“You had a group on one side and you had a group on the other and they came at each other with clubs and it was vicious and it was horrible and it was a horrible thing to watch.” About a month and a half ago, this comment by president Donald Trump on the events in Charlottesville, VA ignited a firestorm of outrage from the media and much of America. But he wasn’t wrong.

When Trump referred to “both sides,” he wasn’t drawing a moral equivalence between neo-Nazis and peaceful protesters. He was referring to the violent nature of the white nationalists, and the aggressive response by a group of black-clad anarchists known as “Antifa,” a contraction of “anti-fascist.” Admittedly, the timing of his statement was questionable, especially given the death of Heather Heyer in a terrorist attack perpetrated by one of the neo-Nazi attendees of the event. But that doesn’t negate the fact that Antifa is a huge problem.

In Charlottesville, Antifa received only minor attention, despite showing up in their black “uniforms” and helmets. Armed with various weapons, such as bats, clubs, and bottles, they were involved in several altercations with white nationalists, but this was overshadowed by the aforementioned terror attack. While the attack was certainly a tragedy, it would be unwise to ignore the actions of Antifa, not only in Charlottesville, but around the country.

Beginning in the 1920s and 30s, gangs of anti-fascists were known to have fought fascists and other nationalists in the streets of European cities. These actions spread to the United States during the 80s, though they only recently got attention for rioting at UC Berkeley in February while protesting a scheduled event by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. Antifa broke windows and attacked attendees of the event, forcing shops on campus to temporarily close their doors. One member hit someone over the head with a bike lock, causing a severe head injury. The impact of this event went beyond the injuries and the $100,000 in property damage though.

In April, a scheduled speech by Ann Coulter was canceled due to “violent threats.” In September, UC Berkeley spent $600,000 in security to prevent rioting during Ben Shapiro’s speech. Clearly, Antifa has created a sensation of fear whenever a conservative is scheduled to speak there. They have used violence and intimidation against people and property to further their political goals, which is the precise definition of terrorism.

Antifa has created an unsafe atmosphere, which has lead to the cancellation of numerous conservative events around the country. No one should fear for their safety when speaking their mind. Just like the neo-Nazis, Antifa is opposed to the American value of freedom of expression and poses a threat to the safety of Americans. It would be wrong to treat them differently, especially when they are equally to blame for the recent violence in America.