Refuse Fascism is a radical left-wing organization devoted to promoting nationwide action to remove President Donald Trump and his administration from office on the grounds that it constitutes a “fascist regime.” The group has been present at many Antifa radical-left demonstrations, and co-founder Sunsara Taylor has refused to condemn violent protest as a legitimate means of communicating the organization’s message. The group is an offshoot of the radical-left Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP). ¹

The pro-abortion group Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights is a project of Refuse Fascism. The group targeted churches with protests after the U.S. Supreme Court restored the ability of states to regulate abortion. ²

History

Refuse Fascism was founded immediately after the first election of President Donald Trump in 2016 “on an emergency basis,” characterizing the Trump-Pence administration as “illegitimate because it is fascist.” ³ The advocated for the impeachment and removal of President Trump as well as all affiliated individuals from public office. ¹ Refuse Fascism was created by members of the radical-left Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP). ¹

In July 2017, the Revolutionary Communist Party released a statement claiming responsibility for the creation of Refuse Fascism, arguing that capitalism is the same system as fascism and that the election of President Trump will lead the government to “bludgeon and eliminate whole groups of people.” ⁴ The RCP remained one of the main supporters of Refuse Fascism and committed to contribute as many resources as possible to the organization. ⁴

Though Refuse Fascism has denied being connected to any other Antifa groups and has organized nonviolent protests, founder and spokesperson Sunsara Taylor has refused to condemn frequently violent antifa protestors, claiming that the violence is justified by the “fascism” of the Trump administration. ¹

Activities

First Trump Administration

Refuse Fascism appeared on the national stage for the first time at President Donald Trump’s first January 2017 inauguration, joining the “#J20” march after months of taking out advertisements in national news outlets like the Washington Post and generating media materials. ⁵ At that same Inauguration Day march, allegedly unrelated Antifa demonstrations smashed store windows and burned a limousine in Washington, D.C. ⁵ Refuse Fascism joined several other left-wing protests, including the July 2017 Impeachment March; the August 2017 counter-protests in Charlottesville, Virginia; and the September 2017 protests against the “Free Speech Week” at the University of California, Berkeley. ⁵

In November 2019, Refuse Fascism staged a protest against conservative pundit Ann Coulter, with organizers speculating that over 2,000 people attended the protest. ⁶ Seven demonstrators were arrested, including one Berkeley student who fellow organizers defended on the grounds that “Ann Coulter is a racist…she’s a Nazi.” ⁶ Refuse Fascism organized a similar, smaller demonstration at the University of California, Los Angeles against Donald Trump, Jr. as part of their “Out Now” movement that demanded the removal of President Trump. ⁷

The “Out Now” campaign intensified in the wake of President Trump’s first impeachment by the United States House of Representatives in 2019. On December 17, 2019, on the eve of the impeachment vote, Refuse Fascism organizers joined the New York City Impeachment March. ⁸ Twenty Refuse Fascism organizers marched to the center of the crowd, chanting that the Trump administration had imposed “concentration camps on the border” and promoted the “unleashing of naked white supremacy.” ⁸ Leaders called on American citizens to pressure the Senate to convict President Trump and remove him from office in January 2020 by engaging in mass, sustained protests. ⁸

Second Trump Administration

In August 2025, Refuse Fascism led a protest in Washington, D.C. against President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Washington, D.C. police department and deployment of the National Guard in the district. The group released a statement that said in part, “Fascism is not a looming threat. It is upon us now. Humanity’s only hope is for the decent people of this country to rise in our millions. We cannot wait for future and rigged elections. We must drive the Trump Fascist Regime from power.” ⁹

In November 2025, Refuse Fascism held what it intended to be the first of a series of protests against the second Trump administration in Washington, D.C. The demonstration brought numerous speakers and musical performances to Sylvan Theater on the National Mall. The group cites Revolutionary Communist Party leader Bob Avakian’s work and asserts that the country is two separate countries that cannot be contained. “It’s not just Trump being a racist, it’s not just Trump being a woman-hater, it’s not just Trump being a fascist,” group co-founder Sunsara Taylor said in an interview. “It’s the fact that the country and its coherence is being ripped apart.” Among the calls made at the protest were banning billionaires. ¹⁰

