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At a White House policy meeting, the homeland security secretary this week likened the loose network of antifascist activists to MS-13, the Gaza-based organization, Hezbollah and ISIS, describing the loosely affiliated protesters “just as dangerous” as officially recognized terror groups.

“They are just as sophisticated as MS-13, as TDA [Tren de Aragua], as Isis, as Hezbollah, as the Palestinian faction, as all of them, they pose the same level of threat,” Noem stated. “Their goal is to dismantle our society, just like the other terrorists we have confronted for decades.”

The discussion featured rightwing social media journalists including Andy Ngo, Nick Sortor, Katie Daviscourt among others who cover anti-fascist demonstrations.

Several organizations mentioned by the secretary – the Palestinian, Lebanese, and jihadist factions – are formally designated terrorist organizations that hold land, run armed branches, have hierarchical leadership and have executed mass casualty attacks such as bombings, abductions and assassinations.

Specialists in radical movements have frequently characterized antifa, in comparison, as lacking a central command, official membership or structured hierarchy, and it has generally been described by federal law enforcement as a decentralized movement of activists who engage in protest activity, portions of which involve property destruction and public clashes.

The roundtable comes after a presidential directive signed last month classifying anti-fascist activists as a “domestic terrorist organization”.

Shortly prior to the declaration, Joe Biggs who was convicted and then pardoned for his actions during the Capitol events wrote on social media: “Who’s ready to go ANTIFA hunting? Since I am acquainted with several individuals.”