As I reported last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invited the foreign ministers and other senior officials from over 60 countries to Washington, D.C. for a summit on combatting the "resurgence of transnational far-left terrorism."
That summit is taking place as I write this on Thursday morning, and Rubio kicked it off with one heck of a speech. But before I get to that, I want to share a few notes from the State Department, which defines the resurgence of transnational far-left terrorism as "violent attacks against private citizens, government officials, police and law enforcement, businesses, and critical infrastructure across the globe."
Historically, most politically motivated terrorism in the West has been carried out by violent far-left groups and individuals. Between 1970 and 1980, far-left terrorists were responsible for 93% of terrorist attacks and 58% of terrorism-related deaths.
Since 2016, far-left terrorist plots and attacks have sharply increased in the United States and Europe, with a growing trend of violence against individuals.
Far-left anti-government terrorism now accounts for more attacks and plots in the United States than any other ideological category. Far-left actors were responsible for 63% of all recorded anti-government attacks or plots as well as three out of the four anti-government fatalities in the United States in 2025.
In 2024, there were 21 attacks in the European Union attributed to far-left and anarchist terrorists, as compared to 24 attacks from jihadist terrorists that same year. Of the 45 reported terrorist attacks in Europe in 2025, 12 were attributed to far-left and anarchist actors.
Over the past three years, Europe has experienced a record high number of terrorist attacks targeting rail networks, critical infrastructure, and private businesses, resulting in millions of euros in damage and economic disruption, with most attacks attributed to far-left and anarchist actors.
So far, the State Department has designated various Antifa groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and during his speech on Thursday, Rubio promised there are more to come. It's also offered "up to $10 million for information disrupting the financial mechanisms supporting designated far-left terrorism groups," and in May, it hosted the inaugural Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Workshop. We're increasing how much we engage with our foreign partners on this matter, and we're coordinating with foreign governments to improve law enforcement and restrict travel for these terrorists, too.
Rubio began his speech by saying that the number one responsibility of any government should be to protect the people it represents.
SECRETARY RUBIO: "The most essential duty of the state, the first responsibility of any government of any kind, is the protection of its people." pic.twitter.com/dXnoVjfjEb
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 16, 2026
He went on to point out that for a long time, counterterrorism in the United States focused primarily on Islamist extremism, which was necessary, but that there had always been a blind spot when it came to extremist violence from the political left.
SECRETARY RUBIO: "For far too long, however, our counterterrorism doctrine has had a blind spot. A blind spot when it comes to extremist violence from the political left." pic.twitter.com/3TA5V2EVz0
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 16, 2026
He accused many in the press, academia, and other legacy institutions of dismissing left-wing violence as a "right-wing fever dream." He added that "a bomb planted by a Neo-Nazi group" is often labeled a "nefarious and murderous act of evil," while a "bomb planted by a Marxist Revolutionary" is "just merely a tragic excess of idealism."
Rubio went on to say that many people here in the United States dismiss acts of violence and terrorism if it benefits the left-wing cause and that it's time to put an end to that. He pointed to the George Floyd riots from the summer of 2020 and how media outlets called them "mostly peaceful" despite all the obvious violence and crime we saw with our own eyes, as well as other more recent examples, like Charlie Kirk's murder, assassination attempts on Donald Trump, violence against ICE officers, and a transgender individual shooting up an elementary school. He listed numerous examples from other countries as well.
Here are some clips from that part of the speech.
SECRETARY RUBIO: "Even today, the very idea that far-left terrorism could be a serious threat is treated as a right-wing fever dream." pic.twitter.com/OqJAzRDYJ4
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 16, 2026
SECRETARY RUBIO: "We have think tanks, fellowships, journals, and consultancies with the unspoken understanding among them that only one kind of political violence was a true threat to our system." pic.twitter.com/xcSeLWHuzZ
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 16, 2026
SECRETARY RUBIO: "So many people in positions of power have repeatedly dismissed acts of violence and terrorism as legitimate forms of political expression, so long as they served a left-wing cause." pic.twitter.com/vDxkXOD1kj
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 16, 2026
Then he dropped this, which was the best part of the speech in my opinion. This is exactly why I like this guy:
This is a distinctive and unique evil. It has always been driven by a hatred, above all else, a hatred for civilization itself. It is a revolt of the worst against the best, a revolt of the weak and cowardly against the strong and the good. It's perpetrated by those who cannot build, who cannot create, who cannot achieve great things, and take their revenge upon the world for their own inadequacies, by seeking to destroy those who can.
This is what radical leftism is. It may wear various different slogans and ideologies across place and time. They call themselves anti-capitalist or anti-imperialist, communist, anarchist, Marxist, but the fundamental character is always the same. It is a poisonous resentment cloaked in the language of equality, justice, and liberation; an overwhelming need to tear down what greater men have built; to wreck what is beautiful and what is right on behalf of people who are only filled with ugliness and have nothing else to offer.
You can watch the entirety of that part of the speech here:
SECRETARY RUBIO: "This is a distinctive and unique evil. It has always been driven by a hatred, above all else, for civilization itself." pic.twitter.com/3t75pzaSRE
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 16, 2026
SECRETARY RUBIO: "Today, we face a new wave of this old evil. Here in the United States, the share of left-wing terrorist attacks and plots has risen to levels not seen in decades." pic.twitter.com/mEKX0w7gb5
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 16, 2026
He pointed out that these incidents are not limited to certain countries because these groups do not recognize borders. "Under President Trump, for the first time, the United States is building the infrastructure, the partnerships, and the strategy to defeat the scourge of far-left terror," he said.
SECRETARY RUBIO: "These are not distinct and isolated cells, they are interconnected networks. They do not recognize our borders. They do not believe in the nation-state itself." pic.twitter.com/cYYmGBZYNW
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 16, 2026
SECRETARY RUBIO: "Under President Trump, for the first time, the United States is building the infrastructure, the partnerships, and the strategy to defeat the scourge of far-left terror." pic.twitter.com/K0XlegrCun
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 16, 2026
And he concluded by saying, "We will dismantle these networks brick by brick. It is time for the people of the civilized world to defend ourselves."
SECRETARY RUBIO: "We will dismantle these networks brick by brick. It is time for the people of the civilized world to defend ourselves." pic.twitter.com/ysOuFLPqXb
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 16, 2026
If you prefer to watch the entire speech rather than clips — which I highly recommend — you can do so here.
FULL REMARKS: Secretary Marco Rubio's Remarks at the Ministerial on The Resurgence of Political Terrorism pic.twitter.com/ZpHzM2QpDC
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 16, 2026
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