Jason M. Blazakis, Middlebury College
The State Department on July 16, 2026, hosted what officials billed as a ministerial on the resurgence of left-wing political terrorism.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio invited representatives from more than 60 countries to Washington to hear an argument that many of them appear not to believe: that a transnational far-left terrorist movement called antifa threatens the democratic world. At the event, allies were asked to mobilize against that enemy despite nations like the Netherlands and Germany politely noting to their host that they cannot find evidence of any such group.