Is Keith Ellison's Antifa book tweet real? Minnesota AG's alleged 2018 post goes viral amid Trump allegations

Keith Ellison, Attorney General of Minnesota, reacted to Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem’s remarks about Antifa at a recent White House roundtable. 

During his appearance on MSNBC on Saturday, October 11, the Democrat labeled the Trump administration’s approach towards the anti-fascist movement as “utter stupidity.” Ellison implied that Antifa is more of an ideology than an institution or organization. The Minnesota Attorney General also alleged that it was Trump from whom he first heard the term “Antifa.” Ellison said:

“The first person I ever heard used the word Antifa was Donald J Trump when he was going on about how they were good people on both sides of Charlottesville.” 

Ellison was referring to Trump’s 2017 remarks in reaction to the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the group of people who protested it. He added: 

“That’s the first time I ever heard anyone use the term. So now it’s this amorphous thing and if nobody is Antifa then anybody could be.” 

Minnesota AG Keith Ellison says Antifa doesn't exist.

Also @keithellison pic.twitter.com/5QrE9z2GeO

— Sara Rose 🇺🇸🌹 (@saras76) October 11, 2025

However, after Ellison’s clip from his recent MSNBC appearance went viral, many on X posted about the Democratic leader’s 2018 tweet. In the alleged post, the Minnesota AG had shared a picture of him holding Mark Bray's “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.” The resurfaced image and tweet are real, as Keith Ellison wrote in a January 2018 post: 

“At @MoonPalaceBooks and I just found the book that strike fear in the heart of @realDonaldTrump”

According to CBS News and Newsweek, Ellison faced backlash and later removed the tweet tagging the then-45th U.S. President, Trump. Many are using the re-emerged photo to criticize him.

Keith Ellison faces online backlash after a past photo featuring an “Antifa” book resurfaces

Keith Ellison, Today: Nobody even knows what Antifa is.

Keith Ellison, 2018: Tweets photo of himself holding Antifa handbook. pic.twitter.com/LJfZgsSNiz

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) October 11, 2025

After the Minnesota Attorney General stated his stance on the Trump administration’s crackdown on Antifa, many shared a 2018 selfie of Ellison holding the book titled "Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook." Western Lensman (@WesternLensman), a popular X account, also posted the picture and Keith Ellison’s recent statement and wrote: 

“Keith Ellison, Today: Nobody even knows what Antifa is.
Keith Ellison, 2018: Tweets photo of himself holding Antifa handbook.” 

Here’s how others reacted to the resurfaced picture of the Democratic leader:

“Never ceases to amaze me how they continually operate as if the Internet doesn’t exist,” a user wrote. 

“It probably tells him to say things like ‘nobody even knows what Antifa is’ in the Antifa handbook,” another user said.  

“Weird because there are posts all over this platform with people proclaiming to be the thing he has been promoting for 7 years. Odd,” one user tweeted. 

“Well, well, well.  He knows exactly what Antifa is. This is a "Don't believe your lying eyes" moment,” another one said.

For those unaware, Trump signed an executive order to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization in September. During a recent roundtable discussion with popular conservative influencers, Pam Bondi talked about the president’s plans to crack down on the anti-fascist movement. At the same time, Kristi Noem likened Antifa to MS-13 and ISIS.

Reacting to their remarks, Keith Ellison told MSNBC anchors:

“Well, I want to caution people to not just dismiss it as utter stupidity.  Because it’s utter stupidity. It’s fact free , it’s lies, it’s ridiculous, but it is dangerous for that very reason.”

He added:

“Because if there is really no Antifa as an institution, organization that anybody, whose associated with Antifa-like ideas, you know, could be persecuted. All you have to do is say, ‘Prove you are not Antifa.’ How can you prove you a negative?” 

Ellison alleged that it will make suppression of speech, arrest of people and deployment of ICE, National Guard and military justifiable.