What is Antifa?

FULL REMARKS: President Trump's roundtable on ANTIFA

President Donald Trump hosted a roundtable at the White House on Wednesday afternoon. Independent journalists recounted their experiences with violence to President Trump, which they attributed to Antifa. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital Wednesday that "For too long, Antifa has ravaged great American cities while ineffectual Democrat leaders turn a blind eye — and most in the media have gone right along with them." Jackson added, "Some reporters have been brave enough to blaze their own trail and report the facts rather than go along with the Fake News Groupthink." Cabinet members and administration officials who joined the President for the roundtable included Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and FBI Director Kash Patel.

Antifa is a loosely organized movement that has drawn criticism from some politicians for its ideologies.

President Donald Trump held a roundtable about Antifa at the White House on Wednesday afternoon. 

Trump previously wrote on his Truth Social platform in September that he was designating Antifa as a "major terrorist organization." 

Here’s what you need to know about the origins of Antifa.

Trump holds roundtable about Antifa

What they're saying:

Trump set the stage at the beginning of the roundtable. 

"It should be clear to all Americans that we have a very serious left-wing terror threat in our country, radicals associated with the domestic terror group Antifa that you've heard a lot about lately," he said. "And I've heard a lot about them for 10 years, and other far-left extremists have been carrying out a campaign of violence against ICE agents and other officials charged with enforcing federal law."

Trump emphasized his belief that many Antifa rioters are paid to cause mayhem, and teased an announcement to that effect. 

"You'll be finding it out very soon," he said. "You should see what we have on these people."

One reporter asked Trump about designating Antifa as a foreign terrorist organization. Trump said it "sounds good to me."

Other top officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, spoke at the roundtable, before the reporters in the room shared stories about their experience covering the riots.

What does Antifa mean?

The backstory:

Antifa, which is short for "anti-fascist," is a term for loosely affiliated far-left-activists and groups that resist fascism, fascists, and neo-Nazis, especially at demonstrations.  According to the Associated Press, Antifa is more an ideology than an organization, although some have embraced militant strategies.

RELATED: Trump to designate antifa as 'major terrorist organization'

Literature from the Antifa movement encourages supporters to pursue lawful protest activity as well as more confrontational acts, according to a 2018 Congressional Research Service report.

The writings also encourage followers to monitor the activities of white supremacist groups, publicize online the personal information of perceived enemies, and develop self-defense training regimens.

FILE-A banner reading 'Antifa' is pictured during a demonstration. (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

According to the AP, individuals associated with Antifa have been present for demonstrations and counter-demonstrations in recent years, including mobilizing against a white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. The groups were also present during clashes with far-right groups in Portland, Oregon.

The Antifa designation matters in part because it allows the Department of Justice to prosecute individuals who give material support to entities on that list even if that support does not result in violence.

Who is the leader of Antifa?

Dig deeper:

 Antifa has no leader and comprises groups with no universal set of tactics that makes its presence immediately recognizable, though members tend to espouse revolutionary and anti-authoritarian views, said Mark Bray, a historian at Rutgers University and author of "Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook."

What is fascism?

Why you should care:

Fascism is a form of extreme right-wing ideology that lauds a nation or race as a community transcending all other loyalties. The philosophy stresses a myth of national or racial rebirth after a period of decline or destruction, according to Political Research Associates, a social justice research and strategy center. 

Fascism also tends to praise masculinity, youth, mystical unity, and often promotes racial superiority doctrines, ethnic persecution, imperialist expansion, and genocide.