AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.

We look now at how President Trump signed an executive order Monday that designates the anti-fascist movement, known as “antifa,” as a domestic terrorist organization. Critics note the U.S. doesn’t actually have a domestic terrorism law. The order reads, in part, quote, “Antifa is a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the [U.S.] Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law,” unquote.

A 2020 Congressional Research Service report describes antifa as a “decentralized movement” without a clear structure or leader. Antifa traces its roots both to anti-fascist movements in Europe and to opposition that formed during Trump’s first term in office.

Trump’s new executive order also calls for the, quote, “investigatory and prosecutorial action” against financial supporters of antifa. This is part of a wider attack on his critics that ramped up even further after the assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, even though law enforcement has made no links to antifa and the alleged killer.

For more, we’re joined by Will Potter, award-winning investigative journalist, author who focuses on attacks on civil liberties in the name of fighting terrorism. His new book on factory farms and fascism is titled Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth, from Farm to Fable. He’s also author of Green Is the New Red,: An Insider’s Account of a Social Movement Under Siege.

Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Will. Great to have you in our studio. Start off by responding to antifa, the movement, being called a terrorist organization.

WILL POTTER: This is really a historic turning point and a radical escalation in the war on dissent and the war on protest. It’s not about antifa, because antifa is not an organization. I think what Trump is very clearly signaling here is he’s using this as a catch-all to go against the broader left and anyone who speaks out against fascism right now, while at the same time giving continued unchecked authority to the FBI to ignore the rise of right-wing violence.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Will, how is Charlie Kirk’s murder being used by the Trump administration to attack the broader left in this country?

WILL POTTER: This is what fascists do. They deflect and misdirect. So, they use opportunities like this to rewrite the narrative and then shift and blame their opposition and usher in, frankly, calls for violence and crackdowns. And I think we need to remember that even though there’s no evidence linking Charlie Kirk’s shooters to antifa or any other left organization, they’re going to proceed recklessly anyway. The intention is to capitalize on this to crack down on their opponents and to consolidate authoritarian power.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to go to Vice President Vance, who hosted Charlie Kirk’s podcast after Charlie Kirk was assassinated, vowing to dismantle institutions on the political left that he claimed were promoting violence and terrorism.

VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE: Of course, we have to make sure that the killer is brought to justice. And importantly, we have to talk about this incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism that has grown up over the last few years and, I believe, is part of the reason why Charlie was killed by an assassin’s bullet. We’re going to talk about how to dismantle that.

AMY GOODMAN: So, can you talk about what Vance is talking about, how to dismantle this? He had Stephen Miller on, the White House adviser, who talked about going after what he called leftist organizations, left-wing organizations. And what are the historical antecedents for this, Will?

WILL POTTER: The historical precedent is, when authoritarians say they want to destroy you and eradicate you, you need to listen. They’re being transparent and open about their intentions. Historically, what we’ve seen in terms of political repression, as I’ve documented post-9/11, but also in broader historical timelines, is when these attacks start on the fringes or more organizations like antifa or environmentalists or Black Lives Matter, it spreads more and more towards the center. And that’s what Vance is indicating. This is not about fringe or radical organizations. This is about the mainstream left, funding, foundations and institutional support.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Will, I just wanted to pivot briefly to your book, Little Red Barns. You say a 10-year investigation that you conducted of factory farms and fascism?

WILL POTTER: That’s right. It was a — it has been a long journey, Juan, that started investigating factory farms as one of the top contributors to climate change, and these repressive measures that are being used to silence journalists and to criminalize photography, and how that is spreading to other social movements. The connection to fascism is that as the FBI has relentlessly focused on environmentalists and animal activists, it’s deliberately ignored the rise of far-right violence. And more broadly, it’s facilitated it through informants and entrapment schemes. They’re allowing this rise of white supremacist and far-right violence, while they’re focused on people taking photographs of animal cruelty.

AMY GOODMAN: Speak more about this. I mean, this is a 10-year investigation, really important, especially with this war on science. And you also talk about how animal agriculture is trying to discredit the whole issue of climate change, as well.

WILL POTTER: It really amounts to what I would consider the authoritarian playbook post-9/11. It’s about not only rewriting facts, but also censoring, misdirecting, pumping up fraudulent science, like the oil industry and tobacco industry did for decades, but also shifting and embracing outright authoritarian tactics like criminalizing journalism, labeling civil disobedience as terrorism. Big Agriculture has embraced all of this as a pathway to protect their profits and really keep consumers in the dark about what’s happening.

AMY GOODMAN: Why did you single out photography? Just explain.

WILL POTTER: There is a wave of legislation that passed in multiple states in the U.S. called ag-gag laws, that criminalize anyone, including journalists who take photographs of factory farm cruelty and pollution and workers’ rights abuses. And now that’s spread globally, as well.

AMY GOODMAN: Why the title, Little Red Barns?

WILL POTTER: This is the foundational myth. This is the story we’re all raised on of what a farm looks like. And it struck me in the investigation that this is also the foundational myth of fascism. When we hear “Make America Great Again,” we’re talking about this return to an idyllic past that never existed. And this is what fascists have always done. They kind of create this mythology that we have to return to this golden era, and therefore their attacks on dissent today are legitimized.

AMY GOODMAN: We clearly have to continue this conversation. We will and post it at democracynow.org. Will Potter, investigative journalist, author of Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth, from Farm to Fable. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.