The United States has designated four entities across Germany, Italy, and Greece as global terrorists, accusing them of being “violent Antifa groups.”
The move, announced on Thursday, aligns with President Donald Trump’s broader focus on left-wing organisations.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the designations, identifying German-based Antifa Ost as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists,” alongside three other groups in Greece and Italy. Mr Rubio stated that the action was intended to build on President Trump’s “commitment to confront Antifa’s campaign of political violence.”
He further indicated plans to designate these groups as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” from November 20, warning that Washington would target other groups globally.
“Groups affiliated with this movement ascribe to revolutionary anarchist or Marxist ideologies, including anti-Americanism, ‘anti-capitalism,’ and anti-Christianity, using these to incite and justify violent assaults domestically and overseas,” Rubio said.
“The United States will continue using all available tools to protect our national security and public safety and will deny funding and resources to terrorists, including targeting other Antifa groups across the globe.”
Trump and his Republican allies have accused antifa followers of fomenting political violence following the September assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and amid protests against federal immigration authorities in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon. Trump threatened to pursue antifa during his 2017-2021 term in office, and in September called antifa a terrorist organization in an executive order.
Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” is a decentralized movement without a clear structure, command hierarchy or leader, according to a 2020 Congressional Research Service report.
The State Department said Antifa Ost conducted numerous attacks against those it “perceives as ‘fascists’ or part of the ‘right-wing scene’ in Germany between 2018 and 2023 and is accused of having conducted a series of attacks in Budapest in mid-February 2023.”
The German foreign and interior ministries were not immediately available for comment.
Germany’s domestic intelligence service identified the Antifa Ost group as a violent network in a 2024 report.
Four people connected to the group were arrested between December 2023 and November 2024, accused of targeting those they considered right-wing extremists in violent attacks.
While the arrests are thought to have weakened the group, the 2024 report warned that its members continued to target Germany’s far-right AfD party, which has courted ties with the Trump administration.
In addition to Antifa Ost in Germany, Washington designated as terrorists the Informal Anarchist Federation/International Revolutionary Front in Italy as well as Armed Proletarian Justice and Revolutionary Class Self-Defense in Greece, according to a separate statement.
