Antifa

Extracted Attributes

• Nature

  Decentralized political movement

• Core Views

  Anti-authoritarian, Anti-capitalist, Anti-state

• Primary Focus

  Anti-fascism, Anti-racism

• Origin of Name

  Loanword from German 'Antifa', short for 'antifaschistisch' ('anti-fascist')

• Scholarly Assessment

  Legitimate response to the rise of the far-right; most actions nonviolent; not a major domestic terrorism risk

• Associated Ideologies

  Anarchism, Communism, Socialism, Social Democracy

• Ideological Alignment

  Left-wing

• Organizational Structure

  Highly decentralized, autonomous groups, no central leadership

• Primary Geographic Focus

  United States

• Common Nonviolent Tactics

  Poster and flyer campaigns, mutual aid, speeches, protest marches, community organizing, digital activism

• Confrontational Tactics (by some individuals)

  Doxing, harassment, physical violence, property damage

Timeline

• The German word 'Antifa' first appeared. (Source: Web Search)

  1930

• Antifaschistische Aktion, a German group, inspired the wider antifa movement. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1932-1933

• US antifa activism traces its roots to anti-racists mobilizing against racist skinheads, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and neo-Nazis. (Source: Wikipedia, NDTV)

  1980s

• The American antifa movement grew significantly after Donald Trump was elected president. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2016

• Donald Trump stated his intention to declare Antifa a terrorist organization, but did not follow through at the time. (Source: BBC)

  2020

• Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to designate Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, a move challenged by legal experts. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2025-09-22

• Antifa is cited in discussions about 'Law and Order' and its tactics are subject to criticism. (Source: Document 7a37f942-8e58-4649-a17d-7314ffbcc445, Summary)

  Ongoing

Antifa (United States)

Antifa () is a left-wing anti-fascist and anti-racist political movement. It is sometimes described as a highly decentralized array of autonomous groups in the United States. Antifa political activism includes nonviolent methods of direct action such as poster and flyer campaigns, mutual aid, speeches, protest marches, and community organizing. Some who identify as antifa also use tactics involving digital activism, doxing, harassment, physical violence, and property damage. Supporters of the movement aim to combat far-right extremists, including neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Individuals involved in the movement subscribe to a range of left-wing ideologies, and tend to hold anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist, and anti-state views. A majority of individuals involved are anarchists, communists, and socialists, although some social democrats also participate in the antifa movement. The name antifa and the logo with two flags representing anarchism and communism are derived from the German antifa movement. Dartmouth College historian Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, credits Anti-Racist Action (ARA) as the precursor of modern antifa groups in the United States. The American antifa movement grew after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States in 2016. Antifa activists' actions have since received support and criticism from various organizations and pundits. Some on the political left and some civil rights organizations criticize antifa's willingness to adopt violent tactics, which they describe as counterproductive and dangerous, arguing that these tactics embolden the political right and their allies. Both Democratic and Republican politicians have condemned violence from antifa. Many right-wing politicians and groups have characterized antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, or use antifa as a catch-all term, which they adopt for any left-leaning or liberal protest actions. According to some scholars, antifa is a legitimate response to the rise of the far right. Scholars tend to reject an equivalence between antifa and right-wing extremism. Research suggests that most antifa action is nonviolent. There have been numerous efforts to discredit antifa by various right-wing groups and individuals. Some have been done via hoaxes on social media, many of them false flag operations originating from alt-right and 4chan users posing as antifa backers on Twitter; some hoaxes have been picked up and portrayed as fact by right-leaning media and politicians. On September 22, 2025, Trump signed an executive order intended to designate antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, after repeated calls by Trump and William Barr to do so. Academics, legal experts, and others have argued such an action exceeds the authority of the presidency and violates the First Amendment. Several analyses, reports, and studies have concluded that antifa is not a major domestic terrorism risk.

Web Search Results

• Wikipedia Antifa (United States) - Wikipedia

  Antifa (/æ n ˈ t iː f ə,ˈ æ n t i f ə/) is a left-winganti-fascist and anti-racistpolitical movement. It is sometimes described as a highly decentralized array of autonomous groups in the United States.( Antifa political activism includes nonviolent methods of direct action such as poster and flyer campaigns, mutual aid, speeches, protest marches, and community organizing.( Some who identify as antifa also use tactics involving digital activism, doxing, harassment, physical violence, and [...] According to CNN, "Antifa is short for anti-fascists. The term is used to define a broad group of people whose political beliefs lean toward the left -- often the far left -- but do not conform with the Democratic Party platform."( The BBC notes that, "as their name indicates, Antifa focuses more on fighting far-right ideology than encouraging pro-left policy."( Beinart argues that the 2016 election of Donald Trump vitalized the antifa movement and some on the mainstream left were more willing [...] The English word _antifa_ is a loanword from the German _Antifa_, where it is a shortened form of the word _antifaschistisch_ ("anti-fascist") and a nickname of _Antifaschistische Aktion_ (1932–1933), a short-lived group which inspired the wider antifa movement in Germany.( The German word _Antifa_ first appeared in 1930. The long form _antifaschistisch_ was borrowed from the original Italian _anti-Fascisti_ ("anti-fascists").( Dictionaries "Oxford Dictionaries (website)") placed _antifa_ on

