Antifa killed 23-year-old mathematics studentQuentin Deranquein Lyon, France, this week. The nationalist activist was beaten by at least six individuals, suffering fatal skull and brain injuries. Antifa and ISIS are both terrorist organizations that have killed innocent people. President Trump dismantled ISIS, while the Biden administration denied the existence of Antifa and, critics argue, enabled the group.
Today, ISIS is far smaller than it was before President Trump’s first administration, but Antifa is growing and becoming increasingly international.
The Biden administrationaided Antifathrough what critics describe as political protection, media censorship, and information suppression. The administration’s failure to counter Antifa violence effectively was not merely the result of legal constraints or constitutional limitations. Political protection, mainstream-media censorship, social-media suppression, and outright denial by key political figures created an environment in which Antifa operated with virtual impunity, while those documenting its activities faced systematic silencing.
The term “mostly peaceful protest” became a mantra repeated across mainstream media to describe riots, even when people were killed. Democrats repeatedly claimed that Antifa did not exist, and major media outlets minimized or failed to report the violence and extensive property damage during the summer of George Floyd. News organizations framed the Portland violence as “peaceful protests,” even as federal buildings were under siege and officers were assaulted with improvised weapons.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s description of ICE as a “terrorist force” highlights the challenges federal law enforcement faces when prominent elected officials publiclycriticize or condemnedenforcement agencies instead of focusing on acts of violence. In Washington state, an individual linked to Antifa attempted to attack ICE’s Northwest Processing Center. After the incident, Jayapal attributed the broader climate of violence to rhetoric from the political right, a position critics argue shifted attention away from the seriousness of the attempted attack against detainees and facility personnel.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler provided what critics describe as a clear example of political dismissal of Antifa-related violence. When confronted by journalist Austen Fletcher in July 2020 about ongoing unrest in Portland, Nadler responded, “That’s a myththat’s being spread only in Washington, D.C.” His remarks followed weeks of documented violence, including repeated clashes, federal officers reportedly injured by laser attacks, and billions of dollars in property damage nationwide.
During House floor debates, Nadler referred to Antifa as “imaginary,” dismissing Republican concerns about left-wing extremism as “errant nonsense, off-topic, dealing with imaginary things like Antifa.” As chairman of the committee responsible for oversight of federal law enforcement, critics argue that his remarks contributed to a political climate in which confronting Antifa-related violence became increasingly contentious.
Most recently, Democratsopposed President Trump’sdesignation of Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. However, Antifa’s existence and its pattern of violence have been widely documented by law-enforcement agencies and media reports.
Some political figures not only provided rhetorical cover for Antifa but also supported organizations that assisted individuals arrested during unrest. Then–Vice President Kamala Harris publicly promoted bail funds, including the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which posted bail for individuals arrested during the 2020 riots.
The fund helped secure the release of people facing charges ranging from assault to arson, and some individuals released on bail were later accused of committing additional offenses while awaiting trial.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
