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FIRST ON FOX: Texas Republican called Ministry of Justice is investigating the National Lawyers Guild on Friday, saying the prominent legal group's activities go beyond defending rioters in court and may extend to supporting Antifa-related violence.
Rep. Lance Gooden wrote in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital to the Justice Department that the National Lawyers Guild has “close ties to left-wing extremists and domestic terrorist organizations such as Antifa.”
“The true extent of their involvement in orchestrating attacks within our country is unclear, but I am deeply concerned that the NLG and its continued support of Antifa extremists pose a direct physical threat to the lives of civilians and law enforcement officers,” Gooden wrote, also noting that he wanted the Justice Department to investigate the group’s funding.
A Justice Department spokesman confirmed it had received Gooden's letter but had no further comment. Fox News Digital has reached out to the National Lawyers Guild for comment.
Rep. Lance Gooden, Republican of Texas, leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the U.S. Capitol on September 27, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Gooden's request comes as the Trump administration is focusing its attention on Antifa affiliates. In September, President Donald Trump declared Antifa a “domestic terrorist organization,” saying black-clad protesters calling themselves members of Antifa were inciting unrest against law enforcement across the country and causing violence.
The FBI has described Antifa as a decentralized ideology, leading critics to say Antifa is not an accurate label. The Congressional Research Service said that “Antifa” is a broad term and that its members espouse a variety of radical views closely associated with anarchism, communism or socialism. The first known group to adopt the term “Antifa” was Rose City Antifa in Portland in 2007. Sometimes violent criminals were mentioned in court as being associated with Antifa.
FBI Director Cash Patel announced this. Fox Business said this week that “yes, Antifa exists” and that the bureau has launched a nationwide investigation into the funding and organizing efforts behind Antifa.
TRUMP CALLS ANTIFA A 'TERRORIST GROUP', FIGHTING FOR FREE SPEECH AND LIMITED LAW ENFORCEMENT
Portland, Oregon, was rocked in 2020 by successive nights of unrest following the death of George Floyd while in police custody that year. (Thomas Patterson/AFP/Getty Images)
Patel's comments came just after the Justice Department for the first time brought terrorism charges against defendants it accused of being members of an “Antifa cell.” The indictment describes Antifa as a “militant networked enterprise” and alleges that the defendants participated in a brutal attack at the Prairieland ICE detention center in Texas that left a police officer shot in the neck.
Gooden accused the National Lawyers Guild, which also provided legal support to those accused of rioting during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, of actively campaigning “against measures aimed at maintaining peace, law and order.”
“This includes demanding prison abolition and opposing tougher penalties for masked rioters who attack people for exercising their constitutional rights,” Gooden wrote.
Gooden also cited a social media post by freelance reporter Andy Ngo, who shared a video of protesters outside the ICE building in Portland, which he said showed members of the National Lawyers Guild scattered among the crowd.
Fox News Digital spoke with journalist Andy Ngo after his meeting about antifa violence with President Trump in October 2025. (Fox News Digital)
In another video Ngo shared on Friday, a member of the National Lawyers Guild calls on witnesses to give her information about people who were just arrested.
“NLG is an Antifa legal group that provides advice to extremists to help them escape justice.” Ngo wrote.
The National Lawyers Guild, a longstanding organization with thousands of members, has 501(c)(4) status and its founding 501(c)(3) status, both of which are eligible for tax breaks, which Gooden said warrants a federal investigation.
The group calls itself progressive and recently said its donations are not used to fund Antifa because simple ideas cannot accept money.
“Antifa is short for anti-fascism.” Anti-fascism is an idea and form of resistance to the ever-growing authoritarianism in the United States,” the group wrote on the Bluesky website Thursday. “This is not a national organization or nonprofit that accepts donations.”
The group said anti-fascists stand up for the people: “ICE agents are disappearing… from the streets.”
“Anti-fascists are Stop Cop City protesters defending their communities against the expansion of training sites,” he continued. “Anti-fascists are those who protest the invasion of their city by the National Guard.”
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The National Lawyers Guild's comments are at the heart of the major free speech debate because First Amendment supporters issue warnings that the Trump administration is targeting people who pay lip service to Antifa or anti-fascism but remain peaceful.
Hina Shamsi of the American Civil Liberties Union said that when Trump called Antifa a domestic terrorist organization, he was attacking people's rights to free speech.
“President Trump appears hell-bent on targeting real or perceived political opponents based on their constitutionally protected beliefs and speech, and we should all be crystal clear that he is jeopardizing everyone's First Amendment rights,” Shamsi said.
