Trump's antifa crackdown sparks panic over Newsom reprisals in 2028

By CHASE HOPE, POLITICAL REPORTER FOR THE DAILY MAIL Published: 21:55, 9 July 2026 | Updated: 21:55, 9 July 2026 Marco Rubio has invited top officials from dozens of countries to a meeting on far-left terrorism amid a Trump administration crackdown. But many within the White House fear the summit's goals could eventually backfire on conservatives, according to the Washington Post. 'The idea is you're setting a precedent for a future Gavin Newsom administration to turn these authorities on conservatives,' one administration official told the Post. Newsom is widely expected to make a bid for the presidency in 2028.  The summit, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told the Post, was called because radical, left-wing terrorism is 'an old threat re-emerging with strong transnational links and new convergences.' Concerns among US officials seem to stem from the potential of the Trump administration using severe counterterrorism measures typically reserved for foreign actors on domestic entities. Several officials say they have heard Trump counterterrorism chief Sebastian Gorka raise the possibility of treating antifa groups as foreign terrorists.  White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller signaled his agreement last October in a public White House roundtable on antifa. Some US officials have even decided to skip Rubio's July 16 event due to their objections.  Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend a cabinet meeting at the White House on May 27 Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has been one Trump lieutenant advocating for an aggressive approach to antifa groups Marco Rubio, pictured at the NATO summit, has called together international leaders to discuss left-wing terrorism Several European diplomats expressed skepticism about the event as well, suggesting it was unnecessary for their countries to worry about left-wing terrorism. Antifa has proven difficult to define, as the label typically refers to various left-wing militants rather than a single organized entity.  The President issued an executive order last fall labeling antifa a 'domestic terrorist organization,' but that is an informal label without legal weight.  The Trump administration has connected things like attacks on ICE officers and the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to 'sophisticated, organized campaigns of targeted intimidation, radicalization, threats, and violence.' More than a dozen people were sentenced to prison in the last two weeks over their involvement with a shooting near an immigration detention center in Dallas last year. Prosecutors alleged the defendants were connected to antifa, which the defendants denied.  The State Department did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment, and the White House referred questions to State.