Here are some of the things torchantifa has written on its site: https://torchantifa.org/?page_id=13
Their "About" page has this:
The Torch Network is a network of Militant antifascists across (but not limited to) the united states. We are born out of, and pay our respects to, the Anti-Racist Action Network. We are dedicated to confronting fascism and other element of oppression. We believe in direct action.
Responding to bigoted speech is important. We believe in being proactive when it comes to fascist violence, which means confronting fascist organizing before they have a chance to put their ideas into action, and taking fascist threats seriously.
I read "Militant", "direct action" and "proactive" to mean any means necessary. Of course, that is my own interpretation, and someone else who joins their movement might interpret it to mean something lighter.
However, if you just go by their "Points of Unity", they seem fairly benign:
1. We disrupt fascist and far right organizing and activity.
2. We don’t rely on the cops or courts to do our work for us. This doesn’t mean we never go to court, but the cops uphold white supremacy and the status quo. They attack us and everyone who resists oppression. We must rely on ourselves to protect ourselves and stop the fascists.
3. We oppose all forms of oppression and exploitation. We intend to do the hard work necessary to build a broad, strong movement of oppressed people centered on the working class against racism, sexism, nativism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and discrimination against the disabled, the oldest, the youngest, and the most oppressed people. We support abortion rights and reproductive freedom. We want a classless, free society. We intend to win!
4. We hold ourselves accountable personally and collectively to live up to our ideals and values.
5. We not only support each other within the network, but we also support people people outside the network who we believe have similar aims or principles. An attack on one is an attack on all
Then we move on to their roots:
Flash back to 1987…
ARA originally came out of the efforts of Minneapolis anti-racist Skinheads to create an organization that could combat the presence of nazi skinheads in that city and its neighboring city, St. Paul. The Baldies, a multi-racial skinhead crew, were fighting the Nazi skinhead group, the White Knights. If Baldies came across the nazis, then the nazis could expect to be attacked, or served some of what the Baldies called “Righteous Violence.”
You also have to consider there are many, many chapters of antifa. I think it may depend on who is involved in each chapter whether or not that particular chapter resorts to violence. It's dangerous to lump all antifa members under one umbrella. I can believe the person you mention could have been telling the truth. The chapter a state over could have been completely different.
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