Image Comics Founder Erik Larsen Defends Antifa
Image Comics founder and the creator of Savage Dragon Erik Larsen recently defended Antifa in numerous tweets after President Donald Trump declared the United States of America would be designating the group as a terrorist organization.
At the end of May amid riots and looting taking over multiple cities in the United States, President Donald Trump took to Twitter where he wrote, “The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.”
The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020
President Trump’s statement on Twitter would be echoed by Attorney General Bill Barr.
Barr stated, “Federal law enforcement actions will be directed at apprehending and charging the violent radical agitators who have hijacked peaceful protest and are engaged in violations of federal law.”
He added, “To identify criminal organizers and instigators, and to coordinate federal resources with our state and local partners, federal law enforcement is using our existing network of 56 regional FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF).”
Barr concluded, “The violence instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly.”
President Trump’s statement and Attorney General Barr’s comments come after a 2017 report in Politico detailed that law enforcement already described the actions taken by the organization as “domestic terror violence.”
The report by Josh Meyer details, “Federal authorities have been warning state and local officials since early 2016 that leftist extremists known as “antifa” had become increasingly confrontational and dangerous, so much so that the Department of Homeland Security formally classified their activities as “domestic terrorist violence,” according to interviews and confidential law enforcement documents obtained by POLITICO.”
In response to President Trump’s declaration Erik Larsen defended the violent organization writing, “ANTIFA means Anti-Fascist and it’s NOT an actual organization but an ideology.”
He added, “The United States was ANTIFA when we went after Hitler during WWII.”
ANTIFA means Anti-Fascist and it’s NOT an actual organization but an ideology.
The United States was ANTIFA when we went after Hitler during WWII. https://t.co/ZKpGIc4KPv
— Erik Larsen (@ErikJLarsen) May 31, 2020
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In a subsequent tweet he added, “If being Anti-Fascist is a problem in the United States–that in itself is a problem.”
He continued, “No American should be PRO-Fascist–especially not the President of the United States.”
If being Anti-Fascist is a problem in the United States–that in itself is a problem. No American should be PRO-Fascist–especially not the President of the United States.
— Erik Larsen (@ErikJLarsen) May 31, 2020
When challenged on his statements, he then argued that Antifa isn’t an actual organization.
He wrote, “It’s like arguing that the feminists are a terrorist organization when one causes trouble. It’s not a unified body with a leader and whatnot.”
It’s like arguing that the feminists are a terrorist organization when one causes trouble. It’s not a unified body with a leader and whatnot.
— Erik Larsen (@ErikJLarsen) June 1, 2020
He then stated that the group does not kill people, “They’re not KILLING PEOPLE like the KKK, Alt-Right and Nazis, none of which have been labeled terrorists.”
They’re not KILLING PEOPLE like the KKK, Alt-Right and Nazis, none of which have been labeled terrorists.
— Erik Larsen (@ErikJLarsen) June 2, 2020
He would then double down and state that Antifa is not an organization.
Larsen wrote, “It’s NOT an organization. It’s like saying “air breathers do fascist things” which, while technically true, is a ridiculous thing to say because air breathers are not a unified organization.”
It’s NOT an organization. It’s like saying “air breathers do fascist things” which, while technically true, is a ridiculous thing to say because air breathers are not a unified organization.
— Erik Larsen (@ErikJLarsen) June 1, 2020
He also doubled down on his idea that the group had not killed anyone, “Regardless–given ZERO deaths caused–how can you label them a terrorist organization when Nazis, the Alt-Right and the KKK aren’t? They’ve perpetrated actual murders.”
Regardless–given ZERO deaths caused–how can you label them a terrorist organization when Nazis, the Alt-Right and the KKK aren’t? They’ve perpetrated actual murders.
— Erik Larsen (@ErikJLarsen) June 2, 2020
Former Antifa member and organizer Scott Crow would provide a much different outlook on the organization than Larsen.
Speaking with CNN, Crow explained the group embraces violence, “There is a place for violence. Is that the world that we want to live in? No. Is it the world we want to inhabit? No. Is it the world we want to create? No. But will we push back? Yes.”
Crow then explained the ideology behind Antifa, “The idea in Antifa is that we go where they (right-wingers) go. That hate speech is not free speech. That if you are endangering people with what you say and the actions that are behind them, then you do not have the right to do that.”
He continued, “And so we go to cause conflict, to shut them down where they are, because we don’t believe that Nazis or fascists of any stripe should have a mouthpiece.”
Maybe more interesting is that The Mercury News states that Crow believes Antifa’s violent ideals are being adopted by mainstream liberals. Jessica Seurth writes, “Scott Crow, a former Antifa organizer, says the “radical ideals” promoted by Antifas are starting to be adopted by liberals.”
She then quotes Crow who says, “They would never have looked at (those ideals) before, because they saw us as the enemy as much as the right-wingers.”
What do you make of Larsen’s defense of Antifa?
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