Antifa: Photo courtesy of Representative Paul Gosar
During an interview on The National Desk (NTD), FBI Director Kash Patel addressed growing public concern over whether billionaire George Soros and his Open Run Foundation are funding anti-American movements. When asked directly if the foundation was supporting terrorist organizations, Patel declined to confirm or deny, saying he could not comment on ongoing investigations.
Turning to the issue of Antifa and the president’s new executive order granting expanded authority to federal agencies, Patel explained that investigators are focusing on financial networks behind the unrest. “The one thing I’ve done my entire career under investigations,” Patel said, “is follow the money.”
This was the same advice Patel had received from Senator Ted Cruz in September, following the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Cruz urged Patel to pursue not only those directly responsible but also those funding or organizing the violence. He emphasized that the unrest did not appear spontaneous.
Cruz told Patel, “I want to encourage you, in the course of this investigation, to absolutely go after anyone who aided and abetted. But I would more broadly encourage you to follow the money.” He argued that much of the violence seen across the country was not purely organic, but fueled by what he described as “significant money spreading dissension.”
According to Cruz, investigators had already found shell casings bearing slogans popularized by Antifa, further suggesting a coordinated and well-funded effort. He also cited evidence of similar financial backing behind the Antifa and Black Lives Matter riots of previous years, as well as the pro–open border riots in Los Angeles and other cities over the past year.
“I’ve introduced legislation called the Stop Funding Rioters Act,” Cruz said, explaining that the bill would add rioting to the list of predicate offenses under RICO. “I believe the money should be tracked and prosecuted under RICO.” He went on to note that at recent anti-Semitic and violent campus protests, many tents appeared identical, implying centralized organization and funding.
In his TND interview, Patel similarly elaborated that violent demonstrations do not arise spontaneously. “You don’t have hundreds of people surround a courthouse overnight, then move down to Los Angeles, and later to Chicago, without coordination,” he said. “It is an organized effort that someone, or some groups, are paying for.”
Patel confirmed that the FBI currently has “open investigations on multiple groups and individuals funding these efforts” and that legal processes have already been executed. “Search warrant results are coming in,” he noted, adding that recent actions formally designate certain domestic groups as terrorist organizations.
Asked whether prosecutions would target individuals providing material support rather than criminalizing ideology, Patel replied that each case would be handled carefully. “We have to recognize these groups for what they are,” he said. “If we as a society just allow these riots to continue, we’re going to be engulfed by criminal activity.”
He concluded with a strong condemnation of the rioters and their violence. “You can’t attack law enforcement, you can’t throw rocks and boulders at officers, you can’t set fire to a federal building and get away with it. How is that acceptable?” Patel stated: “We are following the money. Money never lies. And that’s what it’s going to take to bring down this network of organized criminal thugs.”
President Trump’s executive order, signed on September 22, 2025, granted the FBI extraordinary authority to investigate Antifa and its financial backers. The order officially designated Antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization” and directed all federal agencies to dismantle operations linked to the group. It also instructed investigators to pursue anyone “claiming to act on behalf of Antifa” or “providing material support,” establishing broad criteria for potential prosecution.
Under the order, FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are coordinating efforts to trace the financial networks behind Antifa-linked activities. The Treasury Department is leading a parallel effort to map funding channels and follow the money trail across domestic and international accounts.
Trump’s memorandum further directs the FBI, IRS, and other federal agencies to identify funding sources and refer organizations involved in supporting violent movements to the Department of Justice for prosecution.
The White House and several reports have identified George Soros’s Open Society Foundations as one of the entities allegedly funding organizations linked to Antifa activities. According to a report by the Capital Research Center, the foundation has provided more than $80 million since 2016 to groups “tied to terrorism or extremist violence.” Of that, roughly $23 million went to seven organizations that engaged in or supported violence, property destruction, and economic sabotage.
Among the recipients, the Sunrise Movement received at least $2 million and later endorsed and raised funds for Antifa-associated groups such as the Stop Cop City coalition—whose members now face over 40 domestic terrorism charges and 60 racketeering indictments.
Another $400,000 went to the Center for Third World Organizing, also known as the Ruckus Society, which trained activists in property destruction during the 2020 riots. Open Society also distributed $18 million to the Movement for Black Lives, which co-authored materials glorifying Hamas’s October 7 attacks and instructing activists on using false IDs, organizing blockades, and disrupting the economy.
These funding relationships between Soros’s foundations and groups tied to violent activity provide a legitimate basis for federal investigation. Determining whether that support was direct or indirect requires tracing money through intermediary organizations, an established method in cases involving organized crime or terrorism financing.
However, prosecuting Antifa presents serious challenges. The movement lacks a formal hierarchy, leadership, bank accounts, or documented revenue streams. It functions primarily as an ideology rather than a structured organization, which complicates efforts to apply conventional terrorism statutes. Legal experts warn that attempts to prosecute Antifa as an organization could face constitutional challenges under the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech and assembly.
Under U.S. law, an organization cannot be banned solely for its beliefs, nor can membership itself be made illegal. President Trump’s designation of Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization was executed through an executive order, not an act of Congress, and represents an unprecedented legal step that may face scrutiny in court.
Still, if investigators can trace George Soros’s funding through intermediary entities that provided material support for violent acts, the Department of Justice could gain multiple avenues for prosecution under existing laws targeting financial facilitation of terrorism and organized crime.