SURE LOOKS LIKE THE RIGHT’S ANTIFA BOOGEYMAN DOESN’T EXIST
Court documents show that almost none of the people arrested during protests against police brutality have any connection to left-wing radicals.
BY TARISAI NGANGURA VANITY FAIR OCTOBER 20, 2020
William Barr, U.S. attorney general, arrives for the announcement of U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee for associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. Photo by Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
An exhaustive investigation by the Associated Press has revealed that of the hundreds of people arrested during the ongoing protests against police brutality, almost none have had any links to the organizing tactic known as antifa, which the president has repeatedly insisted is a concerted left-wing group. In the thousands of pages reviewed by the AP, antifa is reportedly mentioned just once: in a Boston case that says a member of the FBI Gang Task Force was investigating “suspected ANTIFA activity associated with the protests.” The majority of those arrested—on charges ranging from arson to civil disorder—have been working alone, with no links to any radical far-left organization, as both Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr have repeatedly asserted.
As recently as during last week’s NBC town hall, Trump brought up alleged antifa violence when pressed on the proliferation of the right-wing conspiracy group QAnon. Though he claimed to “denounce white supremacy,” he quickly pivoted to asking why moderator Savannah Guthrie hadn’t mentioned “people on the left that are burning down our cities.” Since the beginning of the protests early this year, Trump has consistently targeted blue states as hubs of so-called anarchist activity, writing in a memo sent out last month that “anarchy has recently beset some of our states and cities.” He continued with a threat: “My administration will not allow federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones.”
According to the AP, several of those who have been arrested “are not from the Democratic-led cities that Trump has likened to ‘war zones’ but from the suburbs the Republican president has claimed to have ‘saved.’” In late August, when protests began in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, was shot in the back by police, Trump blamed the violence on “domestic terror” while lending support to Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged with the deaths of two protestors. Rittenhouse was from Illinois and had driven to Kenosha following a mass Facebook call to action by the right-wing militia group known as the Kenosha Guard.
The AP reported that, along with little mention of antifa in court documents, “more than 40% of those facing federal charges are white” and a majority are under 30; they were arrested in cities ranging from “Portland, Oregon, to Minneapolis, Boston, and New York.” FBI director Christopher Wray has labeled far-right extremists “a domestic terror threat.” Testifying in front of the House Homeland Security Committee last month, Wray said, “Within the domestic terrorism bucket, racially motivated violent extremism is, I think, the biggest bucket within that larger group.” He continued, “within the racially motivated violent extremist bucket, people subscribing to some kind of white supremacist-type ideology is certainly the biggest chunk of that.”
Even in the face of irrefutable evidence, Trump’s allies, and Barr in particular, have continued in their hunt for radical left-wing violence. In a June interview with Fox News, Barr said of antifa, “There appear to be sources of funding, and we are looking into the sources of funding.” And in an interview with Wolf Blitzer in September he doubled down on his allegations, saying, “I’ve talked to every police chief in every city where there has been major violence and they all have identified antifa as the ramrod for the violence.” A July investigation by The Intercept found that law enforcement disproportionately focused on antifa even when they knew that far-right extremists were a legitimate threat.
An exhaustive investigation by the Associated Press has revealed that of the hundreds of people arrested during the ongoing protests against police brutality, almost none have had any links to the organizing tactic known as antifa, which the president has repeatedly insisted is a concerted left-wing group. In the thousands of pages reviewed by the AP, antifa is reportedly mentioned just once: in a Boston case that says a member of the FBI Gang Task Force was investigating “suspected ANTIFA activity associated with the protests.” The majority of those arrested—on charges ranging from arson to civil disorder—have been working alone, with no links to any radical far-left organization, as both Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr have repeatedly asserted.
As recently as during last week’s NBC town hall, Trump brought up alleged antifa violence when pressed on the proliferation of the right-wing conspiracy group QAnon. Though he claimed to “denounce white supremacy,” he quickly pivoted to asking why moderator Savannah Guthrie hadn’t mentioned “people on the left that are burning down our cities.” Since the beginning of the protests early this year, Trump has consistently targeted blue states as hubs of so-called anarchist activity, writing in a memo sent out last month that “anarchy has recently beset some of our states and cities.” He continued with a threat: “My administration will not allow federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones.”
