On Nov. 13, the State Department added four European entities to the U.S. government’s list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), claiming that they are affiliated with “Antifa.” All four – Antifa Ost, the Informal Anarchist Federation/International Revolutionary Front (FAI/FRI), Armed Proletarian Justice, and Revolutionary Class Self-Defense – will be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) on Nov. 20.

The Trump administration has been hyping the threat posed by Antifa for months. “Antifa is an existential threat to our nation,” Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has argued that the “network of Antifa is just as sophisticated as” ISIS and Hezbollah, two international terrorist organizations that have murdered tens of thousands of civilians and combatants in attacks and guerilla warfare around the globe.

The new designations do not support the administration’s case that Antifa presents an “existential” threat to Americans. Indeed, the move appears to do little, or nothing, to protect Americans either at home or abroad. If anything, the State Department’s announcement shows that the administration is unsuccessfully laboring to portray “Antifa” – an amorphous “anti-fascist” movement with no clear leadership or hierarchy – as a significant terrorist threat. And it could be used to undermine the civil liberties of U.S. citizens.