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During a White House roundtable discussion, Kristi Noem this week likened antifa to the notorious gang, the Gaza-based organization, the Iran-backed group and the Islamic State, calling the loosely affiliated protesters “just as dangerous” as officially recognized terror groups.

“They operate with the same complexity as Mara Salvatrucha, as TDA [Tren de Aragua], as the Islamic State, as the Lebanese militia, as Hamas, as all of them, they pose the same level of threat,” the secretary stated. “Their goal is to dismantle our society, similar to other extremist groups we’ve dealt with for decades.”

The discussion featured conservative online reporters including several prominent commentators among others who report on anti-fascist demonstrations.

Several organizations mentioned by the secretary – Hamas, Hezbollah and Isis – are formally designated terrorist organizations that hold land, operate military wings, maintain command structures and have carried out large-scale assaults including bombings, abductions and targeted killings.

Extremism experts have long described the anti-fascist movement, by contrast, as having no centralized leadership, formal membership or structured hierarchy, and it has generally been described by federal law enforcement as a decentralized movement of campaigners who participate in demonstrations, some of which has included property destruction and street violence.

This meeting comes after an executive order signed last month designating anti-fascist activists as a “domestic terrorist organization”.

Days before the announcement, Joe Biggs who was convicted and then pardoned for his role on January 6 posted on X: “Who is prepared to pursue anti-fascist activists? Because I know a few guys.”