Far-Left Extremist Groups in the United States
A July 2020 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) reviewed almost 900 politically motivated attacks since 1994. Researchers found that far-left attacks had resulted in only one fatality in that 25- year span, compared with 329 fatalities in attacks by the far right.(5) In recent years, however, the radical far left has seen a resurgence in response to the rise of the far right, particularly since the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, when far-right protesters clashed with far-left counter-protesters. A revitalized American far left has emerged to lead protest movements against the far right and perceived injustices. Armed groups such as the John Brown Gun Club formed to directly confront the violent far right and a broad interpretation of fascism, which often include symbols of capitalism and corporations. These manifestations have been on display during 2020 protests against police brutality, during which the far left have become increasingly visible and destructive, leading then-President Donald Trump in May 2020 to call for designating the broad anti-fascist ideology Antifa a terrorist organization.(6)
The image of armed leftist groups such as the John Brown Gun Club can also invoke concern. In November 2020, counterinsurgency and military strategy expert David Kilcullen told Salon that while groups such as Redneck Revolt and the John Brown Gun Club claim to be largely defensive and seek to protect people on the streets from violence, the fear they evoke can also be a trigger for violence.(7) This can spark conflict with police or violent far-right groups seeking an excuse to strike a blow to the far left.(8)
The president’s desire to label Antifa a terrorist organization highlighted the problematic nature of modern far-left groups in the United States, which are largely less organized than their predecessors. During the mid- to late 20th century, far-left groups dedicated to causes such as Puerto Rican independence carried out bombings and other violent attacks across the United States. By the 1990s, however, authorities had largely dismantled the leadership infrastructure of these groups.(9) Today, the far left largely coalesces around ideologies and not specific individuals or structured organizations. Antifa and black bloc, for example, are centered around a broad opposition to fascism but are otherwise left open for individual interpretation, which results in varying tactics and even beliefs among adherents who may disagree on what is included under the fascist label. There are multiple groups in the United States that affiliate with the Antifa ideology, but they have no formal organizational relationship, formal leadership structure, or shared tactical approach. Similarly, black bloc is primarily a tactic used by far-left protesters rather than an actual group. But because of the tendency for black bloc agitators to dress all in black, including helmets, they draw more attention.
The far left encompasses multiple ideologies, but security experts believe that a large percentage of far-left radicals subscribe to at least one of three main classifications: anarchism, communism/socialism/Marxism, and autonomous radicals.(10) Far-left groups have largely embraced social justice as a raison d’être in protest of perceived restrictions on liberty by the state. In the early and mid-20th century, the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) played a subversive role in promoting communism in the United States and aligned itself with the Soviet Union. Today, CPUSA promotes its dedication to human rights and personal liberties alongside communism, which it heralds as the only guarantor of those freedoms.(11)
Combined with a desire for violent confrontation and rejection of state authority, some on the far left have used social justice issues such as racial equality and immigration rights as a pretext to engage in violent retribution against symbols of the state. This is most prominently seen today in the use of black bloc tactics during protests, which ideological opponents have seized on to cast black bloc and Antifa as organized and unified groups. Anarchist groups such as the Youth Liberation Front are more organized on a local level but have no cohesive national network linking chapters across the country.(12) With the May 2022 leak of a U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established the constitutional right to abortion, a new autonomous network emerged called Jane’s Revenge. Named after the Jane Collective, an underground organization in Chicago that helped women obtain abortions prior to the 1973 decision, the anonymous network has claimed responsibility for vandalism and attacks on anti-abortion clinics around the United States since May 2022. (13) Online communiques from the network cite a history of extremist violence against abortion
clinics forcing the adoption of extreme tactics to maintain their bodily autonomy.(14) Like ALF and ELF, the members of Jane’s Revenge justify their extremism as the pursuit of the greater good.
Anarchism is a millennia-old philosophy that advocates a stateless society.(15) French writer Pierre-Joseph Proudhon was the first to label himself an anarchist in 1840.(16) Today’s anarchists often cite modern anarchist writer Alfredo M. Bonanno as an inspiration. In his 1977 essay “Armed Joy,” Bonanno exhorted followers to “shoot the policeman, the judge, the boss….”(17) Bonanno’s works derided capitalism and encouraged followers to tear down its symbols.(18) In his 1993 essay “For An Antiauthoritarian Insurrectionalist International,” Bonanno wrote that conservative voices had sidelined the radical left, causing it to regress. In response, Bonanno called for Mediterranean groups to coordinate an anti-authoritarian insurrection.(19)
The far left has not uniformly embraced anarchism. A common theme between anarchist and non-anarchist groups, however, is a rejection of authority. This manifests itself as opposition to colonialism, authoritarianism, and—in common with anarchism— state authority. The far left opposes state oppression and believes that strengthening government and security institutions is a path toward a police state or fascism, which should be confronted.(20) According to German authorities, the extreme left believes that it can goad the state into revealing its true fascist nature by eliciting violent reactions.(21) Far-left protesters have also engaged in violence against the far right as part of a self-declared opposition to racism and fascism, as can be seen by Antifa and black bloc actions during 2020 protests. According to Germany’s Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, however, the extreme left only superficially opposes fascist movements, focusing more on undermining the capitalist system.(22) U.S. Attorney General William Barr has directly accused Antifa and related groups of hijacking peaceful protests in the United States to promote anarchism.(23)
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1 Arthur M. Eckstein, “How the Weather Underground Failed at Revolution and Still Changed the World,” Time, November 2, 2016, http://time.com/4549409/the-weather-underground-bad-moon-rising/.
