Public blogs and news sites function as clearinghouses to issue communiqués, claim attacks, and publicize violence. Militant anarchist and anti-fascist groups worldwide emphasize indirect communication with one another. Members largely focus on limited violence during protests and other mass actions rather than carrying out targeted attacks. Many of these militant groups exist solely at the local level, in small units called affinity groups. Fortunately, militant anarchist and anti-fascist movements in the United States have conducted such attacks less frequently.Įxperts view militant anarchist and anti-fascist activity as largely decentralized. In some countries – particularly in Chile, Greece, Italy, and Mexico – militant anarchists also perpetrate violence outside of protest situations, including arson, bombings, assassinations, and assaults. Militant anarchists and anti-fascists are active in Europe, Latin America, and beyond, participating in acts of street violence similar to those recently seen in the United States. There is a rich history of global anti-fascist and anarchist organizing. This report examines why and how these groups carry out violence, and how they interact with partners.Īnti-fascism and anarchism are not new ideologies. While neither is inherently violent, both ideologies have adherents who embrace the use of violence to achieve their goals. However, the two ideologies influence one another, and the two movements have notable commonalities. Anarchism is resolute in its opposition to the state, whereas anti-fascists focus on opposing institutions, groups, and individuals they perceive as fascist. Ideologically, anarchism and anti-fascism are similar but not identical. This report analyzes militant anti-fascism and anarchism within the broader domestic tapestry of armed politics and also explores transnational movements connected to anarchism and anti-fascism. While militant anti-fascists and anarchists view themselves as the protectors of marginalized communities, other militant actors see anarchist and anti-fascist groups as the aggressors to whom they are responding. Militant anarchists and anti-fascists see themselves as responding to an oppressive state and the rise of fascist organizing. However, it is clearly difficult for many observers to differentiate anti-fascist and anarchist efforts from a broader set of protest activities. In 2020, Antifa became a household word and a contested topic in presidential debates. On August 29, 2020, Michael Reinoehl became the first anti-fascist responsible for a killing in the United States in 25 years when he shot Aaron Danielson, a member of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, at a rally in Portland, Oregon. 1 Militant anarchists and anti-fascists often took to the streets during this period. Multiple factions and movements resorted to violence or the threat of violence to pursue their objectives, and the United States witnessed scenes it had not experienced for decades, such as armed citizens patrolling the streets in Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and elsewhere. They must be put out of harm's way", adds the former LR.In 2020–2021, the United States saw a discernible rise in armed politics and violent activism. "They are not demonstrators, the black blocks, they are thugs, delinquents. He calls for "tracking down" the black blocs before the demonstrations, "to put him out of state" to do any harm. "It has been a long time since we should have implemented this strategy to put out of harm's way those who are only delinquents, potential anarchists, those who want to destroy the police, the property of others". Xavier Bertrand, President of the Hauts-de-France Regional Council, deplores the late implementation of such a strategy to fight against "black blocs". Many preventive arrests took place from the start of the rally. In Paris, to supervise the "march of freedoms, nearly 3,000 police and gendarmes were mobilized for 10,000 participants, according to the organizers, 5,000, according to the police. The parades were calm for this 4th Saturday of mobilization, contrasting with the violence that occurred last week, during a clash between police and demonstrators. Opponents of the text demonstrated on Saturday in several cities in France. The "global security" law continues to mobilize. Xavier Bertrand, president of the Hauts-de-France regional council, insists on Europe 1 on the importance of "tracking down" the black blocs before the gatherings, to avoid violence. A large police force was put in place on Saturday, during the demonstrations planned against the "global security" law.