I first heard about “Antifa” in 2017. And I heard it didn’t exist; it was merely a descriptor. If you were opposed to fascism, you might describe yourself as “anti-fa” or antifascist. And I know a lot of such people.
Living in Baltimore, I have come across communists, greens, labor groups, and various activist groups with far left ties and historic KGB connections. Other groups have China connections.
They were always obvious to me and I knew which individuals were involved in specific groups. I never knew of anyone involved in “antifa,” never saw a meeting of such a group, never saw a poster promoting it.
The Trump administration is literally trying to manifest an enemy out of thin air in order to criminalize its opponents. This is obviously incredibly dangerous, a red flag for rising authoritarianism, and a gestapo tactic for justifying the use of force by the state.
Journalists should do their part by not backstopping the administration’s absurd claims. If they are going to assert that “antifa” is an organized group, force them to name names and identify money flows. If they claim to be tracking foreign influence, what they will find is funds from Russia and China in particular backstopping the administration’s OWN criminal acts.
Rub their dirty faces in that fact. Do not comply, do not play along.
Dave Troy 
sunflowerinrain