Elections & Politics Brief #196 | Morgan Davidson | September 21, 2025
Following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, President Trump is pushing to go after ‘radical left’ groups, those he claims promote political violence and engage in hate speech. What happened to Charlie Kirk is despicable & the politically motivated murder of an American has been condemned by leaders across the political spectrum. That said, the way we do that is by coming together as Americans not targeting our fellow citizens.
Trump has placed ANTIFA (Anti-fascist) and billionaire George Soros at the center of his response. He announced plans to designate ANTIFA as a terrorist organization in the coming weeks and to pursue RICO investigations into Soros and the groups he funds. These moves mark a significant escalation in the administration’s effort to frame left-wing networks as threats to national security.
While it is easy to promise to “go after” these groups, actually defining and identifying them will be difficult. Antifa, for example, functions more as a loose movement or set of tactics than a hierarchical organization with a payroll or membership database that officials could simply disable. Crucially, the people swept up by any enforcement campaign will be fellow Americans. Not every member will be an accused attacker such as Tyler Robinson, Matthew Thomas Crooks, or Vance Boelter; many will be friends, neighbors, colleagues, and coworkers.
As the recent shootings make clear, political violence is not confined to the Left or the Right. It is a national crisis. At a rally in the U.K., Elon Musk told supporters, “Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die.” Steve Bannon was equally stark, saying, “Charlie Kirk is a casualty of war. We are at war in this country.” Such rhetoric does not put us on a path to unity; it normalizes conflict and primes Americans for more violence.
Crackdowns on speech and the targeting of individuals or groups will only push America deeper into darkness. We already face a political violence problem — from January 6 to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, we see the rise of illiberalism and a growing justification for violence as a political tool. The way forward is not more division but a renewed commitment to see one another as Americans, even more fundamentally, as humans first. We do not need to agree on every issue, but we must recognize our partisan counterparts as fellow citizens. To label and pursue them as enemies will only deepen tribalism and drive us further into an era of us-versus-them politics — and ultimately, into more violence.
The coming series will highlight the groups opposing the Trump administration’s policies. From the legal arm of the ACLU to the decentralized force of Antifa, to emerging grassroots projects like 50501, their efforts are as varied as the challenges they face. Some are rooted in courtrooms, others in the streets, but all reflect the same underlying question: how do Americans channel opposition in a moment defined by division and rising political violence? This series will examine these groups’ goals, tactics, and purposes, offering readers a clearer picture of how the administration’s rhetoric aligns, or conflicts, with the realities on the ground.
Engagement Resources
- BBC News – What is Antifa and why is President Trump targeting it? A primer on Antifa & Trump’s attack on the group. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ced5gqn0p6jo
- CNN- George Soros Fast Facts: Quick Facts & Background on George Soros. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/topics/immigration/
- ACLU- The ACLU’s about us introduction: The ACLU describes the organization in their own words. https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/immigrants-rights