The U.S. Department of State has officially designated an Italian hacker collective known as Autistici/Inventati Collective as a specially designated global terrorist organization. This classification, which places the group alongside entities such as al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab, follows investigations revealing its role in facilitating violent extremism across international borders.
The State Department identified the A/I Collective as a central node in far-left extremist operations, providing encryption tools and web-hosting services to groups that have targeted U.S. federal agents and critical infrastructure. Specifically, the group has been linked to Portland-based Rose City Antifa cell activities, including doxxing ICE agents, inciting attacks against their residences, and organizing laser assaults on Border Patrol helicopters.
One of the collective’s promotional materials—a poster titled “You’re Invited: Lazer Tag!”—explicitly encouraged individuals to use lasers to disrupt Customs and Border Protection aircraft in public spaces with the phrase “Let’s take back the night together!” The State Department also documented detailed guides hosted by the group for arson, bombings, and sabotage of bridges, pipelines, and military logistics centers.
The A/I Collective has been associated with multiple violent incidents globally. In Germany, an attack on the national power grid killed one person after extremists claimed responsibility via a website hosted by the collective. In Italy, seven suspects were arrested following a rail line sabotage during the 2026 Winter Olympics, which they published a manifesto on an A/I Collective platform.
The State Department emphasized that the group serves as a “central node in the far-left’s war on our civilization,” with members bragging about past attacks—including bombing police vehicles and plotting federal building assaults—on its networks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated: “Today, the United States sanctioned Autistici/Inventati – a major far-left tech collective whose services are used by the most active and violent Antifa cells in the United States and across the world.”
The U.S. government has vowed to continue dismantling transnational far-left terror networks, warning that such groups will find no refuge from accountability for their efforts to violently overthrow free societies.
