WASHINGTON, D.C., An FBI official faced sharp questioning Thursday as lawmakers pressed the bureau to explain how antifa, which experts widely describe as a decentralized ideology rather than an organization, could be designated the nation’s top domestic terrorist threat. During a House Homeland Security Committee hearing, National Security Operations Director Michael Glasheen echoed President Donald Trump’s view that antifa represents the most immediate violent domestic threat, yet he struggled to provide basic information about its size, structure, or location.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) underscored the contradiction, asking repeatedly where antifa exists and how many members the FBI has identified. Glasheen, who compared the threat to Al Qaeda and ISIS, responded that the situation was “fluid” and that the bureau was still “building out the infrastructure,” an admission that appeared to confirm that no organizational structure actually exists. Research on political violence consistently finds that left-wing attacks are far less common than right-wing extremist incidents, raising further concerns about why antifa alone has been singled out.
The Trump administration formally designated antifa a domestic terrorist organization last month, an unusual move given that the label has historically applied to foreign groups with leadership, hierarchy, and funding streams. A memo issued by Attorney General Pam Bondi outlined tools to prosecute domestic terrorism but cited only antifa as an example, focusing on political viewpoints rather than documented violent activity. Thompson warned that making unprovable claims risks undermining federal credibility and misdirecting resources away from genuine threats.
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