Populist Sweden Democrats MP Björn Söder has called on the Swedish government to consider classifying the far-left anarcho-communist group Antifa as a terrorist organisation.
The populist MP addressed the topic in the form of a question to Minister for Home Affairs Mikael Damberg earlier this week. He said that Antifa, known as Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) in Sweden, often engage in political violence to further their goals of a “stateless and classless society”.
“AFA’s actions have in many cases been violent, and the organisation has taken the blame for, among other things, assassinations, abuses, and threats against actors who are seen as opponents. They believe that violence is a legitimate method to use to achieve their goals,” Söder said.
He went on to note how U.S. President Donald Trump has called for the far-left extremist group to be classified as a terrorist outfit in the wake of the mass rioting after the death of black American George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Söder goes on to list 13 violent incidents between 2001 and 2009 that are thought to have been carried out by members of Antifa in Sweden.
Many of the incidents include vandalism and threats against political opponents and one in particular even involved threats against a Swedish migration judge in 2007.
Antifa took responsibility for sticking an axe in the front door of the judge’s home and pouring red paint on the house. The group also published online the personal details of the judge and several of his colleagues.
Antifa in Sweden also has direct connections to members of the extremist movement in the United States through Caroline Victorin who founded Portland’s Rose City Antifa, according to Project Veritas who infiltrated the group. Victorin, whose husband is Swedish, has lived in Sweden since at least 2017.
The dangers of far-left extremism have been recognised by the Swedish Defence Research Institute (FOI) which released a report on the Antifa anarchist scene that included references to anti-hate groups, such as the Swedish Expo foundation and Hope not Hate in the UK.