On Wednesday night, the group Smash Racism D.C. organized a protest outside the house of Fox News host Tucker Carlson and allegedly tried to force their way in after knocking the door. Carlson wasn’t home at the time but his wife was. Smash Racism D.C. belongs to the loose coalition of groups that call themselves anti-fascist (or Antifa) and advocate direct action against their political enemies.
Going to the house and pushing at the door crossed a line between protests and personal harassment, and even those who are critical of Carlson’s television show, which habitually traffics in white nationalist messages, condemned the Antifa harassment of the host’s family.
This behavior is way over the line. Going to someone’s home, breaking their door, and terrorizing their family is unacceptable. It’s also extremely counterproductive if your interest is actually in reducing his influence. https://t.co/6isCJZIwvC
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) November 8, 2018
Some writers equated Antifa with the far-right groups they normally oppose, white nationalists and fascists:
One way to become the fascists is to think you can do anything in the name of anti-fascistm. https://t.co/VzH9d8voJ6
— Will Saletan (@saletan) November 8, 2018
This equation is a little too glib. The fact remains that far-right violence, seen most recently in the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh that left eleven dead, is much more common and deadly than Antifa violence. Further, there is no elected politician who courts Antifa the way President Donald Trump and other Republican politicians have repeatedly pandered to white nationalists.
Still, even without being anywhere nearly as dangerous as white nationalist groups, Antifa organizations are still capable of being disruptive in ways that deserve condemnation. In a society that is already burning, they are throwing more fuel on the fire.