Poll: Voters See Antifa as “Troublemakers,” Not a “Valid Protest Movement”

Antifa, left, protesting Richard Spencer speaking at the University of Florida (UF) during a Hull Road march in Gainesville, Florida on October 19, 2017. (Photo: People’s Pundit Daily)

Voters don’t see as Antifa as a “valid protest movement,” but rather “troublemakers looking to cause a public disturbance.” A new poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports finds few Americans have a favorable image of the leftwing group.

Only 18% hold a favorable view of Antifa, with just 6% holding a very favorable view and 12% at least a somewhat favorable view. While 28% are unsure, 54% hold an unfavorable view, including 39% who have a very unfavorable view.

By party, 27% of Democrats hold a favorable view, including 10% who have a very favorable view. That’s only the case for 12% and 15% of Republicans and unaffiliated voters, respectively.

By age, younger voters are more likely than older voters to have a favorable view of Antifa. But a 49% plurality of voters ages 18 to 39 still hold an unfavorable view of them.

When asked if “Antifa protestors are primarily a valid protest movement representing the concerns of many Americans,” just 27% thought that might be the case. But 50% say they “are primarily troublemakers looking to cause a public disturbance” and 23% are still unsure.

Antifa, the alleged American brand of Anti-Fascist Action in Britain and Antifaschistische Aktion in Germany, is not a new group.

Anti-fascist groups popped up in Europe during the first half of the 20th century and again in the United Kingdom in the 1980s to counter conservatism, an ideology that is the antithesis of fascism. The former favors limited government, while the latter big government.

Nevertheless, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially classified the activities of the leftwing group as “domestic terrorist violence.” Antifa has a long history of violence against journalists, too.

In August 2017. Antifa attacked supporters of President Donald Trump and journalists. Big Media, including Chuck Todd at NBC News, initially claimed the victims were Neo-Nazis. They were not.

At the University of Florida (UF) in October 2017, Antifa chased and screamed profanities at Fox News’ Phil Keating, calling the network “Nazi enablers.” Mr. Keating, a seasoned journalist, was at UF to cover the event held by Richard Spencer, as was People’s Pundit Daily (PPD).

Still, most mainstream media outlets such as Reuters initially tried to portray them as “peace activists.” CNN openly justified routine violence committed by Antifa in a recent featured story on the group.

It quickly collapsed. And now it doesn’t appear their image will change anytime soon.

The survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted on August 14-15, 2018 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.