Antifa deniers: Dan Goldman and the ghost of J. Edgar Hoover

Politicians and pundits are denying that the left-wing anarchist group exists. -  Jonathan Turley

Roughly seventy years ago, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover famously declared, “There is no organized crime in America.” 

• Hoover’s stubborn denial of the existence of the mafia continued despite ample evidence to the contrary, from arrests to congressional testimony...
• Many today seem to be adopting a Hoover-esque wilful blindness about another violent group: Antifa.

Politicians and pundits are denying that the left-wing anarchist group exists, mocking President Trump’s designation of Antifa as a terrorist organization.

• Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) seemed to morph into Hoover before our very eyes, including a posting in which he challenged anyone to “name one member of ‘Antifa.'”
• Former House Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) was widely ridiculed for denying the existence of Antifa.
• Others on the left have joined Goldman in this absurd claim. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel committed part of his monologue to assure viewers that Antifa is no more than a mythical “chupacabra.” “You understand there is no Antifa,” he said. “This is an entirely made-up organization.”...

By design, Antifa avoids typical leadership hierarchies and organizational structures. 

Antifa was first created in the 1920s, associated with the Weimar-era German communist group Antifaschistische Aktion.
It is easy to satisfy Goldman’s demand in naming some members, since they self-identify as members of Antifa...