BALTIMORE (WBFF) — As cities across the country brace for another wave of large-scale demonstrations under the “No Kings” banner this weekend, federal officials are raising concerns about public safety and who may be funding adjacent movements like antifa, a term for loosely organized groups used to describe far-left activists and protesters.
The protest series, dubbed “No Kings II,” is expected to draw millions of participants, including multiple demonstrations in Maryland, according to the organizer’s website.
On the surface, the movement appears grassroots, collaborative, and nonviolent, promoting anti-authoritarian messages and democratic resistance to President Donald Trump’s priorities during his second term. The president and other federal officials say that beneath the chants and posters lies growing unease about national security and social order.
In an exclusive interview with Spotlight on Marylandon Tuesday at Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said radical groups, particularly antifa, may be quietly embedding themselves into the “No Kings” protests and potentially escalating tensions.
“I am all about free speech. I’m all about protest. It’s the great American way,” Duffy said. “I am concerned about who is funding this. Who is paying for it? Who is organizing it?”
I am concerned about antifa infiltrating and participating in the protests,” he added.
Duffy’s comments come amid a broader wave of political violence that has unsettled both parties in the nation’s capital. He said during Tuesday’s interview that “we see more political violence on the rise,” pointing to the recent shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, calling it a symptom of rising political extremism.
“He [Kirk] was shot because of the words that he was using. In America, we don’t do that,” Duffy said. “In a democracy, you debate, you argue, but you don’t pick up sticks and rocks and guns and kill each other.”
‘No Kings’ message vs. mayhem
Duffy said he believes the “No Kings” protests are a “mischaracterization of the country and how Donald Trump actually came to power.”
We don’t have a king,” Duffy said. “We had an election, and Donald Trump crushed the election and won.”
The “No Kings” movement describes itself on its official website as committed to “nonviolent action,” calling on citizens to reject authoritarianism and restore democratic norms.
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During the first “No Kings Day” on June 14, peaceful demonstrations in most cities, including Baltimore and Washington, D.C., proceeded without many recorded incidents.
In Los Angeles, protests turned violent.
Demonstrators clashed with law enforcement over Trump’s deportation orders, leading to mass arrests, the enforcement of a curfew already in effect from protests that were sparked days before, and property damage.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, 38 individuals were arrested in connection with the No Kings protests in June. Charges ranged from vandalism to assault on police officers. Despite no direct link to the “No Kings” leadership, federal officials alleged antifa was responsible for embedding into the demonstration, leading to violence.
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After similar violent protests that happened after “No Kings Day” in Chicago and Texas, Trump signed an executive order officially designating antifa as a domestic terror organization.
“Radicals associated with the domestic terror group antifa and other far-left extremists have been carrying out a campaign of violence against ICE agents and other officials charged with enforcing federal law,” Trump said during an October roundtable about antifa at the White House.
Who is really funding ‘No Kings’?
Despite its decentralized structure and lack of formal leadership, some watchdog groups believe antifa may be receiving significant funding from left-wing donors or even foreign entities.
Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center, a nonprofit watchdog group that tracks the financial web of political activism, told The National News Desk on Monday that the “radical left” often uses moments of mass mobilization to advance hidden agendas.
The way the radical left works is: Anything that brings people into the streets, they jump on the bandwagon,” Walter said.
Walter said that tracing antifa funding has proven difficult. Unlike organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) or Greenpeace, antifa has no central office, no registered nonprofit status, and no easily identifiable leadership.
“Antifa is not like the ACLU,” Walter said. “It doesn’t have a big, big headquarters or something.”
Republicans and opponents of antifa have long blamed the Open Society Foundation, a grantmaking network bankrolled by billionaire George Soros, for funding protests where violence has occurred. A spokesperson for Open Society denied these allegations to The National News Desk.
“We do not pay to protest or directly train or coordinate protestors,” a spokesperson for Open Society said. “All Open Society grantees are required to comply with the law and we expect our grantees to uphold our shared commitment to human rights, dignity, and nonviolence.”
“The Open Society Foundations oppose all forms of violence, including violent protests,” the spokesperson added.
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According to its website, Open Society closed its Baltimore field office in February 2023 after existing in the city for 25 years. The organization continues to maintain its headquarters in New York City, with offices around the world.
Maryland in the crosshairs?
Back in Maryland, “No Kings” demonstrations are planned in Baltimore, Columbia, College Park, and the Washington, D.C., suburbs. The social and political tensions in many of these communities remain politically tense following Trump’s reelection last November.
Duffy said these localized protests could serve as flashpoints for larger confrontations nationwide, especially as rhetoric intensifies across the political landscape.
“Donald Trump won seven of the toss-up states. He got a majority of the popular vote. This is democracy in action,” Duffy said. “If you don’t like it, come back next election and try to win, but stop with the heightened language people are taking that to heart, and they’re picking up guns and doing really nasty, destructive things.”
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Spotlight on Maryland is a collaboration between FOX45 News, WJLA in Washington, D.C., and The Baltimore Sun.
