Rose City Antifa (RCA) is a radical-left Antifa organization based in Portland, Oregon. It has been called the “first official antifascist organization in America” ¹ and “one of the nation’s oldest active Antifa groups.” ² Due to RCA’s violent protests and doxxing of both right-wing activists and government personnel, in 2025 the second Trump administration labeled RCA and other Antifa groups domestic terrorist organizations, though law firm WilmerHale reports that the designation “is not a recognized designation from which legal consequences flow directly.” ^{3 4 5}

Founding

Starting in the 1980s, Portland, Oregon became a prominent hub of extreme-right activity in the United States. Most notably, in 1988 three skinheads were imprisoned after beating an Ethiopian student to death. In 1994, neo-Nazi group Volksfront was founded in Portland, and chapters spread throughout the U.S. and abroad. A far-left counter-movement began to emerge, particularly around the loosely organized Anti-Racist Action, culminating in the 1999 “Battle of Seattle” series of violent protests against the World Trade Organization (WTO) that caused millions of dollars in property damage. In the mid-2000s, a group of far-left Portland citizens, including communist and anarchist members of Anti-Racist Action, formed the Ad-Hoc Coalition Against Racism and Fascism to protest and shut down far-right events, including the neo-Nazi skinhead festival Hammerfest. In 2007, the group reformed as Rose City Antifa (RCA), modeling its name, purpose, and tactics after numerous far-left Antifa groups active in Europe before World War II. ^{6 7 1}

Structure and Membership

From its founding in 2007, Rose City Antifa has maintained a secretive structure. Leaders and members are not publicly disclosed, and membership rolls are reportedly not taken. At public events and protests, RCA members wear “blood-red and black bandanas and hoods” that obscure their faces. This tactic is known as “black bloc” and is used to protect the instigators of public crimes from law enforcement. ^{6 7 8}

In press interviews, RCA members only identify themselves by their first names, and they have claimed that their anonymity is a defense against assassination and targeting attempts “by both the far-right and the state.” The group’s website as of 2025 also stated that anonymity helps RCA present as a collective rather than have its activity “reduced to the actions of a single individual.” ^{6 7 8}

As of November 2025, RCA’s website states that information about its operations are distributed only to members. To become a member, individuals must send “an email with a little bit of information about you and what makes you interested in joining.” ⁸ Police officers are not permitted to be members of RCA. ¹

In 2020, right-wing investigative group Project Veritas infiltrated RCA and claimed that the group was founded by Caroline Victorin, the wife of Johan Victorin, a U.S.-Swedish dual citizen with experience as a member of European Antifa groups. Project Veritas credits the Victorins for making RCA one of the most-well organized and well-trained Antifa groups in the U.S., which it attributed to Johan’s training and experience. According to Swedish journalist Christian Peterson, the Victorins were living in Sweden as of October 2025, possibly to escape potential charges in the U.S. after Antifa was designated a terrorist movement by the second Trump administration. ^{3 9}

In 2016, RCA joined the Torch Antifa Network, a coalition of American Antifa groups. ¹

Ideology

The Antifa movement claims to draw inspiration from 1930s-era radical-left German street protesters opposed to the Nazi Party before the Nazis took power. Modern “black bloc” Antifa resurfaced in the 1980s, again allegedly to oppose neo-fascist skinhead movements. ¹⁰

Rose City Antifa, like all Antifa organizations, is radically left-wing and claims to fight fascism, which RCA defines as an ideology that combines authoritarianism, xenophobia, ultranationalism, anti-communism, anti-liberalism, anti-unionism, antisemitism, homophobia, racism, militarization, and other traits. ⁸

RCA describes itself as “militant” and claims that “the most effective way to prevent the indoctrination of new fascists is to confront fascist organizing at every opportunity. Militant opposition to fascism creates the social consequences that make becoming a fascist in the first place a lot less appealing.” ⁸

RCA states that it does not work with law enforcement because “The state upholds white supremacy at every level of government and the police frequently work with far-right aggressors to brutalize people opposing state oppression and violence.” ⁸

