Proponents of the far-left extremist antifa movement claim that it is nothing more than a response to the rise of fascism in the United States. However, many victims of antifa-driven violence have been white men unconnected to fascist or white supremacist organizations—including disabled old veterans and free speech supporters.

So why is a progressive movement biased against a single demographic in particular?

The anarchist movement’s violence against white men is rooted in academia. Intersectional feminists on campuses teach their students about “heteropatriarchy” (or patriarchy, for short) and other pillars of white supremacy, including sexism, colonialism, orientalism, capitalism, colorism, and a host of other -isms that are all said to oppress everyone today — except for white men.

Conveniently enough, minorities who disagree with the orthodoxy and its “intersections of oppression” are said to suffer from “internalized oppression” caused by the white supremacist society they supposedly live in.

Because white men are considered the “oppressor,” most of antifa’s assaults have been committed against white men. The victims included white male progressives — and those who simply look like white men.

In the months since Donald Trump’s election to office, white men have been the victims of antifa violence across the United States and Europe. In February 2017, antifa thugs and Black Lives Matter activists in London assaulted a man holding up a sign that read “the right to openly discuss ideas must be defended,” whom they accused of being a Nazi.

There was no shortage of anarchist violence at the University of Washington in early April, when black clad protesters scuffled with police and assaulted a white male Trump supporter. Through the use of “black bloc” tactics — dressing in full black and moving as a cluster — the group was able to maintain its anonymity as it harassed students.

During the Berkeley “Free Speech Rally” in mid-April, black-clad antifa supporters assaulted a disabled veteran who was sitting in a wheelchair by dumping liquid onto him as he attempted to speak to them peacefully. A man who stood between antifa and the veteran was robbed of his cellphone by another masked antifa thug.

During the same protest, an antifa protester assaulted (though this description is generous, she was half his size) a photojournalist for attempting to put out the fire that the group set.

The most egregious instance of violence happened during the same protest, when Eric Clanton, a professor at Diablo Valley College and antifa supporter, was captured on video smashing a Trump supporter in the head with a bike lock.

Antifa’s assaults were not limited to Trump supporters or disabled military veterans. During a protest in Boston in August, a liberal who refused to denounce all white people as white supremacists was sucker-punched in the back of the head by an antifa thug.

Of course white men aren’t the only targets of antifa violence. In a New York Times report, a Syrian Muslim student at UC Berkeley was assaulted by antifa members who accused him of merely looking like a white man. He was told that he “looked like a Nazi.” He was pepper-sprayed and hit with a rod before he could offer a reply.

If there was a gang just going around assaulting members of any other demographic, there would be blood in the streets and the newspapers would be plastered with headlines condemning the group.

Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.