United Nations investigator is among several voices raising the alarm about a rise in far-left transgender activists, amid reports of some intimidating and physically assaulting those who disagree with them.
In an interview with the British Daily Mail newspaper on Sunday, Reem Alsalem, the international body’s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, said it was an “increasing trend” that she had been observing, calling on officials to protect freedom of speech regarding conversations around gender.
TPM's @MrAndyNgo on the rise of "trantifa":
"The violent movement really, what I've seen, is it allows for particularly violent misogynistic men to take out their hatred against women under the guise of trans activism or trans rights." pic.twitter.com/UUOWUVpLA5
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 15, 2023
Many politicians and commentators in the U.S. have ranted against what they see as transgender ideology, which they assert indoctrinates younger people into believing that they are in the wrong body and need to seek life-altering treatments.
At the same time, trans-rights supporters debate that wider receptiveness is necessary, as trans individuals face dangers to their safety and a growing number of proposed laws limit transgender rights and ability to obtain healthcare.
The argument around transgender inclusion has often become feverish with both sides facing provocative remarks and threats of violence. Some transgender activists have distanced themselves from “extreme” rhetoric.
What is "Trantifa"? It is the current evolution of #Antifa that centers violent, misogynistic men plus women who take on male-typical patterns of violence through the use of hormones. Watch my interview with @kilmeade.
Full video: https://t.co/ujkqEuFqod#trans #Trantifa pic.twitter.com/dyI5yIghlV
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) June 15, 2023
Trantifa is a mélange of “transgender” and “Antifa,” the latest being itself an encapsulation of “anti-fascist” and a left-wing movement that elevated to advancement in 2017. The antifa movement has faced criticism from right-wing figures, including Donald Trump, who have condemned them of acts of violence.
“Antifa’s professed purpose is to vigorously oppose fascism,” the Anti-Defamation League states. “While some extreme actors who claim to be affiliated with Antifa do engage in violence or vandalism at rallies and events, this is not the norm.”
#Trantifa has announced a direct action to physically confront women protesting outside a Korean women’s spa in Washington state. The spa is being forced by a Seattle court to welcome male-bodied customers. https://t.co/BE9d6ybAHh
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) June 14, 2023
The hate watchdog adds its research suggests that because Antifa is a leaderless, detached repertoire of groups and individuals, it is “impossible” to know how many people count themselves a part of it.
“While many Antifa sympathizers do not support violence as the only—or even the main—instrument to oppose fascism, they do view violence as a legitimate option,” a 2021 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies said.
The report added: “Although Antifa extremists primarily use violence in the context of ideological clashes at demonstrations—many of which do not match common definitions of terrorism—some have also taken independent action against government targets perceived as unjust.”
It said that at a demonstration in Portland, Oregon, on August 29, 2020, Michael Reinoehl—a self-identified Antifa supporter—shot dead Aaron “Jay” Danielson, from the far-right group Patriot Prayer.
The new, transgender-focused sub-movement is also thought not to be a coordinated group, but rather to signify those who feel likewise about trans issues.
However, there is an official Trantifa International Facebook page and Twitter account, which describes itself as “the transgender arm of Antifa.”
Speaking to the Mail, Alsalem cited a recent incident involving Riley Gaines, a former collegiate competitive swimmer who has become a leading figure calling for transgender women to be prevented from competing in women’s sports categories.
Alsalem said Gaines was “ambushed and hit” by “screaming trans activists.”
When Gaines spoke at a Turning Point U.S.A. event in April on the San Francisco State University campus, she was chased and verbally assaulted by protesters, video footage demonstrates. She alleged that one of the protesters hit her twice.
However, it is unclear whether the demonstrators who interrupted the talk would identify themselves as part of the Trantifa movement.
Alsalem told the newspaper that U.S. officials and those in other Western nations should “ensure that the freedom of speech and thought, including on the issues of sex, gender, and gender identity be protected and upheld.”
Julio Rosas, a conservative author who in May testified to Congress about left-wing violence, described the Trantifa movement to the Mail as viewing “the U.S. as systemically racist, that it’s subjugated queer people, and that states passing laws against child mutilations is part of a trans genocide. And they’re fighting back.”
This is trantifa! Just as vicious as regular Antifa but with pink and blue! pic.twitter.com/mPm12y4h5v
— Candace Mercer ⚔ FTW How To Be Dangerous (@candiomercer) June 14, 2023
Responding to a Fox News report on Trantifa, Katherine Abughazaleh, a senior video producer for media watchdog Media Matters, tweeted: “[The] new right-wing paranoid delusion just dropped.”
Some transgender individuals have met with criticism for waving guns on social media while threatening “transphobes,” as well as warning that someone stopping them from using a women’s bathroom would be the “last mistake they ever make.”
At the same time, Republican state legislators are working to pass legislation that would limit gender-affirming care for children and young people.
According to the Trans Legislation Tracker website, there are 592 bills actively being considered in states across the U.S. that would limit access to transgender healthcare or greater legal recognition. Eighty-six bills have so far been passed.
The new face of extremism unmasked: The UN and Republicans are watching 'Trantifa' – the hard-left transgender activists who flirt with violence to promote their radical agenda pic.twitter.com/DBEhcv9jRi
— Kevin smith (@KJ00355197) June 12, 2023
The CPC and @PierrePoilievre support Trantifa. They are most unhinged and aggressive folk I've seen at an event. 5 of them were arrested.
A woman hit me in the face with a sign. Yet I didn't post victim photos on Twitter like Joel Smollett. 😂
The visuals don't lie. pic.twitter.com/L5rtwvDT2l
— Natasha Montreal Live Free or Die (@NatashaMontreal) June 12, 2023
An all out brawl is underway outside the Glendale School Board meeting in Los Angeles between Armenian-American families angry at the school doing pride events and far left protesters that have gathered to oppose them.
pic.twitter.com/sZ0RxQW8VG— 1776 Project PAC (@1776ProjectPac) June 7, 2023
