Noam Chomsky has criticised the anti-fascist movement and argues its tactics are a gift to the far right and US state repression
The renowned academic, widely considered the founder of modern linguistics, says anti-fascists have instigated the use of violence in wholly reprehensible ways.
Antifa, shorthand for the anti-fascist movement, refers to a loose decentralised coalition of groups which oppose the far right via grassroots action rather than depending on the police or the state. While the movement dates back to the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1920s, it has gained increasing attention since anti-fascist activists clashed with neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members and alt-right supporters at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville over the summer.