Antifa Ups The Ante

The headline of an Atlantic story on the Portland Antifa protests a week ago was Portland’s ‘War Zone’ Is Like Burning Man for the Terminally Online. The subhead is. "There’s more absurdity than menace on the city’s streets—at least for now." Most of it is behind a paywall, but this much is visible to a non-subscriber:

In the days since Donald Trump directed his “Secretary of War” to marshal troops against “domestic terrorists” in Portland, Oregon, encouraging the use of “full force” in a city he likened to a “war zone,” I have been hanging around the demonstration that the president wants to crush. What I’ve found is an atmosphere that is more like a carnival than combat.

By some accounts, this all started back in June, when a group of friends decided to pitch a tent outside an ICE facility in the city. “I was like, ‘Oh, hell yeah! Occupation against deportation! Let it begin, bitches!’” Andy Siebe, who has cropped, caramel-color hair and thin, rounded stumps for teeth, told me when I got to the encampment site, which consists of a heap of cots and tents and medical supplies.

No worries, just a group of friends with no teeth. In his 2024 debate with Trump, Joe Biden quoted former FBI Director Wray to the effect that Antifa isn't an organization, it's an idea, but accounts of the Portland demonstrations I've cited here strongly suggest, contra The Atlantic, that they're well-funded and well-organized, although media accounts go as far as to call them "family friendly" and minimize the actual danger to casual attendees. As of 2020, Trump was already calling them "well funded ANARCHISTS & THUGS":

...And I look at them as a bunch of well funded ANARCHISTS & THUGS who are protected because the Comey/Mueller inspired FBI is simply unable, or unwilling, to find their funding source, and allows them to get away with “murder”. LAW & ORDER! https://t.co/yHLzB0RQ8e

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 18, 2020

Two weeks ago, Trump signed an order designating them a "domestic terrorist organization". However,

Current law does provide for the designation of some groups as "foreign terrorist organizations," a process that lies with the State Department. It is through this mechanism that al-Qaida and ISIS, for example, have landed on the public list that the department regularly updates. To qualify for this designation, an organization must be based overseas; it must be a cohesive entity engaged in terrorist activity; and it must be a threat to U.S. national security interests.

No similar list or process exists for domestic groups.

That link at NPR perpetuates the myth that Antifa is an idea, not an organization:

"I think it's pretty well-known that antifa is sort of a loosely organized movement rather than a particular organization," Faiza Patel, director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, said before the order was released.

The image at the top of this post appeared on the the Portland-focused website “Rose City Counter-Info”. As of the time I post this, it's still there. It encourages mass use of lasers to make it difficult, if not dangerous, for helicopters to fly over Portland monitoring the anti-ICE demonstrations. According to AOL,

Federal prosecutors also charged a man with the crime of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft in Portland days before the Rose City Counter-Info post, alleging he aimed it at a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) helicopter in September.

“The laser can cause blindness and spotting in vision, making it a challenge to find other aircraft and obstacles, which could lead to a catastrophic event,” an FBI agent said in a criminal complaint. One crew member in the helicopter had to avert his eyes while in flight due to the laser, the complaint said.

Aiming a laser at an aircraft is in fact a federal crime.

The 2012 federal statute makes it illegal for people to “knowingly” point a laser pointer’s beam “at an aircraft”—whether private, commercial, or military—or its flight path. Most importantly, it attaches consequences to this action: A monetary fine of up to $250,000 and/or a federal prison sentence of up to five years. On top of that, the FAA’s website notes that it “can impose civil penalties of up to $11,000” each time someone aims a laser beam at an aircraft.

I asked Chrome AI mode, "Is it a crime to encourage people to violate federal law?" It answered,

Yes, encouraging people to violate federal law is a crime under specific federal statutes, particularly if it meets the criteria for solicitation, aiding and abetting, or conspiracy. Simply advocating for illegal conduct, however, may be protected by the First Amendment if it does not incite immediate lawless action.

. . . It is a federal crime to command, encourage, or request another person to commit a federal offense, particularly a crime of violence. The crime of solicitation is complete when the request is made, regardless of whether the other person agrees to or commits the crime.

. . . Simply encouraging a broad group to violate a law at some unspecified point in the future is likely protected speech. However, telling a specific person to immediately and deliberately break a law would likely meet the criteria for illegal solicitation.

The Rose City Counter-Info post seems at least to be edging close to a line. I assume Homeland Security and the FBI are looking carefully to see exactly who is behind this. Whoever they are, I think at this point, they're tugging on Superman's cape.