WASHINGTON — The left and big media have been on a crusade to convince the voting public that Antifa, a band of sometimes violent anarchists, is not really a thing. "Antifa is an idea, not an organization," then-former Vice President Joe Biden argued during a 2020 debate with then-former President Donald Trump.

To which Trump rightly responded, "When a bat hits you over the head, that's not an idea. Antifa is bad."

On Thursday, Trump's Department of Justice unsealed indictments that charged two alleged Antifa members with providing material support to terrorists, attempted murder of an officer and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime during a July 4 attack at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas.

"The Antifa Cell was heavily armed with over 50 firearms," the document charged. They used an encrypted messaging app, and "at least eleven operatives" were dressed in "black bloc." The worst charge: A gunman shot an Alvarado police officer in the neck.

Many news stories focused on the indictment's status as the first-ever terrorism charges filed against individuals associated with Antifa. Not right-wing gun nuts. Which should come as no surprise after the unconscionable assassination of conservative maverick Charlie Kirk last month and after two failed assassination attempts of Trump last year, as well as the 2024 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York City sidewalk, and an unprecedented explosion of attacks on ICE agents since Trump took office.

The Brennan Center for Justice headline, however, announced, "Trump's Orders Targeting Anti-Fascism Aim to Criminalize Opposition."

Jonathan Choe, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute who has documented violent far-left activism, had a different take: "What took so long?"

"As far as I'm concerned, this is a good, positive first step," Choe told me. "So kudos to (FBI Director) Kash Patel."

Amen. Given Antifa's history of setting fires at protests, bomb throwing and getting up close and personal with law enforcement and ICE officials, federal authorities should have done this years ago.

Choe has no use for so-called experts who insist Antifa isn't organized. They haven't been in the front lines or "on the receiving end of a punch from Antifa militants," as he has.

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., recently dared critics to name one member of Antifa — his way of pooh-poohing the notion that Antifa is a bona fide organization.

The indictment, law professor Jonathan Turley noted on X, named two: defendants Cameron Arnold and Zachary Evetts.

Choe sure believes Antifa is an organization.

Steven McGuire of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni noted that the anti-fascist mantle "implies the other side is fascist."

And who wants to side with fascists?

So if you are well-armed, lawyered-up and you call yourself Antifa, you should get a pass because, well, you say you oppose fascism.

As the character Roger "Verbal" Kint — or was it Keyser Soze? — said in "The Usual Suspects," "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn't exist."

Contact Review-Journal Washington columnist Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com. Saunders was a fellow at the Discovery Institute. Follow @debrajsaunders on X.

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