"Why Antifa Is The Keyser Söze of Social Unrest": https://jonathanturley.org/2020/08/06/why-antifa-is-the-keyser-soze-of-social-unrest/ Why Antifa Is The Keyser Söze of Social Unrest by jonathanturley Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on yesterday’s hearing in the Senate, which ended abruptly with Sen. Hirono walking out after a confrontation with Sen. Cruz over his objection that the Democrats were avoiding direct criticism of Antifa. In roughly 50 hearings as a witness in Congress, that was a first for me. I have been in a hearing with a lock down but I have never been in hearing with a walk out. I was not sure if I was expected to turn off the lights after both senators left. The dramatic ending of the hearing however quickly supplanted the underlying issue. As I stated in my testimony, I am less concerned with Antifa’s role in the protests as its role in the growing anti-free speech movement in the United States. Here is the column: If you read the coverage online or watch the cable networks, the extremist movement known as Antifa is either the new Al Qaeda or the new Big Foot. President Trump wants to have Antifa classified as a terrorist organization, while various Democrats insist it is simply a conservative phantom. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler even insisted that violence by Antifa is a myth and called the accounts imaginary. While I oppose designating Antifa as a terrorist organization, its existence is certainly not a myth. Indeed, it may be the most successful movement against free speech in modern history. However, its structure and tactics avoid easy detection, which is why so many people claim the group is an apparition. It is true that whenever such spontaneous and concentrated violence erupts, many people tend to believe it is Antifa. Antifa is often the culprit on university campuses. In the film “The Usual Suspects,” the character Virgil described the invisible villain Keyser Söze. He is “the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.” Antifa does exist and the last few weeks demonstrate how skilled it is as the Keyser Söze of social unrest in America. Antifa was founded on a rejection of formal structures and leaders. Many associated groups are part of Anti-Racist Action and a loose coordinating organization known as the Torch Network. This lack of structure not only appeals to the anarchist elements for the movement but serves to evade both law enforcement and legal challenges. The threat of Antifa is not its role in civil unrest but its activities attacking free speech. Both far left and far right groups have been identified in riots in various cities. These extremist groups use social media and the internet to sow disorder, hide their identities, and frame other groups for their activities. Notably in the last week, Richmond police identified both Antifa and the Boogaloo Boys in violent protests in that city. It is part of what Attorney General William Barr refers to as the “witches brew of violent groups on both sides” such as Antifa and some other similar groups. Antifa members have been arrested and involved in violence in the cities. The president of the Portland National Association for the Advancement of Colored People wrote in the Washington Post to denounce the “white spectacle” of the recent violence. He asked, “What are antifa and other leftist agitators achieving for the cause of black equality?” The answer is that Antifa is not an ally to Black Lives Matter. It is all about revolutionary change and using demonstrations to trigger greater social unrest. It follows the same purpose mistakenly spoken by former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley following those riots during the Democratic National Convention in 1968, “The police are not here to create disorder. They are here to preserve disorder.” Antifa causes such violence. Antifa has found allies while the movement has grown. It primarily targets conservatives and the free speech community, so it has not been a major concern of liberals. Former Democratic National Committee deputy chair Keith Ellison, now the Minnesota attorney general, once said antifa would “strike fear in the heart” of Trump. This was after Antifa had been involved in numerous acts of violence and its website was banned in Germany. His own son, Minneapolis City Council member Jeremiah Ellison, declared his allegiance to Antifa in the heat of the protests this summer. That fact is that Antifa works to strike fear not in the heart of Trump but in the heart of anyone who will oppose the movement. The Antifa handbook states how the group has rejected the idea of free speech and has spent years organizing protests to prevent opposing views from getting heard. That practice has been adopted by other groups as well. Antifa violence can give colleges or politicians cover for barring conservative speakers. Nancy Pelosi has called for the revocation of a permit for a conservative prayer group viewed as a security matter in San Francisco. George Washington University student Jason Charter has been charged as the alleged “ringleader” of efforts to take down statues across the capital. Charter has been an active Antifa member on campus for years. Following his