Antifa (United States)

Antifa (/ænˈtiːfə, ˈæntifə/) is a left-wing anti-fascist and anti-racist political movement. It is 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 also use tactics involving digital activism, doxing, harassment, 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. Some research suggests that most antifa action is nonviolent.

Various right-wing groups and individuals have made numerous efforts to discredit antifa. Some have been social media hoaxes, many false flag operations by 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.