Saturday’s nationwide “No Kings II” demonstrations could attract extremist elements linked to the antifa movement seeking to incite violence and disrupt public order, federal officials are warning.
While organizers are promoting the events as peaceful, anti-authoritarian demonstrations opposing President Donald Trump’s policies, the administration says far-left activists associated with antifa have a record of embedding in mass protests, The Baltimore Sun reported Friday.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in an interview with Spotlight on Maryland, a collaboration between The Sun, WJLA in Washington, D.C., and FOX45 News, said earlier this week that he is concerned about who is funding and organizing the protests.
“I am concerned about antifa infiltrating and participating,” he said.
Duffy pointed to the recent assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk as an example of escalating political violence in the United States.
“[Kirk] was shot because of the words that he was using,” Duffy said. “In America, we don’t do that. In a democracy, you debate, you argue, but you don’t pick up sticks and rocks and guns and kill each other.”
Duffy added that the “No Kings” movement misrepresents Trump’s reelection victory and feeds false narratives about American governance.
The “No Kings” movement describes itself as committed to nonviolent action and calls on citizens to reject authoritarianism.
But during the first “No Kings Day” on June 14, violence erupted in several cities despite mostly peaceful gatherings elsewhere.
Clashes between demonstrators and police in Los Angeles led to mass arrests, curfews, and property damage with the police department reporting that 38 people were arrested on charges ranging from vandalism to assaulting officers.
Federal officials later alleged that far-left agitators aligned with antifa were responsible for inflaming tensions.
Similar incidents in Chicago and Texas prompted Trump to sign an executive order formally designating antifa as a domestic terror organization.
Other Republicans are branding the weekend protests as “hate America” rallies while accusing participants of opposing the core values of the United States, The Washington Post reported Friday.
“We call it the ‘hate America’ rally that will happen Saturday,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Wednesday at a news conference. “Let’s see who shows up for that.”
Johnson, joined by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and GOP Conference Chair Lisa C. McClain, R-Mich., said the demonstrations would attract “Hamas supporters,” “antifa types,” and “Marxists.”
Democrats and protest organizers have dismissed those claims, calling them efforts to delegitimize peaceful dissent and chill constitutionally protected free speech.
Meanwhile, federal immigration authorities are expanding surveillance operations beyond immigration enforcement to support the Trump administration’s crackdown on antifa and other left-wing groups accused of violence.
A new $30 million contract with Palantir will develop “Immigration OS,” a system to track undocumented immigrants, which officials say could also aid investigations into domestic unrest, The Post reported.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the administration is using a “whole-of-government approach” to dismantle networks fueling riots, following Trump’s move to label antifa a domestic terrorist organization.
Recent ICE purchases include biometric tracking technology that will allow agents to confirm people’s identities, such as a B12 Technologies smartphone app that allows the user to scan the iris of a person’s eye, which can then be immediately matched against a massive database.
ICE has used other iris-matching databases for years, but the agency said in a filing that the database could be used during field operations and that it is “mission critical.”
Critics warn, however, that the expanded surveillance powers could target Americans engaged in lawful protest.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he fears ICE could use spyware and facial recognition “to further trample on the rights of Americans and anyone who Donald Trump labels as an enemy.”
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