Oh, about that whole 'antifa terrorist' bullshit:

[Voltaire2]

Jones reviewed protests in more than 140 cities and spoke with U.S. officials within the joint terrorism task force. Most of the violence, Jones said, was committed by “local hooligans, sometimes gangs, sometimes just individuals that are trying to take advantage of an opportunity.”

“There were reports of some antifa at different protests,” he concluded. “But they stood back, did not engage, certainly not in a violent way.”

Officials have arrested more than 14,000 people across 49 cities nationwide since May 27, according to a Washington Post tally of data provided by police departments and included in media reports. Thousands were arrested for low-level offenses, including curfew violations and failure to disperse.

Roughly 80 federal charges, including murder and throwing molotov cocktails at police vehicles, reveal no evidence of an antifa plot. Four people who identify with the far-right extremist “boogaloo” movement are among those facing the most serious federal charges. Asked whether anyone who identifies as antifa had been charged, Department of Justice spokesman Matt Lloyd said via email, “We do not collect statistics based on potential inspiration but on unlawful acts according to statute.”

An intelligence bulletin issued by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center that was obtained by ABC News warned that “anarchist extremists continue to pose the most significant threat of targeted assaults against police.” The bulletin, which was distributed to police departments nationwide, mentions antifa only in a footnote differentiating those who self-identify with the group from anarchists.

Rather, the bulletin said that “the greatest threat of lethal violence continues to emanate from lone offenders with racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist ideologies and [domestic violent extremists] with personalized ideologies,” specifically pointing to boogaloo-related groups as likely to be “instigating violence” at the protests.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/22/who-caused-violence-protests-its-not-antifa/?wpisrc=nl_most

[guillaumeb]

1. Trump needs an easily identifiable enemy.

An enemy that the "silent majority" can hate and fear.

[soothsayer]

2. Leaked DHS document undercuts Trump's portrayal of antifa as a deadly nationwide menace

Leaked DHS document undercuts Trump's portrayal of antifa as a deadly nationwide menace

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/06/leaked-dhs-document-undercuts-trumps-portrayal-of-antifa-as-a-deadly-nationwide-menace/

Snip

President Donald Trump has repeatedly cited antifa as a destructive menace responsible for all violence that’s taken place during anti-police brutality demonstrations across the United States.

However, an internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent shows that there is no mention of antifa in the agency’s assessment of the biggest “protest-related” threats to law enforcement officials.

[Johnny2X2X]

3. If they arrested just 1 you'd know they'd make it a center point of FOX News for weeks

Just 1 arrest, and they'd be raising hell.

Antifa isn't really an organization, there were 0 arrests of their supposed members, 0!

[Frustratedlady]

4. Maybe I missed it, but I didn't hear Trump mention Antifa once during his Tulsa fiasco.

He mentioned other "terrorist" groups, but not that one.

That shocked me, since it seems to be his favorite target.

[Nevilledog]

5. He replaced that portion of the speech with the ramp and water story.

[Frustratedlady]

6. Bingo!