operations, Barr had to publicly admit, that there was no organized Antifa, nor were they a threat. This was largely due to the then Director of the FBI, Christopher Wray making a public statement that dispelled any evidence of an organized Antifa. Yet the Republican lies and conspiracy theories survive, and are now bolstered by even more egregious lies." - Antifa, the GOP's made-up Boogieman - Truth about Threats - Paul Cobaugh - October 13, 2025
This current false prosecution of ICE protesters, reinforces the administration’s false claim that Antifa is a terrorist organization. If we allow them to get away with this, every single American will be subject to arrest and long prison terms, just for offering public dissent against this autocratic administration and their precious GOP. I won’t pretend to speak for all of you, but I will gladly claim the title of Antifa. If this label was good enough for every single American that fought in WW II, it’s sure as hell good enough for me to espouse. In fact, I believe it’s time for a moment taken from the movie Spartacus. In the movie, when Rome demands to know which of the thousands of their captives were Spartacus, the rebellion leader, all prisoners claimed to be Spartacus. A dream of mine would be to rename the resistance, to Antifa. They cannot arrest all of us. After all, we are standing up to Republican fascism.
"Over the past few months, during his agency’s chaotic crackdowns in Chicago and Minneapolis, the U.S. Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino has worn an unusual uniform: a wide-lapel greatcoat with brass buttons and stars along one sleeve. It looks like it was taken right off the shoulders of a Wehrmacht officer in the 1930s. Bovino’s choice of garment is more than tough-guy cosplay (German media noted the aesthetic immediately). The coat symbolizes a trend: The Republicans, it seems, have a bit of a Nazi problem. By this, I mean that some Republicans are deploying Nazi imagery and rhetoric, and espouse ideas associated with the Nazi Party during its rise to power in the early 1930s. A few recent examples: An ICE lawyer linked to a white-supremacist social-media account that praised Hitler was apparently allowed to return to federal court. Members of the national Young Republicans organization were caught in a group chat laughing about their love for Hitler. Vice President J. D. Vance shrugged off that controversy, instead of condemning the growing influence of anti-Semites in his party. - The Republican Party Has a Nazi ProblemHow did the GOP become a haven for slogans and ideas straight out of the Third Reich? - The Atlantic - By Tom Nichols - February 26, 2026
Back to our challenge of preventing our arrests as Antifa, just because we legally exercise our First Amendment right to free speech. This case and another very similar in Minnesota against ICE protesters, are the first that use the “Antifa terrorism” label in open court. Should this succeed, we must be prepared to act in defense of our constitutional rights. Remember, all January 6th protesters who did far worse than those accused in Texas and Minnesota, are now free, pardoned by Trump, and without objection by the GOP. J6 rioters and violent extremists, expressed the beliefs of several legitimate far-right domestic terror organizations, such as the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, etc. We all watched these felon’s actions and expressions of far-right violent extremism on our TV screens, phones, laptops, iPads, local papers and on and on and on. Yet in the case of those recently sentenced, there is no such proof, only dishonest accusations.
