The United States on Thursday (13th) classified four organizations in Germany, Italy, and Greece as global terrorist groups, denouncing them as “violent Antifa groups.” The anti-fascist movement was designated a terrorist organization by President Donald Trump following the death of influencer Charlie Kirk.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a statement that the United States has designated the German organization Antifa Ost as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” group, along with three other organizations in Greece and Italy, reinforcing President Trump’s “commitment to combat the politically violent activities of Antifa.”
Mr. Rubio also said he intended to designate these groups as “foreign terrorist organizations” starting Nov. 20 and warned that the U.S. government would target other groups around the world.
“Groups in this movement espouse anti-American, ‘anti-capitalist’ and anti-Christian anarchist or revolutionary Marxist ideologies, which they use to incite and justify violent attacks at home and abroad,” Rubio said.
He added: “The United States will continue to use all available means to protect our national security and public safety and refuse to provide funding and resources to terrorists, including targeting other anti-fascist groups around the world.”
President Trump and his Republican allies have accused Antifa followers of inciting political violence as protests against federal immigration authorities took place in Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland and other cities in the wake of the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September.
President Trump threatened to persecute Antifa during his 2017-2021 term, and in September of this year designated Antifa as a terrorist organization through an executive order.
Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” is a decentralized movement with no clear structure, hierarchy of command, or leader, according to a 2020 Congressional Research Service report.
The State Department said Antifa Ost “conducted numerous attacks in Germany between 2018 and 2023 against people it considered to be part of the ‘fascist’ or ‘right-wing’ movement. It also allegedly carried out a series of attacks in Budapest in mid-February 2023.” Germany’s foreign and interior ministries did not immediately comment.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency identified the group Antifa Ost as a violent network in a 2024 report. Four people associated with the group were arrested on suspicion of violent attacks on people they considered to be right-wing extremists between December 2023 and November 2024.
Although the arrests are believed to have weakened the group, a 2024 report warned that its members continued to attack Germany’s far-right party AfD, which seeks closer ties with the Trump administration.
In addition to Germany’s Antifa Ost, Washington has designated Italy’s Informal Anarchist Federation/International Revolutionary Front and Greece’s Armed Proletarian Justice and Revolutionary Class Self-Defense Organizations as terrorists. The Italian Prime Minister’s Office said it had no comment at this time.
A Greek official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the government was working to minimize acts of terrorism. “We oppose any terrorist act or terrorist organization,” he said.
A revolutionary class self-defense group claimed to have carried out the explosion at the Hellenic Train railway company in April. The explosion caused only minor damage and no one was injured. The group also claimed responsibility for an attack on the Ministry of Labor in Athens in 2024, which also did not cause any injuries.
The US State Department announced that Armed Proletarian Justice claimed responsibility for planting a bomb near the Greek riot police headquarters in Goudi in 2023.
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