The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Aug. 20 sanctioned [12] three organizations and two individuals, accusing UK-based Palestine Action [13], the Italy-based Autistici Inventati [14], and the Masar Badil network [15] of ties to "violent far-left extremism."
The designations were made under Executive Order 13224 [16], the post-9-11 authority allowing the US to block the property of designated "terrorists" and of those who support or are linked to them. That status is legally distinct from Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation, administered by the US State Department. Masar Badil's ties are said to run through Samidoun [18] to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP [19]), an FTO since 1997, OFAC said. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said "far-left extremists, their fronts, and their enablers should be on notice" that the Department "will bring the full weight of our economic tools to bear." He added that "we will continue to cut the financial lifelines of these groups until they are eliminated."
OFAC said Palestine Action, proscribed as a terrorist organization [20] by the UK under the Terrorism Act 2000 [21] in July 2025, has supported acts since 2020 that injured UK law enforcement officers and included break-ins at British military installations causing millions of dollars in damage to military equipment. OFAC said the group has promoted similar tactics "within the United States and along the US-Mexican border."
Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori rejected the designation, stating that "the fact that Trump is now taking inspiration from Britain's repression of the movement for Palestinian freedom exposes just how dangerous this ban is and should be a wake-up call to anyone who cares about free speech and civil liberties."
OFAC linked Masar Badil to the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which the US and Canada sanctioned in October 2024 as a PFLP front. The two share fundraising and executive committee members, OFAC said, including sanctioned leaders Khaled Barakat, Mohammad Khatib and Jaldia Abubakra. Wednesday’s action separately designated two Masar Badil leaders: Germany-based Zaid Abdulnasser and Brazil-based Rawa Alsagheer.
Autistici Inventati, which describes itself as an "anti-fascist," "anti-militarist" and "anti-capitalist" collective, supplies website hosting and encrypted communications tools to vetted far-left groups, OFAC said, including the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK [22]), designated a terrorist organization by the US UK, and EU over tactics OFAC said have killed thousands in Türkiye, Iraq and Syria since 1984. OFAC authorized wind-down transactions [23] with Autistici Inventati through Sept. 25.
The parties were added to OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals List [24], blocking their property and interests in property in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons, and generally barring US persons from transactions involving their properties absent authorization or exemption, exposing violators to civil or criminal penalties. This week's action follows the State Department's November 2025 designation [25] of Antifa [26]-linked networks, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's July visa restriction policy [27] targeting far-left groups, part of what the administration calls a crackdown on far-left violence. Ammori's UK Supreme Court [28] challenge to Palestine Action's underlying proscription [29] is scheduled for a hearing Nov. 4-5.
From JURIST [30], Aug. 27. Used with permission. Internal links added.
