US Designates European Antifa Groups as ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorists’
Washington, D.C. – In a major escalation of its campaign against left-wing movements, the Trump administration has officially designated four European antifa-linked groups as “specially designated global terrorists.” The groups targeted are Antifa Ost in Germany, the Informal Anarchist Federation/International Revolutionary Front (FAI/FRI) in Italy, Armed Proletarian Justice in Greece, and Revolutionary Class Self-Defense in Greece.
The designations, announced by the US State Department on Thursday, November 13, 2025, will take effect as formal listings of foreign terrorist organizations on November 20, 2025, exposing any US-based individuals or entities engaging with the groups to sanctions risks.
US Accuses Groups of Violence Across Europe
The State Department cited the groups’ involvement in violent acts across Europe, claiming they targeted capitalist institutions, right-wing governments, and engaged in activism related to the Palestinian cause.
“Persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with those designated today may expose themselves to sanctions risk,” the department said. “Notably, engaging in certain transactions with them entails risk of secondary sanctions pursuant to counterterrorism authorities.”
Expanding the Definition of Terrorism
Critics argue that the Trump administration is broadening the concept of terrorism beyond its traditional scope, which typically covers domestic or international groups using violence to achieve political aims. Under Trump, the label has been applied to drug cartels, Latin American gangs, and now antifa.
On September 22, 2025, Trump issued an executive order designating antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization.” The order claimed antifa is a “militarist, anarchist enterprise” seeking to overthrow the US government and use illegal means for nationwide campaigns of violence and terrorism.
Legal and Constitutional Concerns
Experts warn that these designations could criminalize antifa-related activities, as providing “material support” to terrorist groups is a federal offense. However, since antifa is largely autonomous and decentralized, identifying financiers or operational leaders is nearly impossible.
Legal scholars also raise First Amendment concerns, noting that labeling an ideology as a terrorist movement risks suppressing free speech and left-wing activism.
Historian Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, said:
“Antifa is a kind of politics, not a specific group, in the same way that feminism is an ideology but not a group. Speaking of ‘antifa’ in the singular misleads and plays into Trump’s strategy to repress the left.”
Bray further criticized claims that antifa groups operate with large, shadowy budgets, calling it a right-wing conspiracy narrative, noting most antifa funding is small-scale and crowdsourced, often for bail or local activism.
Experts Warn of Political Repression
Observers warn that Trump’s designation could be used as a tool to crack down on left-wing activists broadly, beyond the specific European groups targeted. This raises concerns about political freedoms and civil liberties under a president who has repeatedly linked antifa to national security threats.
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