Who is Antifa?
by Krystal Saunders
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On September 25, 2025, Donald Trump declared Antifa a left-wing terrorist organization. He stated, “I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.”
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There are several problems with this declaration. There is no official organization known as Antifa; there is no membership list; there is no spokesperson or leader, and there is no central base of operation. Although the Trump administration presents Antifa as a huge, organized group, it is not. The anti-fascist movement in the United States is a broad, loosely affiliated coalition of left-wing activists. Depending on the region and issues at hand, these activists may or may not mobilize. The only self-proclaimed anti-fascist group is the Rose City Antifa group, born in 2007 in Portland, Oregon. While the Rose City group is one concrete example, the anti-fascist movement is very decentralized, involving many loose groups and individuals.
Antifa is short for antifascism. Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian ideology that prioritizes the nation or race over the individual. According to historian Robert Paxton in " Anatomy of Fascism", the motivating force behind fascism is the chosen group’s right to dominate others without restraint from human or divine law. A fascist government is founded on the belief in a natural social hierarchy. Fascist dictatorships are typically led by a cult-like figure who uses propaganda and violence to maintain control. Fascist governments maintain control by engaging in forcible suppression of opposition and frequently demonize other groups such as immigrants, certain races, sexual/ gender minorities, and their political opponents. In Italy and Germany, fascist leaders and their collaborators formed secret police forces to exile, jail, or murder opponents.
The struggle against fascism has persisted for decades, dating back to the rise of fascist dictators such as Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, who persecuted those who opposed them. The term “Antifa” is borrowed from the German “Antifaschistisch Aktion” (1932-33), a group formed as a reaction to Nazism.
Historian Mark Bray, who has written a book on Antifa, states that anti-fascists in the U.S. are opposed to Neo-Nazis, Neo-fascists, white supremacists, and racism. However, in these times, they include the alt-right. The UCLA College of Social Sciences in their study on “hate” include the following groups in the term Alt-right (populists, white supremacists, white nationalists, neo-confederates, and neo-nazis). In conversation with Antifa sympathizers in Oregon, Bray was told that they are witnessing a build up of authoritarianism in the Trump administration and they seek to build “a movement that insulates us from the policies of Donald Trump”.
The term antifa and antifa-related actions gained prominence during Trump’s first term, particularly following the events in Charlottesville in 2017. The “Unite the Right” rally was organized by white supremacists to protest the removal of the statue of the Confederate General Robert E. Lee. On the eve of the rally, white supremacists, members of the KKK, and neo-Nazis marched through the streets of Charlottesville carrying torches and chanting “you will not replace us.” The following day, counter-protestors arrived to oppose this demonstration of white supremacy. The confrontation escalated, resulting in a member of the far right driving his car into the crowd of protestors.
It is important to acknowledge the possible threat to free speech and peaceful assembly that is posed by the Trump administration declaring Antifa a left-wing terrorist organization. This declaration could signal the administration’s intent to target other liberal, progressive, or left-wing organizations. White House officials have commented on the need to scrutinize left-wing, non-profit groups. Stephen Miller, Trump’s top policy advisor, called the Democratic Party a “domestic, extremist organization” (Fox News, Sean Hannity show, August 25, 2025).
Mark Bray made the following observation in 2017. …”given the historical and current threat that white supremacist and fascist groups pose, it’s clear to me that organized collective self-defense is not only a legitimate response but, lamentably, an all-too-necessary response…”.
Engaging in Dialogue: Planting the Seed
One approach to discussing Antifa with supporters of MAGA
1. Share your interest in this group
2. Ask the person what they think Antifa means?
3. Assure the individual that Antifa is not a terrorist organization but a collection of individuals spread far and wide in the US that are sometimes motivated to act.
4. Mention the incident in Charlottesville where young men carrying torches and wearing Nazi symbols marched in the streets chanting “you will not replace us” and “Blood and Soil” a Nazi slogan.
5. Ask the person what they think was meant by that chant?
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