President Donald Trump is scheduled to host a roundtable at the White House on Wednesday afternoon to hear firsthand accounts from independent journalists about violence associated with the group Antifa.
The “listening session” will focus on the far-left group, which the administration recently designated a domestic terrorist organization. According to the White House, Trump will be joined by senior officials including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, FBI Director Kash Patel, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and senior advisor Stephen Miller.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stated that the event is intended to highlight what the administration views as a failure by local leaders and the media to address the issue. “For too long, Antifa has ravaged great American cities while ineffectual Democrat leaders turn a blind eye — and most in the media have gone right along with them,” Jackson said. “Some reporters have been brave enough to blaze their own trail and report the facts.”
The journalists slated to attend include Andy Ngo, Nick Sortor, Savanah Hernandez, and Brandi Kruse, among others. Ngo gained national attention after being assaulted during a 2019 Portland protest and later authored a book on Antifa. Sortor was arrested while covering a protest in Portland this October before the charges against him were dropped.
Antifa is a militant anti-fascist movement that has been accused of perpetrating violence during riots, notably in 2020 and during recent attacks on federal immigration facilities. In September, President Trump signed an executive order designating the group a domestic terrorist organization, accusing it of advancing political violence.
The administration has repeatedly criticized media coverage of the group. “This is something the president campaigned on because we have seen a rise in violence perpetuated by Antifa,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in September, adding that the issue “went completely ignored by the previous administration.”
However, critics argue that the administration is conflating terrorism with protests. The roundtable follows a recent order by Trump to deploy National Guard troops to Portland as part of a broader effort to address crime, though a federal judge has temporarily blocked that deployment.
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