Wray: Antifa more an ideology than organization

FBI Director Chris Wray told lawmakers Thursday that he regards antifa as more of an ideology than an organization even as President Donald Trump has suggested that it be formally designated as a terror group and that it bears overwhelming blame for the violence roiling American cities.

Wray did not dispute in testimony to the House Homeland Security Committee that antifa activists were a serious concern.

But, he said, "It's not a group or an organization. It's a movement or an ideology."

That characterization is at odds with the depiction from Trump, who in June singled out antifa short for "anti-fascists" and an umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups. Trump tweeted that the U.S. would be designating antifa as a terrorist organization, even though such designations are reserved for foreign groups and antifa lacks the hierarchical structure of formal organizations.

The hearing, hosted by a committee established after the Sept. 11 attacks to confront the threat of international terrorism, focused almost entirely on domestic matters, including a presidential election that U.S. officials say is already being targeted by foreign interference and by continuing violence unfolding in polarized and divided cities.