FIR expresses concern over increasing attacks on anti-fascist initiatives and organizations

1. September 2026

On several occasions, the FIR has had to take a public stand against political reprisals against anti-fascist initiatives and even FIR member organizations. Now we are witnessing a significant increase.

In July 2026, the U.S. State Department organized an international conference titled “The World Against Antifa” with—according to official reports—representatives from 60 countries. The conference reportedly addressed the “resurgence of transnational far-left terrorism.” Discussions also focused on international cooperation regarding the exchange of intelligence and law enforcement. The U.S. government itself announced that it would designate “Antifa” as a “foreign terrorist organization,” which grants U.S. authorities far-reaching sanctioning powers. In the U.S., it is a criminal offense to provide “material support or resources” to a “foreign terrorist organization.” Furthermore, funds can be frozen and transactions blocked wherever the U.S. justice system deems itself to have jurisdiction. The consequences are also felt in Europe, because even financial transactions in European banks over which U.S. banks have influence—and that effectively includes all European banking institutions—would be illegal for anti-fascist organizations. The goal is to criminalize anti-fascism and any form of political criticism.

The Italian government was represented by a state secretary from the Ministry of the Interior, and the German government by a department head. In recent days, both countries have demonstrated how this conference is to be put into political practice:

At the end of August, the U.S. government designated the left-wing Italian internet collective Autistici/Inventati as “global terrorists.” The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) claims this measure would counter “the growing threat posed by violent radical-left terrorist groups.” Such a step was certainly taken in coordination with the far-right Meloni government in Italy.

The internet collective has existed since 2001. It emerged in the context of the G8 summit in Genoa. With a touch of self-irony, they called themselves “Autistici” (autistic people) and “Inventati” (“the Invented Ones”) as a critique of the absurd media coverage of the G8 protests. Today, this collective is a reputable partner for social and anti-fascist movements in Italy, providing them with infrastructure and hosting approximately 1,500 websites for alternative projects. Since it has no government backing, the U.S. ruling is expected to result in the loss of bank accounts and payment processing, hosting, cloud infrastructure, and upstream network services, domain registration, certificates, etc.—effectively dismantling the infrastructure without any legal basis for doing so.

Similar developments are also being reported from Germany. Although there is no designation by the U.S., political pressure on the FIR member organization VVN-BdA is intensifying in the wake of the rise of “Alternative for Germany” (AfD), which seeks to transform the country along far-right lines. Unlike in previous years, there are no political bans; however, the Berlin tax authorities are attacking the financial foundation of this civil society organization by revoking its nonprofit status. The Berlin Tax Office for Corporations I justifies its action by stating that “the current campaign to ban the AfD, as well as the related activities of the Association of Victims of the Nazi Regime—Federation of Anti-Fascists (VVN-BdA) e.V., may jeopardize its non-profit status.”

We congratulate our member organization on this “political accolade”—that those in power recognize it as an important organization in the resistance against the AfD. At the same time, this move against the VVN-BdA is also an attack on democratic civil society. As a result, all groups, initiatives, and social forces that oppose the AfD are at risk of financial repression.

In 2019, an attempt was already made to revoke the VVN-BdA’s nonprofit status. Thanks to broad societal support—during which nearly 2,000 people became members of the VVN-BdA—the organization succeeded in regaining its nonprofit status. Such solidarity is needed once again today.

The FIR protests in the strongest possible terms against these attacks on anti-fascist structures in Europe. All European institutions are called upon to defend freedom of expression and political engagement against far-right influence.

The FIR stands in solidarity with all anti-fascist initiatives and organizations under attack. In particular, we support our member organization, the VVN-BdA, and all forces of civil society in their resistance against the rise of the far right and the AfD. For us, the following remains true:

“Antifa is neither criminal nor terrorist—anti-fascism stands for democracy, social justice, and peace.”