Infowars claims Antifa and "Democrat militias" are surging in numbers, compiling hit lists of Republicans and terrorising flag-flying patriots with death-threat Christmas cards. X posts amplify the alarm, with users decrying unchecked Left-wing militants disrupting conservative events and evading accountability despite recent terrorist designations. In Berkeley, Antifa radicals allegedly punch a Turning Point USA attendee, only for the victim to face arrest, a stark inversion of justice that fuels cries of institutional complicity. This isn't hyperbole; it's a pattern. From firebombed Tesla dealerships to riots in California and assaults on ICE facilities, the radical Left appears to be dusting off the playbooks of yesteryear: the Weather Underground's bombings, the Black Panthers' armed patrols, the Symbionese Liberation Army's kidnappings. Dark clouds are indeed gathering, not as some fever-dream conspiracy, but as a grim historical redux. This discussion dissects the resurgence of old-school Left-wing violence, its roots in the turbulent 1960s-70s, and the peril it poses to a republic already frayed by division. If unheeded, this storm could unleash not just chaos, but the unravelling of democratic norms.
To grasp today's tensions, rewind to an era when "peace and love" curdled into Molotov cocktails and manifestos drenched in blood. The 1960s birthed the New Left amid Vietnam's quagmire, civil rights battles, and cultural upheaval. Groups like Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) started with teach-ins and folk songs but splintered into militants convinced that only violence could purge America's sins. The Weather Underground — born from SDS's radical "Weathermen" faction — declared war on the U.S. government in 1970, bombing the Capitol, Pentagon, and State Department to protest the war and racism. Their manifesto thundered: "We felt that doing nothing in a period of repressive violence is itself a form of violence." Leaders like Bernardine Dohrn romanticised Frantz Fanon's "cleansing" properties of revolution, targeting "symbols of power" from banks to police stations.
Parallel to thisradicalism ran the Black Panthers, founded in 1966 as a Black nationalist response to police brutality in Oakland. Armed with rifles and shotguns, they patrolled neighbourhoods in berets and leather jackets, embodying Malcolm X's call to "vote or die." Influenced by Maoism and Marxism, the Panthers fed thousands through free breakfast programs, but also clashed violently with law enforcement, culminating in the 1969 Chicago raid that killed Fred Hampton, sparking Weathermen fury. From the Panthers splintered the Black Liberation Army (BLA), which escalated to bank robberies, cop killings, and kidnappings in the 1970s, declaring all Americans complicit in "genocide" against Blacks.
This wasn't fringe theatre. The decade saw over 1,000 bombings by Left-wing groups, from the Symbionese Liberation Army's 1974 Patty Hearst kidnapping to the FALN's New York blasts. Urban riots scorched Harlem, Watts, Detroit — hundreds dead, billions in damage — fuelled by the same anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist rage. As Bryan Burrough notes in Days of Rage, these militants believed striking "the right symbols" would ignite proletarian uprising, echoing global insurgencies from China's Cultural Revolution to Uruguay's Tupamaros. Yet, infighting, FBI infiltration (via COINTELPRO), and public revulsion at the body count doomed them. By the early 1980s, most surrendered or faded, their "revolution" a cautionary tale of hubris.
These weren't isolated; they formed a tapestry of "hard Left" terror, per Pat Buchanan, contrasting the era's Right-wing fringes.
Fast-forward to a Trump-led 2025, where history rhymes menacingly. In September, President Trump signed an executive order designating Antifa a "domestic terrorist organization," citing its "campaign of violence and terrorism" against law enforcement and conservatives. The State Department followed in November, labelling Antifa Ost (Germany) and three European affiliates as global terrorists, vowing to "disrupt self-described 'anti-fascism' networks." Yet, as X users lament, enforcement lags: Antifa's Torch Network persists with eight U.S. chapters, hosting strategy sessions post-2016 and shielding donors via closed funds. In October, masked militants torched Tesla lots and rioted against ICE in Dem-run cities, doxxing officers and hurling "insurrection" rhetoric.
The Infowars report spotlights visceral threats: "Leftists making lists of Republicans to target for death," and Yucaipa, CA, residents receiving vulgar Christmas cards tied to Trump flags. Echoing 1970s doxxing (pre-internet style), these acts dehumanise targets, per a White House memo on escalating "campaigns" against traditionalists. X buzzes with parallels: "The Left wants civil war," Alex Jones warns, linking it to a "Podesta Plan" for terror cells. Semantic searches reveal a groundswell: posts on economic collapse sparking "physical explosions" of revolt, or Antifa as the "Democrats' militia" in a brewing insurgency.
Critics, including FBI Director Wray, downplay Antifa as an "ideology" not a monolith, noting Right-wing extremists drove most lethal attacks pre-2025. But data evolves: 2025 saw a 1,000% spike in ICE attacks, per White House tallies, with Antifa-linked arsons and ambushes. Like the Weathermen, modern militants justify violence as "direct action" against "fascism" — burning cop cars, shattering windows, now amplified by social media. X threads decry hypocrisy: BLM/Antifa riots dismissed as "mostly peaceful," while Jan. 6 lingers as treason.
This resurgence isn't random. Trump's return ignited old grievances: mass deportations, "woke" rollbacks, and cultural crackdowns evoke the "repressive violence" that birthed 1970s radicals. Economic woes — stagflation whispers, migrant surges — mirror the Vietnam-era despair, radicalising the young via TikTok manifestos instead of mimeographs. Posts predict "Bolshevik Revolution 2.0," with Antifa, MAGA, and factions clashing in multi-sided chaos. The Left's playbook? Disrupt, dox, divide — hallmarks of BLA ambushes and Weather bombings.
Yet, sunlight is the best disinfectant. Mainstream Dems condemned 1970s excesses but institutional blindness persists: UC Berkeley hosts militants; blue cities shield rioters. X conservatives demand: "Train with firearms, harden your heart, organize." Echoes of Panther patrols, but defensive.
The 1970s radicals failed because violence alienated allies and invited crackdowns — FBI raids dismantled the BLA; public fatigue buried the Weathermen. Today's Left risks the same: designations strip funding, prosecutions loom. Once again the violent Left will be made to heel.