LEILA FADEL, HOST:
This week, four leftist European groups were added to the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations. These new designations are part of the State Department's commitment to target, quote, "antifa groups across the globe." But the selection of these groups is causing concern about possible repercussions here at home. NPR's domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef joins us to discuss. Hi, Odette.
ODETTE YOUSEF, BYLINE: Hey, Leila.
FADEL: So tell us about the four groups that are now designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
YOUSEF: Sure. So only one actually identifies as antifa. It's called Antifa Ost, and it's based in Germany. The other three don't necessarily wear the label of antifa. They're anarchist groups. One is called the Informal Anarchist Federation, based in Italy. The other two are Greek. There's Armed Proletarian Justice and also Revolutionary Class Self-Defense. And the State Department claims all these groups have been connected with acts of violence, such as bombings.
FADEL: OK. So is that true? I mean, give us some context around these additions to the FTO list. Are they responsible for actions similar to what other foreign terrorist organizations have engaged in?
YOUSEF: Yeah, I spoke with Jason Blazakis about this. He's with Middlebury's research center on terrorism, extremism and counterterrorism. But for 10 years, he headed the office at the State Department that was responsible for FTO designations. Here's what he told me about these four groups.
JASON BLAZAKIS: These wouldn't really typically merit an FTO designation because they hadn't been responsible for fatalities yet. They don't have that capability that groups like ISIS and al-Qaida have, for instance.
YOUSEF: Now, fatalities are not, you know, always required for this designation. Blazakis was at State in 2009 when it designated another Greek leftist group an FTO. That group had launched a rocket on the U.S. Embassy in Athens. And there were no fatalities, but, you know, that was a direct attack against the U.S. government. But Blazakis says, to him, you know, the key part about this development is actually what he calls the atmospherics leading up to these designations. The administration has really been interested lately in identifying domestic terrorists in connection with antifa.
FADEL: OK. Say more about that. How would these foreign terrorist designations help with that?
YOUSEF: Well, President Trump issued a memorandum this year labeling antifa a domestic terrorist organization, but there have been questions about that. First, antifa really isn't an organization in the U.S. It's a movement. But also, Leila, domestic terrorist organizations are not a thing here. That's because that kind of designation could violate First Amendment rights. Now, people in the U.S. could be prosecuted as terrorists if they're shown to be connected to a foreign terrorist group, but making the case for this could be difficult. I spoke with Patrick Strickland about it. He's reported on anti-fascism in Europe for the last decade.
PATRICK STRICKLAND: The ties between Europeans and Americans, insofar as the anti-fascist movement goes, it's really just like putting out a statement in solidarity or something like that.
YOUSEF: And, you know, putting out a statement is very different from, you know, providing material support for terrorism. And what's more, Strickland says these four groups are really obscure even in Europe.
FADEL: OK. So where do things go from here?
YOUSEF: I think the question is, will we now see the administration accuse American citizens of having connections to these groups, and what kind evidence will they show for that? You know, we are seeing this administration use terms like antifa and terrorist in very broad ways. And so I also expect that if they do connect these groups with domestic actors, it would spur challenges in court.
FADEL: That's NPR's Odette Yousef. Thank you, Odette.
YOUSEF: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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