2 Testimony of Dale L. Watson, Executive Assistant Director, Counterterrorism/Counterintelligence Division Federal Bureau of Investigation, Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Washington, DC, FBI, February 6, 2002, https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/testimony/the-terrorist-threat-co….
3 Alleen Brown, “The Green Scare,” Intercept, March 23, 2019, https://theintercept.com/2019/03/23/ecoterrorism-fbi-animal-rights/; Juliet Eilperin, “As eco-terrorism wanes, governments still target activist groups seen as threat,” Washington Post, March 10, 2012, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/as-eco-terrorism-… Testimony of Dale L. Watson, Executive Assistant Director, Counterterrorism/Counterintelligence Division Federal Bureau of Investigation, Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Washington, DC, FBI, February 6, 2002, https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/testimony/the-terrorist-threat-confronting-theunited-states.
4 Kristina Davis, “Ecoterror arsons unsolved 10 years later,” San Diego Union-Tribune, September 14, 2013, https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/sdut-ecoterror-a… htmlstory.html; Alleen Brown, “The Green Scare,” Intercept, March 23, 2019, https://theintercept.com/2019/03/23/ecoterrorism-fbi-animal-rights/.
5 Lois Beckett, “Anti-fascists linked to zero murders in the US in 25 years,” Guardian (London), July 27, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/27/us-rightwing-extremists-at….
6 “Antifa: Trump says group will be designated ‘terrorist organization,’” BBC News, May 31, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52868295.
7 Chauncey Devega, “Doomsday? Nearly half of “strong Republicans” believe it’s almost time for armed violence,” Salon, July 27, 2022, https://www.salon.com/2022/07/27/doomsday-nearly-half-of-strongrepublicans-believe-its-almost-time-for-armed-violence/.
8 Jason Lange, “U.S. Capitol riot to try to make then-President Donald Trump look bad,” Reuters, June 9, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/half-us-republicans-believe-left-led-jan-6-violence-reutersipsos2022-06-09/.
9 Testimony of Dale L. Watson, Executive Assistant Director, Counterterrorism/Counterintelligence Division Federal Bureau of Investigation, Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Washington, DC, FBI, February 6, 2002, https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/testimony/the-terrorist-threat-confronting-theunited-states.
10 Jefferson Chase, “After G20: A look at left-wing radicalism in Europe,” Deutsche Welle, July 10, 2017, https://www.dw.com/en/after-g20-a-look-at-left-wing-radicalism-in-europe….
11 “CPUSA Program,” Communist Party USA, April 13, 2020, https://www.cpusa.org/party_info/partyprogram/#Capitalism.
12 “About,” PNW Youth Liberation Front, accessed September 21, 2020, https://pnwylf.noblogs.org/about/.
13 Judith Levine, “Beyond Revenge, What Does Jane’s Revenge Want?,” Intercept, June 16, 2022, https://theintercept.com/2022/06/16/janes-revenge-abortion-rights/; Alice Reid, “Report: Group claims credit for Madison anti-abortion office attack, warns of more,” NBC 26, May 11, 2022, https://www.nbc26.com/news/state/report-group-claims-credit-for-madison-….
14 Robert Evans, Twitter post, May 10, 2022, 3:24 a.m., https://twitter.com/IwriteOK/status/1523926941572550656.
15 Kory Flowers, “Understanding the Black Bloc,” Police Magazine, January 30, 2015, http://www.policemag.com/channel/patrol/articles/2015/01/understanding-the-black-bloc.aspx.
16 Arif Dirlik, George Woodcock, Franklin Rosemont, and Martin A. Miller, “Anarchism,” Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed November 19, 2018, https://www.britannica.com/topic/anarchism.
17 Alfredo M. Bonanno, “Armed Joy,” The Anarchist Library, accessed November 19, 2018, https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/alfredo-m-bonanno-armed-joy.
18 Alfredo M. Bonanno, “Armed Joy,” The Anarchist Library, accessed November 19, 2018, https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/alfredo-m-bonanno-armed-joy.
19 Alfredo M. Bonanno, “For An Anti-authoritarian Insurrectionalist International,” The Anarchist Library, accessed November 19, 2018, http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/alfredo-m-bonanno-for-an-antiauth….
20 “Left-wing extremists’ fields of activity,” Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, accessed August 20, 2018, https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/en/fields-of-work/left-wing-extremism/figures-and-facts-left-wingextremism/left-wing-extremists-fields-of-activity-2014.
21 “Brief summary 2017 Report on the Protection of the Constitution,” Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, 2017, 20, https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/embed/annual-report-2017-summary.pdf
22 “Left-wing extremists’ fields of activity,” Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, accessed August 20, 2018, https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/en/fields-of-work/left-wing-extremism/figures-and-facts-left-wingextremism/left-wing-extremists-fields-of-activity-2014.
23 Claire Hansen, “White House Addresses Trump Pledge to Designate Antifa a Terrorist Group,” U.S. News & World Report, June 1, 2020, https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2020-06- 01/white-house-addresses-trump-pledge-to-designate-antifa-a-terrorist-group.