According to the AP, several of those who have been arrested “are not from the Democratic-led cities that Trump has likened to ‘war zones’ but from the suburbs the Republican president has claimed to have ‘saved.’” In late August, when protests began in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, was shot in the back by police, Trump blamed the violence on “domestic terror” while lending support to Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged with the deaths of two protestors. Rittenhouse was from Illinois and had driven to Kenosha following a mass Facebook call to action by the right-wing militia group known as the Kenosha Guard.
The AP reported that, along with little mention of antifa in court documents, “more than 40% of those facing federal charges are white” and a majority are under 30; they were arrested in cities ranging from “Portland, Oregon, to Minneapolis, Boston, and New York.” FBI director Christopher Wray has labeled far-right extremists “a domestic terror threat.” Testifying in front of the House Homeland Security Committee last month, Wray said, “Within the domestic terrorism bucket, racially motivated violent extremism is, I think, the biggest bucket within that larger group.” He continued, “within the racially motivated violent extremist bucket, people subscribing to some kind of white supremacist-type ideology is certainly the biggest chunk of that.”
Even in the face of irrefutable evidence, Trump’s allies, and Barr in particular, have continued in their hunt for radical left-wing violence. In a June interview with Fox News, Barr said of antifa, “There appear to be sources of funding, and we are looking into the sources of funding.” And in an interview with Wolf Blitzer in September he doubled down on his allegations, saying, “I’ve talked to every police chief in every city where there has been major violence and they all have identified antifa as the ramrod for the violence.” A July investigation by The Intercept found that law enforcement disproportionately focused on antifa even when they knew that far-right extremists were a legitimate threat.
Most protesters arrested this year aren't urban 'Antifa,' they're young suburbanites with no ties to leftist groups, AP investigation finds
Haven Orecchio-Egresitz
An AP investigation has found that many of those arrested for bad behavior at protests are from the same suburban communities the president paints as safe havens.
Haven Orecchio-Egresitz
Protesters stand in front of the 3rd precinct police building as it burns during a protest on May 28, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today marks the third day of ongoing protests after the police killing of George Floyd. Scott Olson/Getty Images
President Donald Trump has tried to link violence and destruction at this year's protests to left-wing militants, using that premise as part of a pledge to keep suburbia safe.
President Donald Trump has tried to link violence and destruction at this year's protests to left-wing militants, using that premise as part of a pledge to keep suburbia safe.
An AP investigation has found that many of those arrested for bad behavior at protests are from the same suburban communities the president paints as safe havens.
More than 40% of those arrested around the country on federal charges are white and more than 30% are under the age of 30
Most people who have been arrested at protests this year have no affiliation with "Antifa" — an umbrella term used to describe so-called left-wing militant groups — but are rather young suburbanites, an investigation from the Associated Press found.
Anti-racism protests and their counter-demonstrations around the US have resulted in sparks of violence, looting, and destruction of property that President Donald Trump has largely attributed to left-wing activists. He has used the unrest to fuel a race-baiting pledge to protect suburbia, which he calls largely white.
The Associated Press, which sifted through thousands of documents, found that most of the behavior at protests that actually resulted in arrests wasn't of city-dwelling criminals, but rather young people, some of whom traveled from the same communities Trump has painted as Rockwellian safe havens for middle-class America.
It is true that there have been arrests of men and women with anti-government views, and that some of them had carried weapons or had a criminal record, the AP found.
Some of those facing federal charges for violent behavior were members of extreme left- or right-wing chat ideologies.
One man from suburban who was arrested, 20-year-old Brian Bartels, is a "self-described left-wing anarchist." He pleaded guilty to charges that he painted an "A" on a police cruiser before smashing its windshield, the AP reported.