"Proud Boys The Proud Boys were formed by Gavin McInnes, co-founder of Vice Media, in 2016 during the U.S. presidential election. Proud Boys consider themselves “Western chauvinists” who romanticize a traditional, male-dominated version of Western culture. While the Proud Boys vehemently deny adhering to a racist ideology, the organization is deeply rooted in white nationalism and misogyny. As of December 31, 2021, 83 Proud Boys members and sympathizers have allegedly carried out ideologically motivated crimes in the United States. This number includes 54 Proud Boys defendants who participated in the Capitol breach on January 6, 2021. Proud Boys defendants have come from 25 states and the District of Columbia, including 14 from Florida, 14 from New York, 7 from Washington, and 6 from Pennsylvania. Using auxiliary data from the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) project, these infographics provide information on the characteristics of U.S. Proud Boys defendants and their crimes." - Proud Boys Crimes and Characteristics - START, Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, the US center of excellence for peer-reviewed research on Terrorism. - Jensen, Michael, Elizabeth Yates, and Sheehan Kane. 2022. "Proud Boys Crimes and Characteristics." College Park, MD: START
Oath Keepers "Abstract: On January 6, 2021, 21 members of the Oath Keepers are alleged to have played a critical role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to storm the U.S. Capitol and disrupt the certification of the 2020 general election. Since its inception in 2009, the group has used a warped sense of patriotism, loose enforcement of laws surrounding paramilitary activity, and America’s founding revolutionary spirit to justify anti-government mobilization. It consistently walked the edge of political violence before taking part in the January 6 insurrection. While the group claims to be “guardians of the republic,” its principal target is the government itself—particularly entities representing perceived federal government overreach and vectors for tyrannical forces to suppress Americans’ natural rights. Following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a subtle but significant shift occurred in the group’s ideological focus, which saw left-wing political ideologies and social justice movements assume equal footing as targets for the group’s ire. Over the next four years, the group consistently mobilized armed responses, often posing as “security operations” to perceived threats, and increasingly expressed the belief that the United States was on the brink of or already in a state of civil war." - The Oath Keepers and Their Role in the January 6 Insurrection - Combating Terrorism Center at West Point - Matthew Kriner, Jon Lewis - December 2021, Volume 14, Issue 10
Three Percenters The U.S. far-right milieu is not monolithic. It can be divided into at least five sections: racist extremism, namely white nationalism/supremacy; anti-government extremism; nativist extremism; anti-abortion extremism; and male supremacy. The anti-government movement, which is the most relevant to this brief, can be categorized into six further sub-sections: militias, tax protesters, sovereign citizens, constitutional sheriffs, far-right segments of survivalist or “prepper” communities, and conspiracy propagandists. The Three Percenter movement is a subset of the larger far-right anti-government militia movement, organized primarily around intense fear and loathing of the U.S. federal government. Although fixated on the federal government, anti-government extremists use coded rhetoric that also expresses anxiety toward historically disenfranchised racial/ethnic/religious minorities. Their ideology and narratives are malleable enough to identify additional perceived enemies, including Muslims. They also often attempt to portray themselves as armed protectors of the U.S. Constitution against tyrants-in-waiting (the U.S. federal government) and various collaborators (anti-fascists [“antifa”], Black Lives Matter, George Soros, Muslims, and others)." - The Three Percenters: A Look Inside an Anti-Government Militia - START, Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, the US center of excellence for peer-reviewed research on Terrorism. - Beutel, Alejandro and Daryl Johnson. 2021
These last quotes come from the very pinnacle of US Terrorism analysts. I posted excerpts from the three groups I noted earlier, along with access to the research. I wanted readers to know what justifies an organization’s labeling as a terrorist or violent extremist organization. Next, I will show you what START, the source for two of those groups say about Antifa. This way everyone can compare and contrast to see just how insane it is to label anti administration protesters as Antifa and as “domestic terrorists.”
Is Antifa a Terrorist Group? Abstract: "Starting in 2016, a number of protests and physical confrontations aimed at individuals and groups associated with right wing politics in the United States have been attributed to an ill-defined entity called “antifa”: short for anti-fascist. A high profile example took place in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 11-12, 2017. During two days of conflict and violence, anti right wing protesters clashed with right wing supporters. During the second day of the confrontation, a right-wing supporter drove a car into a crowd of protesters, killing one person and injuring 35 others. While many antifa supporters see it as a defense against right wing extremism, some on the right view supporters instead as terrorists. I tackle these issues in this essay by applying the guidelines of the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) to determine whether the actions by antifa supporters during the Charlottesville incident constitute terrorism. I conclude that while the events share many characteristics of terrorist attacks, they do not include all of the elements of terrorism required by the GTD. I also question whether antifa can be considered to constitute a “group” at this point in time." - Is Antifa a Terrorist Group? - START, Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, the US center of excellence for peer-reviewed research on Terrorism. - LaFree, Gary. 2018
The bottom-line is, there is no Antifa organization, but there are a set of beliefs that call for the defense of citizens from fascist violence. They do not start fights. Their actions are deterrents and defensive, only when required to protect innocent citizens from far-right thuggery. This administration and their sycophantic Republican-led Congress, don’t care about truth and evidence. Trump and the GOP label Americans as Antifa or domestic terrorists associated with Antifa. Such a label is nothing more than a tool employed by fascist leadership to justify rounding up dissenters. By their definition, everyone in the resistance is Antifa. As for me, I’m proud to accept the label. Being Antifa, has historically been the honorable position of all Americans, that respect our constitution and our history.
