During the late 1960s, the last time the U.S. faced mass unrest on this level, militant groups like the Weather Underground spoke about their desire to “bring the war back home”—meaning, to bring the struggle of the Viet Cong and other leftist guerilla movements to the U.S. homeland. Today, by contrast, it seems to be the U.S. political leaders who want to bring the war home. The heavily armed police, National Guardsmen, and Blackhawk helicopters confronting protesters reflect the rhetoric, legal framework, and military tactics developed over 20 years of the global war on terrorism. Now that approach is being applied to the conflict playing out on American streets.
On Sunday, President Trump announced that “The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.” He almost certainly doesn’t have the legal authority to do this—the U.S. only designates foreign terrorist organizations and it’s a stretch to even call antifa—a shorthand for “anti-fascist” activists, a loosely coordinated, sometimes militant movement that mobilizes against the far-right—an organization. Even Trump’s own Department of Homeland Security says there’s little evidence that organized extremists are behind the current unrest.