According to a 2020 New Yorker interview with RCA members, RCA has always had a “a strong feminist and queer component,” and had numerous female founders. ¹

Activities

Rose City Antifa engages in violent protests and demonstrations. RCA’s protests have often involved violence, including hand-to-hand combat and vandalism of public and private property. According to Project Veritas, RCA members are trained to engage in combat and maim opponents, including blinding by eye-gouging. ^{6 3 9}

RCA claims to target “fascists,” but applies that label to a wide range of organizations, including groups on the mainstream right-of-center such as the Republican Party, as well as the police. Common targets include members of far-right and right-wing “patriot” and “militia” groups, including members of Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys. ^{6 3 9 1}

In 2020, RCA led violent riots in Portland, Oregon and set fires in federal buildings during that year’s protests associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. ³

RCA engages in the doxxing of political opponents who allegedly possess “ideological beliefs that make them dangerous” or allegedly belong to far-right groups. During its early years, much of RCA’s efforts were focused on doxxing Volksfront members. RCA claims that this tactic has been effective at socially isolating far-right individuals: “As it turns out, a lot of people don’t want to work with or live near a nazi. Go figure!” ^{6 8 1}

RCA solicits tips from supporters and the public to identify alleged fascists and counteract them. ⁸

Designation as a Terrorist Group

In September 2025, the second Trump administration designated all Antifa organizations as “domestic terrorist organization[s],” though law firm WilmerHale reports that such designation “is not a recognized designation from which legal consequences flow directly.” ⁵

The administration further described Antifa as “a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government.” A 2025 X (formerly Twitter) post by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) specifically identified Rose City Antifa as a “recently designated domestic terrorist organization” and cited RCA as doxxing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and sending death threats to DHS personnel. ^{3 4 11}

1. Mogelson, Luke. “In the Streets with Antifa.” The New Yorker. October 25, 2020. Accessed November 14, 2025. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/11/02/trump-antifa-movement-portland.
2. Giardino, Neil; Muldofsky, Mack; Yang, Allie. “After a year of protests, Portland residents have waning patience for antifa.” ABC News. May 5, 2021. Accessed November 14, 2025. https://abcnews.go.com/US/year-protests-portland-residents-waning-patience-antifa/story?id=77511470.
3. “Andy Ngo.” X. October 6, 2025. Accessed November 14, 2025. https://x.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1975237535690526818.
4. “DESIGNATING ANTIFA AS A DOMESTIC TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.” White House. September 22, 2025. Accessed November 14, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/designating-antifa-as-a-domestic-terrorist-organization/.
5. Geltzer, Joshua A., Lauren N. Moore, Matthew G. Olsen, Zachary Goldman, Aaron M. Zebley, and Samson F. Cohen. “Understanding the Impact of Different Terrorism Designations a Look at Recent and Potential Administration Actions.” WilmerHale, October 21, 2025. https://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20251021-understanding-the-impact-of-different-terrorism-designations-a-look-at-recent-and-potential-administration-actions.
6. Michel, Casey. “How Liberal Portland Became America’s Most Politically Violent City.” Politico Magazine. June 30, 2017. Accessed November 14, 2025. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/06/30/how-liberal-portland-became-americas-most-politically-violent-city-215322/.
7. “Homepage.” Rose City Antifa. Accessed November 14, 2025. https://rosecityantifa.org/.
8. “About.” Rose City Antifa. Accessed November 14, 2025. https://rosecityantifa.org/about/#faq.
9. Richardson, Valerie. “Eye-gouging and PowerPoint: Project Veritas infiltrates Antifa in undercover video.” Washington Times. June 4, 2020. Accessed November 14, 2025. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jun/4/eye-gouging-and-powerpoint-project-veritas-infiltr/.
10. “What is Antifa?” The Economist. July 29, 2017. Accessed August 28, 2017. https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2017/08/economist-explains-11
11. “Donald Trump Orders Deployment of US Troops to ‘war-Ravaged’ Portland.” Sky News, September 28, 2025. https://news.sky.com/story/donald-trump-orders-deployment-of-us-troops-to-war-ravaged-portland-13439888.