Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Thursday that violent far-left political terrorism "can no longer be denied" and urged more than 60 countries gathered in Washington to elevate the threat to a global counterterrorism priority. Speaking at the opening of a State Department ministerial, Rubio stated that governments have for too long overlooked a resurgence of transnational far-left extremist violence and called for increased international cooperation to counter it.
"You are here because this is real and it is getting worse, and it can no longer be denied, and it can no longer be ignored," Rubio said. "It is time to crush this evil forever." He added, "It's time for people of the civilized world to defend themselves."
Rubio asserted that the United States is rebuilding its counterterrorism strategy around what it perceives as an increasingly transnational threat. This follows the State Department's designation of four foreign far-left groups as terrorist organizations in November 2025. He stated that far-left extremist networks coordinate across borders through shared training materials, encrypted communications, financing, and safe houses, sometimes working with hostile foreign states. Rubio advocated for expanded intelligence sharing, law enforcement cooperation, and efforts to disrupt terrorist financing among allies.
An official designation of a foreign terrorist organization carries significant consequences, including criminalizing the provision of material support to the group, enabling the U.S. government to freeze its assets within its jurisdiction, and barring its members from entering the United States.
Rubio characterized radical leftism as "a poisonous resentment cloaked in the language of equality and justice." Administration officials indicated that the ministerial meeting is the culmination of an eight-month diplomatic effort to persuade foreign governments that violent far-left extremist networks pose a growing cross-border threat requiring enhanced international coordination.
Administration officials refuted concerns that such initiatives could be used to target political opponents under the guise of counterterrorism. They emphasized that the effort is focused specifically on criminal and terrorist violence, not on political beliefs. "We haven't waded into trying to disambiguate people's beliefs and ideologies," a senior State Department official told reporters. "In America, you can believe anything you want. The minute that you cross the legal threshold, that changes."
Officials argued that while governments focused heavily on jihadist terrorism over the past two decades, they underestimated a resurgence of politically motivated violence from far-left extremist networks operating internationally. "This has been a blind spot for a lot of our partners, frankly. They have not seen these trends ... since the 1970s," the official said, noting that partners have reported a rise in assassinations or assassination plots.
Administration officials cited recent attacks in Europe as evidence of the need for greater international cooperation. On July 1, coordinated firebomb attacks targeted the homes of members of Greece's governing New Democracy party in Thessaloniki, resulting in the death of a parliamentary candidate's mother and injuries to four others. Greek anti-terrorism police arrested three suspects in connection with the incident. In January, an arson attack on a power transmission facility in Berlin, Germany, caused widespread power outages. German authorities transferred the investigation to the federal prosecutor due to suspected involvement by a terrorist organization.
The current meeting builds upon actions taken by the administration since late 2025, including designating four foreign far-left organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, and offering rewards for information leading to the disruption of their financial networks. The four designated groups — Antifa Ost, the Informal Anarchist Federation/International Revolutionary Front (FAI/FRI), Armed Proletarian Justice, and Revolutionary Class Self-Defense — allegedly operate in Germany, Italy, and Greece and have coordinated violent attacks across national borders, according to the administration.
Rubio is expected to discuss how violent far-left extremist groups increasingly operate transnationally, sharing tactics, coordinating attacks, and exploiting international conflicts for recruitment. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller are also scheduled to address the ministerial, which will include discussions on the global threat landscape, terrorist financing, intelligence sharing, and critical infrastructure protection. Officials also contested reports of foreign partner reluctance, stating that several governments approached the U.S. seeking to join the initiative after observing similar trends domestically.