By Lauren Burke
On September 22, President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating “antifa” as a domestic terrorist organization. Trump has repeatedly referred to “antifa” on social media. On October 8, at the White House, Trump hosted an “antifa” roundtable. Sitting between his Attorney General Pam Bondi and his Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, the event branded “Antifa” as a domestic “terrorist organization.”
But on December 11, at a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Secretary Noem and Michael Glasheen, an official with the National Security Branch of the FBI, were blank-faced on several issues brought up by Democrats on the committee. The Trump Administration — and now a top FBI official have proclaimed that antifa is the FBI’s “primary concern.”
But Glasheen could not answer any detailed questions or provide any evidence or data regarding the location of “antifa” or membership numbers. Nor could he respond to who the leader of “antifa” is. After Glasheen stated that “antifa is our primary concern right now,” during the December 11 hearing, he was hammered by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the most senior Democrat on the committee, who asked the FBI for facts. The FBI official could provide none. Thompson asked Glasheen to reference FBI data on what Trump, and now the FBI, is calling the number one domestic terrorist threat in the U.S.
“Right now, what I see from my position is that that’s the most immediate terrorist threat we’re facing on the domestic side,” Glasheen told Homeland Security committee members on December 11.
“So, where is Antifa headquartered? Where in the United States does antifa exist if it’s a terrorist organization and you’ve identified it as number one?” Rep. Thompson pressed Glasheen. “How many members do they have in the United States as of right now?” Thompson also asked.
“It’s very fluid … the investigations are active,” Glasheen responded as he nervously moved his hands, seated next to Secretary Noem.
“Sir, you wouldn’t come to this committee to say something that you can’t prove. I know you wouldn’t do that. But you did,” Rep. Thompson said. Thompson is the senior member of the House Committee. The exchange quickly went viral on social media.
In past committee testimony under previous administrations, the FBI has identified white supremacists as the number one domestic terrorist threat in the U.S. On December 5, 2023, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified that, “the greatest terrorism threat to our homeland is posed by lone actors or small cells of individuals who typically radicalize to violence online, and who primarily use easily accessible weapons to attack soft targets. We see the lone offender threat with both Domestic Violent Extremists (“DVEs”) and HVEs, two distinct threats, both of which are located primarily in the United States and typically radicalize and mobilize to violence on their own.”
The Trump Administration has been attempting to erase reality on the issue of white supremacy and domestic terror. Rep. Thompson and other Democrats have been raising alarms all year on Trump’s increasing levels of militarization inside the U.S. and their brazen disregard for civil liberties and due process.
In a statement before the House voted on the National Defense Authorization Act, Rep. Thompson pointed out that the bill, “could lead to major civil liberties violations. Most troubling is that the proposal would waive wiretapping prohibitions for DHS carrying out counterdrone operations across any of its missions—including immigration enforcement. Now is not the time to write Trump’s DHS a blank check. The Trump Administration has shown it cannot be trusted.”
During the committee meeting on December 11, Noem was faced with questions on ICE arrests that have involved American citizens and veterans who have served in combat being apprehended. Secretary Noem denied that American citizens were being apprehended by ICE. Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) hammered Noem when he asked if any American citizens or veterans were being abducted by ICE and then produced two examples that were in fact true by showcasing the individuals who were arrested, and in one case deported, live during the hearing.
Secretary Noem left the hearing early, referencing another event she had to attend. It was later reported that the event she referenced was cancelled. Because many members of Congress have been saying for months that the Trump Administration is largely unresponsive to their policy questions, committee hearings with Trump cabinet officials have become the only place where questioning can take place.
That has often resulted in embarrassing and telling exchanges that have featured few detailed policy answers from the Administration.
