In the latest escalation of the Trump administration’s war on the left, the U.S. government’s designation of a popular antifascist webhosting provider as a terror group could shutter a swath of radical websites in the U.S.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Wednesday that they were targeting the Italy-based A/I Collective with terror sanctions.
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they → shutter → sanctions
Federal law gives the Treasury Department broad discretion to apply the terror label to foreign groups.
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law → give → groups
A wide array of anarchist, antifascist, and far-left groups in the U.S. and abroad use the privacy-minded collective’s offerings, including an anonymous email service and its popular noblogs.org blogging platform.
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array → use → service
The practice of designating an internet platform and service provider as a terror group — rather than those pursuing violence themselves — has “huge” implications for the future free speech on the internet, warned Jillian York, the director of international freedom of expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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York → designate → Foundation
“They are going after the messenger,” York said.
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York → go → messenger
“I don’t think that the members of the group would necessarily condone the actions of the people that they hosted.
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they → think → that
What they do condone is the freedom to host, the ability to be anonymous, the ability to be private.”
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condone → condone → What
The A/I Collective told The Intercept that it is exploring its legal options to fight the sanctions, which block U.S. citizens and companies from providing the group with financial support.
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which → tell → support
In an unsigned statement, the group said that it denies the U.S. government’s allegations.
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it → say → allegations
“Antifascism and anticapitalism are not terrorism,” the group said.
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group → say → ?
And everyone has the right to speak out and to struggle for humanity.”
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everyone → have → humanity
The U.S. government’s move could have ripple effects far beyond Italy.
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move → have → Italy
Groups using the A/I Collective’s services range from an anarchist radio show in Asheville, North Carolina; to a blog documenting attacks on anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” under the Jane’s Revenge moniker; to the Seattle Anarchist Bookfair.
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Groups → use → Bookfair
The bookfair warned Wednesday that its website “will most likely go down soon because of US sanctions on Noblogs.”
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website → warn → Noblogs
The State and Treasury Departments justified the designation by alleging that the A/I Collective, also known as Autistici/Inventati, has provided services to foreign terror groups, including anarchists who have launched attacks on railroads and pipelines in Europe, and by domestic left-wing groups that have employed violence.
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that → justify → violence
“A/I’s cadre of radical hackers and tech developers provide a full spectrum of services — including encrypted chats and email, web hosting, secure video conferencing and streaming, anonymity shields, and a suite of other technological tools — to Marxist, anarchist, and other left-wing extremist groups in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere,” a State Department spokesperson said in a press release.
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spokesperson → provide → release
“These tools are specifically designed to support the operations of far-left terrorist networks.”
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tools → design → networks
It is unclear how many groups in the U.S. could be forced offline, or to shift their providers, because of the terror designation.
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groups → force → designation
The A/I Collective said it could not provide an estimate of U.S-based groups that it hosts, because it does not ask its users for any private or personal information.
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it → say → information
Nor was it immediately clear whether simply hosting a site using the collective’s services would be illegal if no money changes hands.
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money → host → hands
Still, the collective says that it relies heavily on voluntary, suggested donations, and many U.S.-based groups appear to be scrambling for alternative hosting providers.
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groups → say → providers
The A/I Collective was sanctioned under the Treasury Department’s authority to label groups specially designated global terrorists.
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Collective → sanction → groups
U.S. citizens convicted of violating those sanctions can face stiff penalties of up to 20 years in prison.
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citizens → convict → prison
If U.S. groups continue to use the collective’s services, the U.S. government could use that affiliation against them, said Shayana Kadidal, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights.
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Kadidal → continue → Rights
The Treasury Department can even label U.S.-based groups as specially designated global terrorists, although they have more standing to challenge that designation in court.
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they → label → court
The designation of the A/I Collective as a foreign terror group is the next step in a sequence that began with Trump’s designation of antifa as a “domestic terror organization” last September, said Mark Bray, a historian at Rutgers University who wrote a book about antifascism.
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who → begin → antifascism
Where the Trump administration goes next is the “million-dollar question,” Bray said.
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Bray → go → ?
“It seems to be they’re playing a bit of a long game,” he said, “where they try to establish the existence of a supposed violent, left-wing terror network — which they have had trouble doing, but they have tried.
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they → seem → trouble
But then, of course the way they make that affect the left more broadly is to criminalize those who they claim are aligned with it.
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they → make → it
IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
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WE → ’ → ?
What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.
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seeing → see → government
Court orders are being ignored.
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orders → ignore → ?
MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies.
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loyalists → put → military
The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse.
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Department → strip → purse
News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.
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that → challenge → investigation
Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.”
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many → cover → power
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world.
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Intercept → cover → world
We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
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we → understand → democracy
We’re independent of corporate interests.
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We → ’re → interests
Will you help us?
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you → help → us
…and 23 more, not listed.
