Jane Fonda and hundreds of members of the entertainment industry have revived the Committee for the First Amendment, a free-expression group that was originally formed by Hollywood stars including her father, Henry Fonda, during the McCarthy era.

The original group was formed in 1947 to oppose the work of the House Un-American Activities Committee, whose investigations into the film industry led to the blacklist of actors, writers and directors who were suspected of Communist sympathies. The original Committee for the First Amendment included Mr. Fonda, Lucille Ball, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and others who rallied to defend free expression.

In announcing the revival of the group, Ms. Fonda and the other new members recalled the “dark time when the federal government repressed and persecuted American citizens for their political beliefs” and warned that “those forces have returned.”

“The federal government is once again engaged in a coordinated campaign to silence critics in the government, the media, the judiciary, academia, and the entertainment industry,” they said in a statement, which was signed by Ms. Fonda, Spike Lee, Billie Eilish, Pedro Pascal and more than 800 others.

In a video posted on her social media account Wednesday night, Ms. Fonda, 87, said that she was heartened by the many people who had reached out seeking to be added to the committee. Still, she said, “We’re not looking to build an organization. We’re looking to grow a movement.”

She called for “creative, nonviolent noncooperation” and held up, as one example, the move by some to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions after the late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC.