(AFP) – Mark Bray, a US university professor and expert on the loosely organized left-wing Antifa movement, says he has fled the country after receiving death threats amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on opponents. Bray, 43, has written several books on the nebulous, self-described “anti-fascist” movement, which the Trump administration has classified as a terrorist group.
“The whole thing has been very stressful, even more stressful having small children — my whole life has been turned on its head,” Bray, a history professor at New Jersey’s Rutgers University, told AFP in an interview. Fearing for their safety, Bray and his family flew to Spain on Thursday evening.
Trump and his supporters “are trying to expand this term ‘Antifa’… and they’re trying to apply this to basically anyone they don’t like,” Bray said. “It is particularly easy to try and label me… the guy who wrote the book about it.”
– ‘I’m a researcher’ –
Bray acknowledged his history with the left-wing Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City in 2011 but stressed that he had “never been part of an anti-fascist group.”
“I’m not now, and I don’t intend to be. I support anti-fascism, broadly construed; I detest fascism, but in this capacity, I’m a researcher,” he said. Bray said he was first targeted on X following the September 10 murder of pro-Trump conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. Far-right activist Jack Posobiec labeled him online a “domestic terrorist professor,” while Andy Ngo, a conservative content creator, accused him of being a “militant anti-fascist activist.” Both took part in a White House roundtable discussion on the “Antifa threat” this week.
After those social media posts, Bray began receiving death threats, he said, including one “saying that someone was going to kill me in front of my students,” and a threatening email with his home address. “At that point, I decided I wanted to leave the country for the safety of my family,” he said.
– ‘Without fear’ –
A petition calling for Bray’s dismissal was launched last week by the Rutgers University chapter of Turning Point USA, the right-wing organization founded by Kirk, and has gained more than 1,000 signatures. Bray also appears on a “watch list of professors” maintained by Turning Point USA.
In a statement, a Rutgers University spokesperson said the “institution is committed to providing a secure environment — to learn, teach, work, and research, where all members of our community can share their opinions without fear of intimidation or harassment.” Turning Point USA and the student behind the petition have not responded to AFP’s request for comment.
Since his return to power in January, Trump has launched an offensive against universities, with a series of shock decisions that have unsettled the scientific and academic community, pushing some professors to announce plans to move abroad.
– Victoria Lavelle
© 2024 AFP
