President Donald Trump's executive orders against anti-fascism seek to criminalize the political opposition, say activists and defenders of civil liberties and constitutional law.

Now, the first formal federal indictment against "Antifa" anticipates that the Department of Justice is opening a much more serious case against left-wing groups.

Cameron Arnold, also known as “Autumn Hill,” and Zachary Evetts are the first Americans accused of being members of “Antifa,” a long-standing target of Trump's quest to find legal tools for a broader crackdown on left-wing protests and dissent. On July 4, Hill and Evetts allegedly conspired with nine other activists to ambush and attempt to kill Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers working at the ICE-operated Prairieland Detention Center in Alverado, Texas. They have also been charged with additional terrorism-related offenses. They are tentatively scheduled for trial next month.

In the case of Hill and Evetts, the Justice Department is moving quickly to prosecute them after Trump signed an executive order on September 22 declaring the militant antifascist movement a “domestic terrorist organization.”

“As @POTUS has made clear, Antifa is a left-wing terrorist organization. They will be prosecuted as such,” US Attorney Pam Bondi said on her account.

Arrested in LA

“At a demonstration, an individual could face criminal charges if they become violent toward federal officers, vandalize public or private property, or otherwise violate the law,” Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesperson for Acting US Attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, told La Opinion.

McEvoy indicated that peacefully protesting government policies and practices is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.

However,He clarified that freedom of expression has limits.

“Threats of harm against federal agents or anyone else are illegal,” he stated. He also mentioned that stalking and harassment of federal officers or anyone else is also illegal.

“Violence and the threat of violence are not protected by free speech,” McEvoy clarified, adding that no one faces federal charges for simply “protesting in the streets.”

“As you saw last Saturday, millions of people protested peacefully and no one was arrested. It's when protesters go too far and resort to violence that free speech doesn't protect them,” he emphasized.

However, a total of 14 people were arrested following the “No Kings” march in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 18, including ten adults and two juveniles who were arrested for violating Penal Code Section 409 — Failure to Disperse (misdemeanor). Sergeant Drake Madison, spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), told this newspaper.

New lawsuit

In this environment, Anna Marie Hicks, a professional dancer, filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County and the city of Los Angeles, alleging excessive use of force and civil rights violations after allegedly being shot with a rubber bullet by law enforcement officers while participating in a “No Kings” protest in front of Los Angeles City Hall during the spring.

A legal complaint could be a preliminary step to file a lawsuit.

“When the President of the United States posts videos of himself throwing feces on peaceful protesters, it is not only disgusting, but also dangerous,” said Jamon Hicks, one of the plaintiff's attorneys.

“It allows law enforcement to order for everyone to see protesters not as citizens exercising their rights, but as targets of humiliation and harm. That kind of rhetoric, coming from the highest office in the land, normalizes violence against those who dare to dissent,” he added.

According to the complaint, Anna Marie Hicks (no relation to attorney Jamon Hicks) was one of hundreds of protesters on the lawn in front of City Hall on June 14 when personnel from the sheriff's department or the Los Angeles Police Department fired flash-bang grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets into the crowd without warning.

According to the complaint, Hicks was holding a protest sign and chanting slogans when she saw an armed officer behind the barricade, who then pointed his gun directly at her. The officer shot her, hitting her in the upper inner thigh with a rubber bullet at close range. The impact caused immediate bleeding, dizziness, and severe pain, according to the complaint.

“They treat people like terrorists,” the lawyer told La Opinion. “They use force indiscriminately,which is a real problem when people are simply exercising their First Amendment right to freedom of expression.”

'That's fascism'

Given the current situation civil, human, and constitutional rights in the United States, Miguel Tinker Salas, emeritus professor of History and Chicano Studies at Pomona College in Claremont, California, said that fascism is a charismatic figure who exercises extreme authoritarianism, without civil or political rights, and that Antifa is an opposing movement "Antifascists, on the other hand, can even be. radical. They don't have a political position. They don't have a document, because they're decentralized."

While Vice President JD Vance claimed that “left-wing extremism” is “part of the reason” why propagandist Charlie Kirk was killed on September 10,

“Of course, we have to make sure that the killer is brought to justice,” Vance said. “And, more importantly, we need to talk about this incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism that has grown in recent years and that, in my opinion, is part of the reason Charlie was killed by an assassin's bullet.

“That's what I mean by the prelude to fascism. Those positions I was talking about are troubling:That all loyalty and all political power is exercised by one person and that person cannot be criticized. That's fascism.”

While Trump signed an executive order purporting to designate “Antifa” as a “domestic terrorist organization,” days later he issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7) “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” which seeks to use “domestic terrorism” to target nonprofits, their donors, and activists, according to the ACLU.

The September 25 memo, titled “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” adds such organizations to a list of what Trump calls the “domestic enemy.”

According to the White House

President Donald J.Trump signed an Executive Order on September 22 designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.

The Order notes that Antifa is a militaristic and anarchist organization that calls for the overthrow of the US government, law enforcement authorities and the legal system, using illegal means, such as violence and terrorism, to achieve these goals.

The Executive Order directs the federal government to investigate and dismantle all illegal operations conducted by Antifa or anyone claiming to act on their behalf. It also requires investigating and dismantling the sources of funding for such operations.