The Trump administration held a roundtable at the White House last week with independent journalists and online commentators to discuss incidents of violence attributed to Antifa. Building on last month’s executive order designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, President Trump and senior officials reiterated their intent to pursue further legal and financial measures, including efforts to classify it as an “international terrorist organization.”

In a recent blog post, Cato Institute Senior Fellow Patrick Eddington raises serious constitutional concerns about the executive order designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. He argues that it is legally questionable to treat an idea or loosely affiliated movement as a formal organization, and notes that no constitutional provision or statute grants the president the authority to make such a designation.

“The EO’s declaration,” Eddington writes, “is designed to act as a justification for legal and coercive action against anyone or any entity that the administration designates.”

You can read the full piece here. If you would like to speak with Eddington, please reach out to pr@​cato.​org.