Trans swimmer Lia Thomas (born William) took pride in being an "Antifa super soldier" on social media. In an image posted on Thomas' partner Gwen Luxemburg's Instagram, Thomas is seen smiling, making a peace sign and dressed all in black with sunglasses, a harness and a T-shirt with the phrase "Antifa Super Soldier."
The post was criticized by many users on social media. One of the first to spread the word was journalist Andy Ngô, who claimed that the swimmer had already adopted "the #Trantifa branding" (a combination of the words trans and Antifa). Ngô explained that "trans violent militancy" is the new target group for the terrorist organization Antifa.
#Trans swimmer Lia Thomas, formerly William Thomas, has now embraced the #Trantifa branding in new photos posted on social media.
Trans violent militancy is the current focus of #Antifa. They believe that critics of trans ideology should be silenced, maimed or murdered. Some… pic.twitter.com/qlU0jQXlbK
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 17, 2023
Former NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) swimmer Riley Gaines, known for being an advocate for women's rights in sports, called the situation "disturbing."
Doesn't this make so much make sense....
I haven't specifically bashed Lia Thomas on anything (other than calling him an entitled narcissist which I stand by) because ultimately he was following the rules in place. But this is disturbing https://t.co/EHnqkBG1kJ
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) July 17, 2023
Libs of TikTok also reacted to the image, defining Trantifa as "an organization of far left violent extremist trans activists."
Lia Thomas appears in new photo wearing a Trantifa shirt. Trantifa is an organization of far left violent extremist trans activists pic.twitter.com/3lCoFKl7cz
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 17, 2023
Journalist Katie Daviscourt of The Post Millenial called Thomas a "trans terrorist."
Surprise! Surprise!
Lia Thomas is a trans terrorist. https://t.co/JPLYJpRqVi
— Katie Daviscourt (@KatieDaviscourt) July 17, 2023
Oli London, known to be a controversial internet personality, criticized the image and indicated that Thomas is wearing the shirt "signalling [sic.] the biological males [sic.] support for the violent extremist group."
Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas wears ANTIFA T-shirt, signalling the biological males support for the violent extremist group.
The shirt reads ‘Antifa Super Soldier.’
H/T @MrAndyNgo pic.twitter.com/ztYO0YRZgE
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 17, 2023