In December 2025, Refuse Fascism released its “People’s Indictment of Donald Trump” which accused the Trump administration of building an authoritarian regime and enriching itself. The indictment described the U.S. Supreme Court as “illegitimately packed with Trump loyalists.” The indictment also accused the Trump administration of “lawless international aggression” and “weaponizing federal power against political opponents.” The protest called for the removal of the Trump administration. ¹¹

In January 2026, a coalition of organizations and nonprofits organized a protest in New York City titled “No Wars, No Kings, No ICE,” to demonstrate against the Second Trump Administration, U.S Military Action in Venezuela, and operations conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These included the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) NYC, Rise and Resist, The People’s Forum, Federal Unionists Network, Jewish Voice for Peace NYC, Target Majority, Common Defense, Indivisible Brooklyn, Our Time, 50501, and the Brooklyn Resisters. Other groups that took part in similar protests in the city around January 2026 include the national DSA organization, the Revolutionary Internationalist Youth from the City University of New York, the International Communist League, Indivisible, and Refuse Fascism. ^{12 13}

Partners

Refuse Fascism announced numerous partners for its November 5th, 2025 protest in Washington, D.C. against the second Trump Administration. Among the partners were the National Organization for Women, the Revolutionary Communist Party, several chapters of the Indivisible Project, BeaverBros.Ecohumanesystems, Beyond the Ballot, California Camera Club – San Francisco Photo Collective, Capitol Hill Pride Seattle, Connecticut Palestine Alliance, Defrost ICE, Environmental & Political Action Alerts (EPAA), FL National Organization for Women, GetCourageNow, Good Trouble WNC, Good Trouble WNC Finding Higher Ground, Greater Orlando National Organization for Women, Green Party of Humboldt County, Handmaid Army DC, Indivisible Artists, Indivisible Guilford County NC , Indivisible Montgomery County PA & Friends, Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left WM, InspireHer Global, Kansas National Organization for Women (NOW), Liberty Guard, Little Village Community Council, Museum of Universal Self Expression (MUSE, Inc.), National Action Network, the New Reconstruction, Progressive Dems of Buncombe County, Resist Trump Campaign, Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity, the Revolutionary Black Panther Party, Safe Open Queer Spaces for Teens (SOQS4Teens), Together Across America, Undivided and Focused, Unidad Latina en Accion, #unifyUSA, United Native Americans, Veterans For Peace, Chapter 113-Hawaii, Wake up Los Feliz!, White Roses, and White Roses of Leesburg, Virginia. ¹⁴

Leadership

Refuse Fascism is not a registered organization, and as such, it does not release its funding and board member information. The group is fiscally sponsored by the left-wing, anti-capitalist Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ). ¹⁵ Refuse Fascism also solicits non-exempt donations through its website by way of PayPal, Venmo, and crowdfunding campaigns. ¹⁵ AfGJ has numerous associations with the radical left, running efforts in defense of the de facto socialist dictatorship of Venezuela,¹⁶ publishing a defense of the North Korean regime,¹⁷ and taking actions on behalf of radical-left extremists including Leonard Peltier and Mumia Abu-Jamal. ^{18 19 20}

Sunsara Taylor and Carl Dix are co-founders of Refuse Fascism, both radical left-wing activists associated with the Revolutionary Communist Party. ^{5 21 1} Taylor is an avid supporter of the RCP platform advanced by party president Bob Avakian, which preaches the achievement of communist ideals through outright revolution. ²² Taylor is on the advisory board of World Can’t Wait, another communist organization aimed at exposing the “crimes” of the United States government that was originally initiated to drive President George W. Bush from office. ^{22 23} Taylor is an outspoken pro-abortion advocate, leading the 2013 Abortion Rights Freedom Ride, a campaign to promote the pro-abortion movement.²²

Carl Dix is a founding member of the Revolutionary Communist Party who advocates for a full communist revolution in the United States. ²⁴ Dix served two years in Leavenworth Military Penitentiary for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War.²⁴

As of December 2025, Samantha Goldman was a national leader of Refuse Fascism and the host of the group’s podcast of the same name. Goldman is an abortion advocate who has a history of protesting for abortion. ²⁵ At the time, Goldman was also a national leader of Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights, an ostensibly pro-abortion group which also has links to the Revolutionary Communist Party. ^{2 26}

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12. Stu Smith (@thestustustudio). “This poster is doing a lot at once. You’ve got DSA and The People’s Forum in the mix, while 50501 and Indivisible are also on the same flyer.”  X, January 8, 2026. https://x.com/thestustustudio/status/2009437651569451049
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