Designating groups as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) empowers U.S. federal authorities to investigate the groups’ supporters, prosecute them, and seize their assets.
The European groups, which were added to the list on Nov. 20, include Italian anarchists who carried out a letter bomb campaign against European Union leaders, a German hammer-wielding gang accused of targeting right-wing party members, and two Greek anti-capitalist groups.
Short for “anti-fascist,” Antifa seeks to silence people whose viewpoints it defines as “fascist,” and vows to do so “by any means necessary”—a popular Antifa rallying cry.
Italy, Home of ‘World’s Largest Anarchist Network’
One of the newly declared FTOs hails from Italy, where fascism originated under dictator Benito Mussolini in the 1920s.
The group is called the Informal Anarchist Federation, also known as the International Revolutionary Front.
The group has claimed responsibility for attacks in Italy, Greece, Spain, Germany, the UK, Indonesia, Chile, Brazil, and Mexico, according to the report.
The Informal Anarchist Federation declares that “armed struggle” is necessary against nation-states and “The Fortress Europe,” according to the State Department.
The profile states that the group was a sign that Italy had become “the birthplace of a new threat that has spread to other countries.”
However, this type of “insurrectionary anarchism ... has become the most dangerous form of domestic non-jihadist terrorism in the country,” the report stated.
Greek Anti-Capitalist Groups
Revolutionary Class Self-Defense and Armed Proletarian Justice are two newly designated FTOs that are based in Greece.Both claim to be “anti-capitalist” and are known to use improvised explosive devices in attacks against Greek governmental targets.
Revolutionary Class Self-Defense has been outspoken in its solidarity with Palestine’s conflicts with Israel; the group dedicated two recent attacks to the Palestinians.
In February 2024, an explosive device targeted the Greek Ministry of Labor, but officials evacuated the area, so there were no injuries.
The other Greek group, Armed Proletarian Justice, claimed responsibility for a 2023 bombing attempt at a police headquarters in Athens, Greece.
Germany’s Hammer Gang
After anti-fascism took hold in Italy, some people in Germany also became early adopters of anti-fascist ideology; Germany is often considered the cradle of the Antifa movement as we know it today. That is partly because it was the origin of flags and other symbols still in use, along with the “black bloc” protest method, in which participants don black masks and clothing to avoid being identified.A group known as Antifa Ost, German for “Antifa East,” stands out among the four new FTO designees partly because of its methods.
As its nickname, the Hammerbande—German for “Hammer Gang”—implies, Antifa Ost has been known to bludgeon its victims with hammers. Hammer attacks have been carried out in broad daylight, online videos show.
However, at the time of the FTO designation, German authorities downplayed the threat that Antifa Ost might pose.
German government spokesperson Steffen Meyer said Washington acted without influence from Berlin in declaring the group a terrorist organization.
The U.S. designation of Antifa Ost as an FTO followed Hungary’s decision to impose that label on the group.
Prosecution of one suspect, Italian citizen Ilaria Salis, was interrupted in 2024 after she won a seat in the European Parliament, granting her immunity.
What Power Does FTO Label Give US?
Simply put, the FTO designation makes it illegal for anyone in the United States to conduct business with the groups or to provide material support or resources to them.Trump’s order commanded agencies to “investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations—especially those involving terrorist actions—conducted by Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa.”
“In the turn of the new year, you’re going to see some very righteous prosecutions and investigations being publicized.”
US Antifa ‘Networked With Foreign Antifa’
J. Michael Waller, a former CIA operative who now serves as a senior analyst at the Center for Security Policy, said Trump’s FTO declarations have “energized the fight against domestic violent extremism by bringing ironclad existing federal laws into play.”“These foreign groups and domestic Antifa communicate back and forth,“ he told The Epoch Times. ”There are degrees of collaboration. The FTO designation gives authorities here more tools to crack down on domestic extremists in ways that have already been settled in court.”
Although federal laws define FTO, there is no such definition for “domestic terrorist organization.” That designation might face a court challenge.
“However, it narrows the dangerous, anti-free speech ‘countering violent extremism’ designation” that originated under President Barack Obama, Waller said.
Trump’s “domestic terrorist” label relies on laws that define terrorism, while Obama’s “violent extremism” label lacked such legal underpinnings. Therefore, the Obama-era label could easily be applied in a “random and arbitrary” way, he said.
Together, the domestic and foreign designations weaken U.S.-based groups.
“American Antifa is networked with foreign Antifa, and so this is a way to go in and to use foreign terrorism support laws against American terrorist groups,” Waller said.
Some people harbor misconceptions about Antifa, he said. Observers may accept that fascism is bad. So, because the groups say they are “anti-fascist,” people perceive that “they must be good guys,” Waller said, and that violent or unruly protests result from “youthful frustration.”
“They’re not just out there to smash windows. ... Their goal is to overthrow our government,” he said, perhaps one city at a time.
Antifa employs tactics and ideology espoused by Russian dictator Josef Stalin, according to Waller.
Post-World War I, the goal of German Antifa, established in 1932 under Stalin’s influence, was to “tear out” political centrists and polarize the nation. Communists joined anarchists on one side, opposing Nazis on the other. That polarization is what brought German dictator Adolf Hitler to power, he said.
Future Ramifications
Waller called the FTO designations “a really smart move” to prevent the groups’ adherents from spreading propaganda in the United States or entering the country. The designation also blocks access to domestic bank accounts.It is vital for Trump to take action to halt Antifa, according to Waller.
“This has to be smashed—now,“ he said. ”He can’t have a successful presidency and leave us to inherit this mess any further.”
“[In that case, the Justice Department] worked with outside groups to formulate a very fine and legally bulletproof definition of what Antifa is as an organization—not just a nebulous idea like we had been led to believe,” he said.
Waller called that strategy “brilliant.”
With those plea agreements, “the DOJ has just proven under law that [Antifa] is an organization,” he said, a definition that might have taken years to prove in court otherwise.
Additional defendants still face charges in that case, which arose from a July confrontation at an immigration detention center; an officer was shot but survived.
Before Trump’s orders, the FBI “had no reason to monitor” or even learn about Antifa cells, Waller said.
Trump’s directives changed that.
“This is a priority presidential order for them, and suddenly there’s a whole lot of interest in it,” he said, noting that it’s “just the beginning of a very long-term, very well-thought-out strategic plan.”
