On Wednesday, President Donald Trump directed his Cabinet to pursue designating Antifa a foreign terrorist organization, escalating his administration’s crackdown on the decentralized group.
At a White House event featuring journalists who claimed to be victims of Antifa violence, Trump stated, “If you agree, I agree. Let’s get it done.” Top officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stood alongside him. Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller stated, “There are extensive foreign ties, and I think that would be a very valid step.”
This move follows Trump’s earlier executive order on September 22, 2025, which declared Antifa a domestic terrorist organization. While that designation holds little legal weight due to limitations in U.S. law, foreign terrorist organization (FTO) status would trigger powerful federal tools — financial sanctions, travel restrictions, asset freezes, and criminal penalties.
The legal implications are severe:
It is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to a designated FTO. (The term “material support or resources” is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(1) as ” any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel (1 or more individuals who maybe or include oneself), and transportation, except medicine or religious materials.
The shift toward FTO designation marks a historic escalation. During the 2020 riots, then-Attorney General William Barr identified Antifa as a key instigator of violence. He warned that bad actors could exploit unrest for anarchic agendas and emphasized the Justice Department’s commitment to restoring order.
Trump’s domestic terror designation of Antifa painted the group as a radical anarchist network that uses organized violence, doxing, and intimidation to suppress political speech and undermine government authority. With the proposed foreign terrorist designation, the administration moves from symbolic action to a more forceful legal approach aimed at dismantling the anarchist network and punishing its supporters.
Whether the State Department proceeds with the FTO label remains uncertain, but the administration’s position is clear: violent extremism, even under the guise of activism, will be treated as a national security threat.