Labeling legal dissent, domestic terrorism is quite literally, straight out of the Nazi playbook for pre-war Germany. The German word for this is, Gleichschaltung, which translates roughly to Nazification in English.
"Gleichschaltung was the process of the Nazi Party taking control over all aspects of Germany. It is otherwise known as coordination or Nazification. The process primarily took place between 1933-1934. The Nazi’s started with the Civil Service , issuing the Act for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service on the 7 April 1933. This act legalised removing anyone of non-Ayran descent from the civil service. In the judicial system specifically, this act removed any judges that were deemed non-compliant with Nazi laws or principles. This act was reinforced by the German Civil Service code of 26 January 1937, which retired any judges or judicial official who would not intervene in cases and rule in favour of the Nazis. The People’s Court, a court created by the Nazis in April 1934 with judges chosen specifically for their Nazi beliefs, replaced the Supreme Court. With these measures in place, the Nazification of the judicial system was complete. Gleichschaltung was applied across every possible aspect of government policy." - Gleichschaltung - The Holocaust Explained
Today’s GOP is using Hitler’s playbook on to consolidate power in the Executive Branch without interference from any other element of government. To be clear, those who know WW II history well, long ago recognized the GOP’s Project 2025, as a modified Gleichschaltung, with several elements being nearly verbatim from the pre-war Nazi playbook. Take a look at some of the examples below from the Holocaust Encyclopedia and you will easily see how closely the administration is following Hitler’s strategy.
Using Emergency Decrees to Govern
In July 1930, Hindenburg and Brüning issued an emergency decree to enact a deflationary budget despite parliament’s opposition. They used Article 48 of the German constitution. Article 48 permitted the German president to take measures bypassing parliamentary consent in cases of national emergency. Parliament, in line with its constitutional right, voted to force Hindenburg to rescind the emergency decree. In response, Hindenburg and Brüning dissolved parliament and called new special parliamentary elections.
Nazi Party Disruption and Obstruction in Parliament
In parliament, Nazi deputies were deliberately disruptive and rowdy. They refused to support any of the Brüning government’s measures and regularly called votes of no-confidence. They derailed parliamentary sessions by introducing irrelevant points of order.
Brüning attempted to work around this situation. With Hindenburg’s support, he repeatedly resorted to Article 48 to issue emergency decrees. He enacted economic measures that did little to relieve unemployment or help those in poverty. As a result, the Communists began referring to him as the “hunger chancellor” (Hungerkanzler). Brüning also sent parliament into long periods of recess.
Undermining Public Order With Political Violence
By 1931, political violence on Germany’s streets had become unmanageable. This was in large part because of the increase in paramilitary groups affiliated with parties from across the political spectrum. The Nazi Party’s paramilitary, the SA, was especially radical and violent. SA men often abused Jews and smashed the windows of Jewish-owned businesses. They regularly brawled with and even killed their political opponents, especially Communists. In turn, scores of Nazis were killed by opposing groups. The German government and police forces failed to contain the political violence. This further undermined many Germans’ faith in the Weimar Republic.
Summary
This essay is already longer than I anticipated and I am grateful for those who’ve come along to the end. Today’s work is in my opinion, something that is necessary for us to understand, if those of us in the resistance are to remain out of prison and effective through the midterms. Should the domestic terrorism charges and allegations of Antifa as a domestic terror organization stand against those unfairly sentenced yesterday by Judge Mark T. Pittman, every last one of us is in danger of arrest and imprisonment. Of course, our currently cowardly mainstream media isn’t covering this story well, so we must share this serious threat with each other. It’s too late to turn our backs on the republic and save ourselves by remaining silent, but this is exactly what our administration of fascists wishes for. If we stay quiet, the GOP wins and we lose our republic. It is not more complicated than that.
As I have noted often, my oath to the nation when I joined the military was, “to protect and defend the constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic.” I have no choice but to fight on. From what I’ve witnessed from the resistance patriots, I believe that you will soldier on as well. I’m personally humbled and grateful for everyone that will stand against tyranny, and for our constitution. In my book… every one of you is not only a hero, but the very definition of what it means to be a patriot. Thank you all.
Onward,
Publius Redux