Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 27, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Gooden’s request comes as the Trump administration has zeroed in on Antifa affiliates. President Donald Trump declared Antifa a "domestic terrorist organization" in September, saying the all-black-clad protesters who label themselves as Antifa members are fueling anti-law enforcement riots across the country and causing violence.
The FBI has described Antifa as a decentralized ideology, a feature that has led critics to say Antifa is not a precise label. The Congressional Research Service has said Antifa is a broad term and that its members have a variety of radical views closely aligned with anarchism, communism or socialism. The first group known to adopt the term Antifa was Rose City Antifa in Portland in 2007. On occasion, violent criminals have been cited in court as affiliating with Antifa.
FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox Business this week that "yes, Antifa exists" and that the bureau has launched investigations across the country into the funding and organizing efforts behind Antifa.
TRUMP CALLS ANTIFA ‘TERRORIST GROUP,’ FUELING FIGHT OVER FREE SPEECH AND LIMITS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
Fox News Digital spoke to journalist Andy Ngo following his meeting about Antifa violence with President Trump in October 2025. (Fox News Digital)
Another video Ngo shared on Friday featured a National Lawyers Guild member encouraging bystanders to give her information about people who were just arrested.
"The NLG is an Antifa legal group that provides guidance to extremists to help them escape justice," Ngo wrote.
The National Lawyers Guild, a longstanding organization with thousands of members, is a 501(c)(4) and its foundation a 501(c)(3), designations that both qualify for tax benefits, which Gooden said justified a federal probe.
The group self-identifies as progressive and recently said its donations are not used to fund Antifa because mere ideas cannot accept money.
"Antifa is short for antifascism. Antifascism is an idea and a form of resistance to the ever increasing authoritarianism in the United States," the group wrote on Bluesky on Thursday. "It is not a national organization or nonprofit that takes donations."
The group said antifascists are advocates for people "ICE agents disappear … off the streets."
"Antifascists are the Stop Cop City protesters, defending their communities from the expansion of police training grounds," it continued. "Antifascists are those that show up to protest the National Guard, invading their city."
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The National Lawyers Guild's remarks get at the heart of an underlying free speech debate, as First Amendment advocates raise warnings about the Trump administration targeting people who verbally support Antifa or antifascism but remain peaceful.
Hina Shamsi of the American Civil Liberties Union said when Trump called Antifa a domestic terrorist organization that he was encroaching on people's free speech rights.
"President Trump seems hellbent on targeting real or perceived political opponents based on their constitutionally protected beliefs and speech, and we should all be very clear that he is jeopardizing everyone’s First Amendment rights," Shamsi said.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/lawyers-guilds-alleged-ties-antifa-spark-call-doj-probe