WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump brought journalists assaulted by the newly designated terrorist group Antifa together with Cabinet officials for a roundtable discussion at the White House on Oct. 8.

Antifa is a far-left extremist group that originated under the Soviet Union and functioned as the violent wing of Germany’s Communist Party to target political rivals. The organization is known for political violence against its opponents, whom it routinely labels as fascists.

Trump designated the group a domestic terrorist organization in an executive order signed on Sept. 22.

One reporter who was attacked by members of Antifa in 2019 and again in 2021 recalled the moment when they assaulted him in Portland, Oregon, while rioting.

“That was my only near-death experience in my life, and I’m quite shaken when I think about it now,” Andy Ngo said during the event.

An Antifa member kicks a smoke bomb deployed by federal officers back in their direction in front of Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in Portland, Ore., on Oct. 5, 2025. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

He said the attack left him bleeding from his eyes and ears. Doctors later diagnosed him with bleeding on the brain, a potentially fatal injury.

Other journalists from across the country described various incidents of violence.

Katie Daviscourt attended the meeting with a black eye after she was struck in the face with a metal pole.

She managed to subdue her attacker, but when fellow rioters helped the woman escape, Daviscourt followed them and found the house they were using.

Her subsequent investigations revealed more about the organization’s actions and the aid they were receiving.

“This group is highly organized ... and they have no plans of stopping,” Daviscourt said.

“Residents living across from the [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] facility have been held hostage by Antifa. They’re begging for federal intervention.”

Brandi Kruse (R) speaks alongside Andy Ngo (C) during a roundtable discussion in the State Dining Room of the White House on Oct. 8, 2025. The Trump administration held the roundtable to discuss the Antifa far-left extremist group after signing an executive order designating it as a “domestic terrorist organization.” (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Some locals believe that Portland city officials are failing to curtail the violence, she said.

“The city refuses to help, and they want you, President Trump, to come in and restore law and order,” Daviscourt said.

Others told similar tales of being assaulted and harassed while covering Antifa riots.

A longtime television reporter from Seattle told Trump that after she was attacked by Antifa and later identified a disconnect between mainstream media coverage and what she experienced on the ground, she overcame her dislike of the president.

“I’m living proof that you can recover from [Trump derangement syndrome],“ Brandi Kruse said. ”I had strong Trump derangement syndrome for probably eight years.”

She said the president’s approach to protecting communities from violent crime helped her overcome her bias.

“It’s much better to not have [Trump derangement syndrome],” Kruse said. “I’m happier, I’m healthier, more successful. I even think I got a little more attractive after I got rid of my Trump derangement.”

The group of journalists called on administration officials to dismantle the terrorist organization.

Trump condemned recent incidents of violence—including attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in Oregon and Texas, among others.

Law enforcement and emergency personnel respond near the scene of a fatal shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Dallas on Sept. 24, 2025. (Aric Becker/AFP via Getty Images)

“It should be clear to all Americans that we have a very serious left-wing terror threat in our country, radicals associated with the domestic terror group Antifa,” he said.

“These are people that want to destroy our country, and we’re not going to let it happen.”

The president vowed to identify and break up the organization’s money supply, saying that some of the group’s political connections could reach high levels.

“We’re going to be very threatening to them, far more threatening to them than they ever were with us,” Trump said. “And that includes the people that fund them.”

The president and his Cabinet officials criticized state and local leaders for resisting the federal government’s efforts to mitigate crime and denounced divisive political rhetoric for potentially encouraging violence.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said attacks on ICE agents have increased by more than 1,000 percent since Trump took office.

“No longer,“ Bondi said. ”This is not activism; this is anarchy. We cannot and will not allow masked terrorists to burn our buildings, attack our law enforcement, and intimidate our communities.”

She recently issued a memo directing federal law enforcement agencies to protect ICE officers, and the Justice Department ordered Apple and Google to remove an app that assisted users in identifying immigration agents.

A woman carries a communist flag in front of Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in Portland, Ore., on Oct. 4, 2025. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Officials declared their intention to completely dismantle the organization’s hierarchy and capacity to operate.

“These individuals do not just want to threaten our law enforcement officers, threaten our journalists, and the citizens of this country,“ Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. ”They want to kill them.

“Their agenda is to destroy the American people and our way of life, and this president is standing in their way.”

Disrupting the group’s funding is a priority, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.

“We are following the money,“ Patel said during the discussion. ”Money never lies.

“We in this FBI will go after the criminals with vengeance. We will not rest until we find every single seed, money, donor, organization, and funding mechanism that they have.”

A question from a journalist about whether a foreign terrorist designation is appropriate for Antifa prompted the president to consult his advisers.

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said the group has “extensive foreign ties” and called the idea a “very valid step.”

Trump signaled that the foreign designation—a legal distinction that allows for more thorough international investigations, asset seizures, and criminal charges—is likely.

“Let’s get it done,” he said.