Senator Schmitt Hails State Department Designation of Foreign Antifa Networks as FTOs

Designation Follows Schmitt’s Push to Identify and Dismantle Far-Left Foreign Networks

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) applauded the State Department’s decision to designate international elements of the Antifa network as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).

This designation follows a letter Senator Schmitt sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and several meetings with State Department officials urging the Department to identify the foreign networks, organizations and financiers that enable and support Antifa operations across the West as FTOs.

“I’m grateful to Secretary Rubio and the Trump Administration for working with me on this critical issue – holding these radical groups who enable, fund, and support political violence in the United States and across the world accountable. Each of these groups are violent cells in this transnational operation. Designating them as FTO’s is an important step to dismantling this subversive network of far-left extremism,” said Senator Schmitt.

The organizations designated by the State Department are:

1. Antifa Ost – Hammerbande, or “Hammer Gang” (German)
2. Informal Anarchist Federation / International Revolutionary Front (Italian)
3. Armed Proletarian Justice (Greek)
4. Revolutionary Class Self-Defense (Greek)

Background:

Antifa is a fundamentally international network, active in nations across the West. Its transnational ‘black bloc’ structure includes organized cells in the United States, Canada, the U.K., and across continental Europe. While seemingly decentralized, these cells often work in direct coordination with one another, sharing tactics and strategies, planning violent activism, utilizing shared funding streams, and even collaborating on in-person “direct actions.” 

On September 22, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order: “Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization.” Given the international nature of Antifa networks, Senator Schmitt urged the State Department to designate Antifa elements outside the United States as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

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