A 63-year-old man from Virginia Beach, John Malcolm Bareswill, was angry that a local Black church held a prayer vigil for George Floyd and, in a phone call riddled with racist slurs, threatened to burn it to the ground, prosecutors said, according to the AP.
But a majority of the defendants had no ties to known militant groups, despite the president's attempts to link destruction to "antifa," the AP found
"I know about antifa, and I know about the radical left, and I know how violent they are and how vicious they are, and I know how they are burning down cities run by Democrats," Trump said at an NBC News town hall.
The only apparent mention of antifa in court documents related to protests stemmed from one Boston investigation into a someone who fired a gun at officers. Authorities called is "suspected ANTIFA" activity, but didn't claim the suspect accused of firing was a member of the group.
Most people who have been arrested at protests this year have no affiliation with "Antifa" — an umbrella term used to describe so-called left-wing militant groups — but are rather young suburbanites, an investigation from the Associated Press found.
Anti-racism protests and their counter-demonstrations around the US have resulted in sparks of violence, looting, and destruction of property that President Donald Trump has largely attributed to left-wing activists. He has used the unrest to fuel a race-baiting pledge to protect suburbia, which he calls largely white.
The Associated Press, which sifted through thousands of documents, found that most of the behavior at protests that actually resulted in arrests wasn't of city-dwelling criminals, but rather young people, some of whom traveled from the same communities Trump has painted as Rockwellian safe havens for middle-class America.
It is true that there have been arrests of men and women with anti-government views, and that some of them had carried weapons or had a criminal record, the AP found.
Some of those facing federal charges for violent behavior were members of extreme left- or right-wing chat ideologies.
One man from suburban who was arrested, 20-year-old Brian Bartels, is a "self-described left-wing anarchist." He pleaded guilty to charges that he painted an "A" on a police cruiser before smashing its windshield, the AP reported.
A 63-year-old man from Virginia Beach, John Malcolm Bareswill, was angry that a local Black church held a prayer vigil for George Floyd and, in a phone call riddled with racist slurs, threatened to burn it to the ground, prosecutors said, according to the AP.
But a majority of the defendants had no ties to known militant groups, despite the president's attempts to link destruction to "antifa," the AP found
"I know about antifa, and I know about the radical left, and I know how violent they are and how vicious they are, and I know how they are burning down cities run by Democrats," Trump said at an NBC News town hall.
The only apparent mention of antifa in court documents related to protests stemmed from one Boston investigation into a someone who fired a gun at officers. Authorities called is "suspected ANTIFA" activity, but didn't claim the suspect accused of firing was a member of the group.
Anti-police protesters rally outside the Portland Police Association building on Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, in Portland, Ore. Noah Berger/AP
The AP reported more than 40% of those facing federal criminal charges related to protest activity are white, at least one-third are Black, and about 6% are Hispanic.
More than two-thirds are under the age of 30 and most are men, according to the AP. More than a quarter have been charged with arson.
In Portland, where 93 people have been arrested on federal criminal charges related to protests, 18 aren't even from Oregon, the AP reported.
Jim Middaugh, a spokesman for Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, told Insider how officials are addressing protesters who venture into the city: "The way we're working to manage the situation is that we don't really care where you're from, we care about the behavior you're engaged in," Middaugh said.
"We don't care about your political ideology, we just want you to be peaceful and obey the law and if you do that, you're welcome to be in Portland. If you don't, we're going to do our best to hold you accountable."
The AP reported more than 40% of those facing federal criminal charges related to protest activity are white, at least one-third are Black, and about 6% are Hispanic.
More than two-thirds are under the age of 30 and most are men, according to the AP. More than a quarter have been charged with arson.
In Portland, where 93 people have been arrested on federal criminal charges related to protests, 18 aren't even from Oregon, the AP reported.
Jim Middaugh, a spokesman for Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, told Insider how officials are addressing protesters who venture into the city: "The way we're working to manage the situation is that we don't really care where you're from, we care about the behavior you're engaged in," Middaugh said.
"We don't care about your political ideology, we just want you to be peaceful and obey the law and if you do that, you're welcome to be in Portland. If you don't, we're going to do our best to hold you accountable."
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