On September 22, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order officially designating antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, a move that should make every law-abiding American breathe a little easier. Former New York Congressman Anthony Esposito, appearing on Newsmax’s American Agenda, called the decision “common-sense,” and he’s right: when political violence overwhelms our streets, the federal government must act to restore order. This is not theater — it is an urgent response to real threats to public safety and free speech.
Esposito’s blunt appraisal reflects what many patriots already know: left-wing mobs have targeted innocent citizens, business owners, and law enforcement with impunity for too long. Conservatives have watched while Democrat mayors and sympathetic media downplayed or even cheered chaos, and Esposito’s stance is the kind of backbone America needs from its leaders. We should applaud any elected official willing to put principle and public safety ahead of political correctness.
Legal experts will howl about First Amendment questions and the technicalities of designating a decentralized movement, but those arguments ring hollow to victims of assaults, doxxing, and property destruction. The executive order, signed September 22, 2025, directs federal agencies to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle illegal operations and to follow the money — a pragmatic approach that respects law while cutting off the funding and logistics that enable violent actors. If the law needs clarifying, let Congress act, but in the meantime the president has a duty to use every lawful tool to protect Americans.
The administration tied the action to an alarming escalation of political violence, pointing to incidents that shocked the nation in recent weeks, and rightly demanded accountability for those who would use “antifa” as a cloak for criminality. Critics who insist antifa is merely an “ideology” are playing semantics while communities burn and citizens live in fear. Labeling the violent practitioners and their enablers for what they are — a threat to the rule of law — is a necessary step toward reclaiming our streets.
Make no mistake: this designation is also about deterrence. When federal authorities can investigate donors, financiers, and organizers who knowingly support terroristic activities, the cost of financing violence goes up. That’s the sort of tough, common-sense policy conservatives have been demanding for years while the other side excuses lawlessness. If you fund or facilitate political violence, you should expect the full force of the law to come after you.
Democrats and big-city elites who squeal about civil liberties should remember that liberty depends on security; you cannot exercise free speech in a vacuum of fear and intimidation. The double standard from the left — condemning some mobs while protecting others — has been exposed, and Americans rightly resent it. Now is the time for state attorneys general, local prosecutors, and honest journalists to join the effort to defend ordinary citizens rather than defend radicals.
Patriots should stand with law enforcement and with leaders who put safety and the Constitution first. President Trump’s action on September 22, 2025, and voices like Esposito’s remind us that courage still matters in Washington. We will not surrender our country to anarchists or to elites who prioritize ideology over order; America’s stability and freedom are worth fighting for.
