The Netherlands and Hungary are on track to officially designate the far-left movement Antifa as a terrorist organization, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent declaration.
The move reflects growing alarm among conservative leaders over what they portray as escalating left-wing political violence that threatens public safety and freedom of speech.
Antifa has increasingly become an organized, militant network operating under the guise of activism. Antifa has evaded scrutiny by operating in a legal gray area, taking advance of its decentralized structure, and lack of official designations or legal organization.
In The Hague, the Dutch lower house voted overwhelmingly in favor of a motion, lead by Geert Wilders (PVV) along with Lidewij de Vos (FvD) and Caroline van der Plas (BBB), urging the government to follow America’s example and formally classify Antifa as a terrorist group.
Wilders and his co-sponsors argue that Antifa operatives are threatening conservative politicians, intimidating journalists and students, disrupting public meetings, and even resorting to violence.
The motion will not immediately become law, but it forces the government to formally decide whether the designation will go forward. If it does, it could extend state powers for surveillance and prosecutions of alleged Antifa activity.
In Budapest, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán officially confirmed Hungary will follow suit and designate Antifa a terrorist organization.
He stated he was pleased by Trump’s decision and insisted that “it’s time” Hungary classified groups like Antifa as terrorists.
Orbán pointed to an incident in 2023 where Antifa activists allegedly attacked participants at a far-right event in Budapest.
He also criticized Ilaria Salis, an Italian activist tied to Antifa who was jailed in Hungary earlier and later gained a seat in the European Parliament, saying she now lectures Hungary from Brussels over rule-of-law issues.
Only days earlier, President Trump declared Antifa a “major terrorist organization” in the U.S. following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Designating Antifa as a terrorist organization would allow governments to go after its finances, make arrests preemptively, and collaborate across borders to suppress a radical underground movement.
Antifa would finally face the music by removing the legal ambiguity that has allowed them to avoid being designated as a terrorist group and spread their radical influence unchecked.
The Netherlands and Hungary are poised to institutionalize what until now has largely been rhetoric. Whether these designations survive legal challenges and social backlash remains to be seen, but the momentum couldn’t be clearer.
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