arrest, he claimed the “movement is winning.” It is winning partly since local officials order police to stand down or drop criminal charges to avoid conflict. But it is winning mostly since people remain silent. Silence kills free speech. Antifa knows that. It is the silence of professors who watch as their colleagues are harassed, investigated, or threatened. It is the silence of students who watch as others are attacked for dissenting ideas. It is the silence of reporters who watch as other journalists are fired or forcibly retired for challenging orthodox views. Finally, it is the silence of those politicians who dismiss the destruction of property as a case, in the words of Pelosi, that “people will do what people will do.” Antifa will do a great deal of damage if allowed. That is why, for academics and writers, Antifa’s presence is menacing, not mythological. As Virgil explained, Keyser Söze became the “spook story that criminals tell their kids at night.” Some politicians want to portray Antifa as a spook story that Republicans tell their kids at night. However, it is no illusion for those who have been the targets of Antifa and related groups. Antifa has achieved the agenda against free speech to a degree that even critics like me never imagined possible. It simply took inaction from our government and silence from our citizens. Threats against free speech are reaching a critical mass in our schools and on our streets. We can either take action or remain passive bystanders to what inevitably comes next. Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University who will testify today before the Senate Judiciary Committee on antifa and the movement against free speech in America.
I agree with two things and then 2ndly opposing free speech is wrong, and of course assault on innocent people is wrong. Outside of that, I don't really care for Atifa one way or another, this article feels propoganda-ish. They haven't killed anybody so far, which is kind of crazy considering people kill all the time in this country over stupid **** like this all time I'm quite impressed that in a country with over 400+ mass shootings last year that political killings aren't far more common, with the way this country is headed I'd expect it look like Jamaica in the 70's.
One white supremacist in one day in one black church killed more Americans than Antifa has in their entire existence.
There are like 10 white nationalists who by themselves have larger kill counts than Antifa's entire existence.
It's relevant when making a group out to be the boogeyman to quantify how much harm they have done in comparison to other political violence, no? Like - I'm WAY more scared of white nationalist then I am of Antifa people, and that's a fear backed by real numbers. If anybody is the Keyser Soze of social unrest it's murderous white nationalist.
Casting opinions to the side by putting them in a prelabeled box strikes me as something a thinkers man wouldn't do
Why do you keep posting stupid ****? I’m just curious. Republicans as political dogma are marketing Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. Turley is just carrying the Republicans water and not for the first time. But by all means, let’s talk about something that is not important to distract from that which is.
do you think “Antifa” is an important issue in our country? Like a top 20 issue of national concern, beyond punditry topics? I think they have close to the relevance of ACORN, circa 2008 or so, which would not put them in the top 50 urgent national issues. EDIT: I do love the Soze ref though.
You think that Antifa would rather see their families in the ground? I think so. Many of them would be on the losing end of what they are pushing for.
This is the main claim. But he should give some concrete examples. Coz Keyser Soze is not enough. (A movie character, right? The author did not move me to figure it out, even though I know I saw that movie.) Dunno about Antifa, but many self-proclaimed "progressives" and "liberals" have undeniably become fervent language police.
in trumps america antifa are terrorists but neo-nazis (one of whom murdered an innocent woman) marching through the streets of america chanting jews will not replace us are "very fine people". in trumps america POWs are not heroic b/c they were captured, but a navy seal who stabbed a teenage prisoner to death and as a sniper murdered innocent women, girls and old men is "a great warrior".
lol at everyone basically missing the point of the OP If you read the coverage online or watch the cable networks, the extremist movement known as Antifa is either the new Al Qaeda or the new Big Foot. President Trump wants to have Antifa classified as a terrorist organization, while various Democrats insist it is simply a conservative phantom. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler even insisted that violence by Antifa is a myth and called the accounts imaginary. While I oppose designating Antifa as a terrorist organization, its existence is certainly not a myth. Indeed, it may be the most successful movement against free speech in modern history. However, its structure and tactics avoid easy detection, which is why so many people claim the group is an apparition.
