U.S. Targets Far-Left Groups with Sanctions

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Wednesday that the U.S. will persist in shutting down financial support for violent far-left organizations. This announcement includes sanctions against three groups and two individuals.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated the Italy-based group Autistici Inventati, the UK’s Palestine Action, and the international organization Masar Badil under Executive Order 13224, which is the government’s main tool for counterterrorism sanctions. The individuals identified as leaders of Masar Badil are Zaid Abdulnasser from Germany and Rawa Alsagheer from Brazil.

Bessent linked these actions to a growing concern regarding extremists adopting organized violence more often. He emphasized, “Far-left extremists, their fronts, and their enablers should be on notice: We will bring the full weight of our economic tools to bear. Political terrorism has no place in our society, and we will continue to cut the financial lifelines of these groups until they are eliminated.”

On the same day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a similar announcement. He pointed out that “far-left terrorism poses a profound threat to the United States and the broader West,” referencing Autistici/Inventati as a significant player providing support to some of the most active and violent Antifa groups in the U.S. and beyond.

The State Department stated that Rose City Antifa, based in Oregon, has used the services of Autistici Inventati to coordinate and provoke violent actions in the U.S. Notably, a far-left media organization utilizing this same platform has been identified as publishing communications for groups like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

This media group has also been mentioned in a federal case against a domestic terrorist who received a 19-year sentence for bombing a federal building and a police vehicle.

Treasury indicated that the Italian collective offers encrypted email, web hosting, and video conferencing to groups it assesses for ideological compatibility, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

Palestine Action was previously banned by the British government in July 2025 after engaging in break-ins at defense facilities. However, a UK court overturned that ban in February, only for an appeals court to reinstate it in June.

Masar Badil has been recognized as a front for the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which was sanctioned by the U.S. and Canada in October 2024 for its ties to the PFLP. The PFLP has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997.

The 2026 U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy identifies violent far-left groups as one of the three principal terrorist threats to the nation. Bessent outlined the Treasury’s commitment to disrupt financing for political terrorism during a State Department summit in July that attracted delegates from over 70 countries.

Any property owned by those designated in the U.S. or controlled by American entities is frozen and must be reported to OFAC. Entities that are 50 percent or more owned by blocked individuals are also subject to similar restrictions.