US president Donald Trump has pledged to classify Antifa a 'terrorist organisation' and has blamed them for the riots that continue after the death of George Floyd.
Outraged Americans have been protesting against police brutality after Mr Floyd, 46, died on Monday in Minnesota when a police officer put his knee on his neck for over eight minutes.
Antifa, a shortening of 'anti-fascist' is a movement and not an organisation.
While many of the protests have remained peaceful, some have become violent with protestors looting and lighting life-threatening fires in the street.
Mr Trump has blamed Saturday's violent riots on Antifa and other 'radical' left-wing groups.
He tweeted yesterday: “These are ‘Organized Groups’ that have nothing to do with George Floyd. Sad!”
“It’s ANTIFA and the Radical Left. Don’t lay the blame on others!”
The Trump administration, who has called protesters "thugs", will not take control of the National Guard for now, national security adviser Robert O'Brien said on Sunday.
If Antifa is officially branded a terrorist group it's electronic communications could be monitored by law enforcement agencies under efforts to prevent violence.
The rioting was first sparked when Mr Floyd, a black man, was arrested by Minneapolis police for allegedly trying to use a counterfeit $20 to buy cigarettes, Fox news reports.
The offending officer Derek Chauvin, 44, was charged on Friday with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Major cities in the country including Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia and San Francisco were placed under restrictions in a bid to control the protests.
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets for a fifth night for arson, looting and vandalism over the unlawful deaths of African Americans at the hands of police.
In Minneapolis’s largest city, St Paul’s, around 170 shops have been looted and some set alight, the mayor said today.
Mayor Melvin Carter told CNN the public’s ‘rage’ over Mr Floyd’s death is ‘legitimate’.
He said: "We are seeing in St. Paul and obviously around the country this level of rage and anger that frankly is legitimate, as we see this horrific video of George Floyd being just suffocated to death.
"Unfortunately, it's being expressed right now, over the past week, in ways that are destructive and unacceptable."
Calls for an end to police brutality have triggered international support.
In London, hundreds of protesters chanted "no justice, no peace" in Trafalgar Square on Sunday.
Black Lives Matter activists chanting "I can’t breathe" - Mr Floyd’s harrowing plea to the officer caught in video footage - marched passed Downing Street and the US embassy.
In Berlin, a crowd called for the three police officers who stood by as Mr Floyd died to face justice. They have not been charged.
