Trump may consider employing the RICO Act against Antifa, according to a counterterrorism expert's statement.
In a significant move, President Donald Trump has designated the leftist agitation group Antifa as a "major terrorist organization." This decision was announced a week after the shooting of conservative figure Charlie Kirk.
Peter D'Abrosca, a politics reporter who joined our website Digital in 2025, previously working at The Tennessee Star, has been closely following the developments. D'Abrosca, a graduate of Elon University who grew up in Rhode Island, can be followed on X at @pmd_reports.
Michael Balboni, an attorney and former member of the New York State Assembly and Senate, said the president has "powerful" tools at his disposal to dismantle Antifa. Balboni, who chaired the state senate's Homeland Security Committee and was later appointed to the state's Domestic Terrorism Task Force under Governors Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, believes the president has a high probability of success in using current laws to make a significant impact to combat Antifa's operations.
Balboni suggested that it's possible to use RICO or other statutes to try to do an enterprise-wide roll-up of Antifa members. For a defendant to be convicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), there must be an existence of an enterprise, a pattern of racketeering activity within the past decade, a demonstration that the threat of continued criminal behavior exists, and the defendant must be associated with or employed by the enterprise.
Balboni warned that the Trump administration will have to be careful not to impede upon the First Amendment rights of Americans who are peacefully protesting. He stated that once someone steps over the line and commits a criminal act like arson, they will go to jail regardless of their arguments or beliefs.
The U.S. terrorism laws under the Immigration and Nationality Act only apply to foreign groups, so there is no federal statute for prosecuting domestic organizations as terrorists. However, Balboni thinks that the president can still combat Antifa using the RICO Act.
Story tips can be sent to [email protected]. It's worth noting that Balboni is not a member of Congress, and he has not proposed congressional measures specifically targeting Antifa.
The suspect in the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Tyler Robinson, was reportedly radicalized as he became more political and leaned towards the left. The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and more details are expected to be released in due course.
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