• Antifa | EBSCO Research Starters

  Antifa, short for anti-fascist, is a decentralized political movement primarily active in the United States that opposes fascism and far-right ideologies. Composed of various groups with no central leadership, Antifa activists engage in direct action, which can range from peaceful protests to confrontational tactics, including property damage and physical altercations. The movement primarily targets groups associated with white supremacy, neo-Nazism, and other forms of extremism. Antifa members [...] Antifa, short for anti-fascist, is a decentralized political movement primarily active in the United States that opposes fascism and far-right ideologies. Composed of various groups with no central leadership, Antifa activists engage in direct action, which can range from peaceful protests to confrontational tactics, including property damage and physical altercations. The movement primarily targets groups associated with white supremacy, neo-Nazism, and other forms of extremism. Antifa members [...] Antifa is an anti-fascist political movement in the United States. (Other groups have used the same name in Germany and other countries.) The movement is leaderless and comprised by a diverse, broad range of small groups working toward similar objectives. These objectives are achieved through direct action that can be non-violent or violent, with immediate action being favored over efforts aimed at policy reform. Antifa groups are known for their internet activism and militant protests such as

• US ' Antifa ' Groups - ISD

  ‘Antifa’ refers to a diverse collection of groups across the globe united by a shared belief that they are collectively resisting fascist ideology. Antifa is best described as a collection of decentralized organizations. There is no national-level decision-making body. Antifa groups in the United States are ideologically aligned and share tactics with their domestic and foreign counterparts; however, there is little to no evidence of tactical or strategic coordination. [...] Antifa is best described as a collection of decentralized organizations that are each comprised of a constantly shifting group of official or unofficial members. The exact structure of each group can vary widely from location to location and many, such as New York’s Metropolitan Anarchist Coordinating Council (MACC-NY) do not explicitly identify themselves as Antifa. Some operate in a more formal manner with membership lists and leadership positions, while others simply exist as a collective of [...] While used as an umbrella term by media sources to refer to a milieu of radical anarchists, militant antifascists, and other left-wing anti-capitalist or antigovernment activists, the shared characteristic of Antifa members and affiliates globally is the belief that they are collectively resisting fascist ideology. Nearly all members subscribe to some form of anarchist or socialist ideology, although members often belong to different subsets of those ideologies including Maoism,

• Antifa , US Donald Trump, Terror Organisation, Charlie Kirk Murder...

  Antifa members view themselves as part of a protest tradition that arcs back to opposition groups in Nazi Germany and fascist Italy prior to World War II. US antifa activism traces its roots back to antiracists who mobilized in the 1980s while opposing the activities of racist skinheads, members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and neo-Nazis. Antifa groups in US [...] Twitter WhatsApp Facebook Reddit Email Antifa members, often dressed entirely in black, protest against racism, far-right values. US President Trump designated Antifa as a major terrorist organisation on Thursday Trump warned that those funding Antifa will face highest legal scrutiny Antifa is a secretive radical activist group opposing racism and far-right values Did our AI summary help? Let us know. Switch To Beeps Mode Washington: [...] It is a secretive grouping of radical activists that has emerged in recent years. It is not known to have official leaders. Its members, often dressed entirely in black, protest against racism, far-right values and what they consider fascism, and say violent tactics are sometimes justified as self-defense. Background

• What is Antifa and why is Donald Trump targeting it?

  What is Antifa and why is Donald Trump targeting it? Skip to content Advertisement Watch Live - the "legal criteria" for this states that the targeted group "must be a foreign organization". An FTO designation means members of a group can be banned from the US or removed from the country and gives the government the power to seize funding and target donors. The State Department lists current FTOs, which include branches of ISIS and, increasingly, drug cartels from Latin America. [...] This is not the first time that Trump has targeted Antifa - he said he would declare the group a terrorist organisation in 2020 but did not follow through on this at the time. His latest intervention comes as part of a wider campaign against the "radical left" following the Charlie Kirk killing, with the president declaring that: "Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives." [...] But it is unclear how these powers could be extended to Antifa. "There is no legal mechanism I'm aware of that would formally establish any group as a domestic terror organisation", Luke Baumgartner, a research fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism, told us. "As far as I know it's just a proclamation on Truth Social which means nothing, and unless Congress wants to take concrete steps I don't see that happening," he said.

• Instance Of

  Q4167410