Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invited senior ministers from more than 60 countries to Washington next week for a meeting focused on what the Trump administration describes as a growing threat from transnational far-left terrorism.
The July 16 meeting at the State Department will bring together officials from Europe, Latin America, and Asia to discuss intelligence sharing and law enforcement cooperation against what the administration says is a resurgence of politically motivated violence by far-left extremist groups, according to a concept paper reviewed by The Washington Post.
The document describes the gathering as focusing on "far-left terrorists" who are "increasingly turning to organized, deadly violence to advance their political objectives."
The planned meeting has raised questions among some current and former U.S. officials, foreign diplomats, and terrorism analysts, who said they do not view left-wing extremism as posing the same level of international threat.
Some current officials also expressed concern that expanding the use of counterterrorism authorities could establish precedents future administrations might apply against other political movements.
"The idea is you're setting a precedent for a future Gavin Newsom administration to turn these authorities on conservatives," one current administration official told the Post.
The White House disputed that characterization, saying the concerns did "not represent the prevailing feeling" and pointed to the administration's national counterterrorism strategy released in May, which states: "We will not permit the weaponization of America's unparalleled CT capabilities for partisan purposes."
The strategy also says, "Our counterterrorism powers will not be used to target our fellow Americans who simply disagree with us."
White House counterterrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka has discussed whether foreign terrorist designations could be applied to antifa-linked groups, which some officials said could expand investigative authorities in certain cases.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized antifa, signing an executive order last year describing it as a "domestic terrorist organization," a designation that legal experts have said carries no formal legal status under federal law.
The administration has also pointed to recent prosecutions involving anti-fascist activists.
Last month, several defendants received lengthy prison sentences for their roles in a violent protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas, where a police officer was shot.
Prosecutors described the defendants as members of an "antifa cell," while defense attorneys argued the case was politically motivated.
Invitations were sent to most European nations, several Latin American countries and Asian partners, including India, Indonesia, and Singapore.
Some foreign officials told the Post they were unlikely to send senior ministers because of scheduling conflicts or because they do not share the administration's assessment of the threat.
Some counterterrorism experts also questioned the administration's focus.
"We have to be objective about identifying threats, not politically selective," said Bruce Hoffman, a senior fellow for counterterrorism at the Council on Foreign Relations.
And Colin P. Clarke, executive director of the Soufan Center, said, "If I were to rack and stack priorities, left-wing terrorists wouldn't be in my top three."