On Sept. 10, conservative political icon Charlie Kirk was assassinated by Antifa, and there is currently a massive corporate media information operation struggling with all its might to prevent you from drawing that conclusion.

Even before the 22-year-old alleged assassin was arrested, the contours of the shooter’s motives were being fiercely debated when Steven Crowder published what he reported to be an ATF document, which noted, “The spent cartridge was still chambered in addition to three unspent rounds at the top fed magazine. All cartridges have engraved wording on them, expressing transgender and anti-fascist ideology.”

The spin machine went immediately to work, with CNN labelling the engravings as a “range of phrases related to cultural issues.”

It was later revealed that the phrases included, “Hey Fascist! Catch!” and, “O Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, ciao, ciao,” lyrics from a popular Italian anti-fascist song. (While some have attempted to obfuscate the song’s origins, as of this writing, the extensive Wikipedia writeup of the song’s history is contained under the website’s “Anti-fascism” category.) Andy Ngo, who has long tracked Antifa, noted that the phrase “Bella Ciao” was included in the manifesto of Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club member Willem van Spronsen before his attack on an ICE facility in Tacoma, Washington, in 2019.

“Hey Fascist! Catch!” — plus a series of arrows — is apparently associated with the video game Helldivers, which includes a satirical fascist world government. The song may also appear in the video game.

The fact that these anti-fascist references appear in popular video games is being used by mainstream Democrats and corporate media personalities to gaslight people into believing the attack on Charlie Kirk somehow wasn’t conducted by an Antifa supporter, even while actual Antifa and anarchist accounts seem to claim the shooter as one of their own.

A Pittsburgh-based anarchist account, which specializes in distributing Antifa and anarchist propaganda and pamphlets, mocked those claiming the attack had been done by a member of the far-right, and responded to a post about the Kirk assassination by posting more of the “Bella Ciao” lyrics. The same account also compared the assassination of Kirk with the 1977 kneecapping assault on journalist Indro Montanelli by members of the Red Brigades terrorist group. Protesters seeking to disrupt a Kirk vigil led by the NYU College Republicans sang the song as well. Clearly, “anti-fascists” saw and understood the reference as an ideological endorsement.

Meanwhile, other Antifa-affiliated media perpetuated the claim that the alleged assassin was a “Groyper,” an online follower of the antisemitic podcaster Nick Fuentes, in a post titled, “Charlie Kirk: There’s More Comin’.” 

This kind of coy communication — in which a target is openly described as a fascist against whom violence is justified, and the assault is celebrated, even while blaming the actual attack on alleged white supremacists — is itself an Antifa hallmark, which those of us who study the movement immediately recognized. 

Meanwhile, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said it was clear to investigators that the assassin was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.”

What people often fail to understand is that for this movement, an “anti-fascist” isn’t just a thing you are, it’s a thing you do. A man who paints is a painter, whether he’s a professional or a novice. A man who engages in “anti-fascism” is an “anti-fascist,” whether it’s his first time or his 51st. 

The shooter did the one thing necessary to be recognized as bona fide Antifa: He murdered Charlie Kirk. 

Those who knew Kirk best have noted that the core element of Charlie Kirk’s personality and political approach was his fundamental willingness to talk to anyone about politics and to try to persuade and convince, even in the face of hostility. 

And there is no more quintessential “anti-fascist” action than murdering such a man. Indeed, it’s the one “anti-fascist” imperative. 

Despite the name, since the founding of its first incarnation as Antifaschistische Aktion as the armed militia of the Communist Party in Weimar Republic Germany, the real enemy of Antifa has never been actual fascists. The primary enemy in the 1930s was the center-left Social Democratic Party, which the Communists labeled “social fascists” and aggressively opposed. You might have said that Antifa and the actual Nazis had their own mini-Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, both eating away at the heart of the moderate political center of the nascent and struggling republic to bring about its demise. Ironically, today we are seeing similar unspoken cooperation, as Antifa and radical leftists celebrate Kirk’s assassination, while on the fringe right, contemptible smear merchants blame Jews and Israel, despite Kirk being a noted, outspoken supporter of both.

The one thing Antifa absolutely cannot allow is reasoned debate and polite but firm disagreement. They categorically reject the idea that a Charlie Kirk might engage with the political process, convince and persuade, mobilize potential voters, win elections, and have his policy preferences implemented in a republic of ordered liberty.

Instead, they use violence in hopes of forcing their opponents to join them in the political gutter. If you hire security to protect yourself, they’ll claim you’re a fascist using armed guards to intimidate your opponents. If you defend yourself when they attack you, they’ll claim you’re a white supremacist and seek to have you thrown in jail. If they murder you in cold blood, they’ll say it was an act of self-defense because your words are violence.

Was the alleged assassin a “card-carrying” member of an official Antifa group, whose members can be identified and exposed? We should certainly demand that law enforcement leave no stone unturned until they can positively rule out such a possibility. 

 But was he Antifa? Clearly.

Kyle Shideler is senior analyst for Homeland Security at the Center for Security Policy.