Columbia News

U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) has welcomed the State Department’s decision to designate international elements of the Antifa network as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). The move comes after Schmitt sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and met with State Department officials, urging action against foreign networks and financiers supporting Antifa operations in Western countries.

“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.

Antifa is described as an international network active in countries including the United States, Canada, the U.K., and continental Europe. Its structure involves organized cells that coordinate tactics, share funding sources, and plan joint actions.

The designation follows President Trump’s Executive Order on September 22, 2025, which labeled Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization. In response to the global scope of Antifa activities, Senator Schmitt called for foreign branches to be similarly designated by the State Department.