President Donald Trump is participating in a roundtable discussion at the White House Wednesday afternoon about violence perpetrated by those aligned with the antifa movement.
Trump was joined by members of his Cabinet, independent conservative journalists and activists, and other officials from his administration. The details of the discussion were first reported by Fox News Digital and confirmed to the Deseret News by a White House official.
“The epidemic of left wing violence and antifa-inspired terror has been escalating for nearly a decade,” Trump said in opening remarks, later adding, “These are agitators, anarchists, and they’re paid. And you’ll find that out. You’ll be finding it out very soon. You should see what we have on these people. These are bad people.”
“These are people that want to destroy our country,” he added. “We’re not going to let it happen.”
The roundtable discussion on Wednesday comes as the president has ordered National Guard troops to various cities across the country, including in Portland, Oregon, home to many antifa groups and demonstrations. Trump’s administration is facing pushback from local leaders who say it’s federal overreach and not necessary to have troops in their city, and legal battles have ensued.
Trump was flanked by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who both shared remarks about the administration’s crackdown on antifa members who have threatened law enforcement officers and independent journalists, including some who attended the meeting.
The White House said the independent journalists who participated in the discussion have “long risked their own safety to shine a light on Portland’s descent into chaos.”
One of them was conservative influencer Nick Sortor, who was recently arrested by police at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest in Portland. Sortor said he was attacked by antifa demonstrators, then was arrested when he fought back.
Sortor said he saw the effects of “antifa terrorists” firsthand. He said he heard from someone at the Department of Homeland Security about the administration’s concern for him when he spent the night in a Portland jail.
“Luckily, the Portland jail, I was the only one there, essentially, because they don’t actually arrest people in Portland, besides conservative journalists I guess,” Sortor said.
Bondi said the Department of Justice would be investigating the arrest.
Other speakers featured at the roundtable included Cam Higby, Jonathan Choe, Andy Ngo, Katie Daviscourt, James Klug, Savanah Hernandez, Nick Shirley, Brandi Kruse and Julio Rojas.
Last month, Trump declared that he would designate antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. In a memo, the White House said antifa was a “militarist, anarchist enterprise” that calls for the government to be overthrown.
Antifa-aligned groups engage in coordinated efforts to obstruct law enforcement, create organized riots and commit violent assaults on federal officials, the White House said.
“This organized effort designed to achieve policy objectives by coercion and intimidation is domestic terrorism,” Trump’s order said.
The White House said antifa would be designated as a domestic terrorist organization because of a pattern of political violence and obstruction of law. Trump’s order allows executive departments to use “all applicable authorities” to investigate, disrupt and dismantle the group.