Fact check: What are the names of private donors who have publicly supported antifa?

1. The sharp claim: “Mark Bray personally backs antifa” — what the reporting actually says

Multiple articles state that Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti‑Fascist Handbook, directs at least a portion of proceeds to antifascist causes and is presented as a media expert; these pieces appear on September 23, 2025 ^[1]. The reporting asserts that at least 50% of book proceeds are routed to the International Anti‑Fascist Defense Fund, which would constitute a traceable financial support channel if corroborated by publisher statements or tax/transaction records. The articles attribute Bray’s role as both commentator and donor, but they do not present primary financial documents in the excerpts provided, so the claim rests on reported statements rather than independently published ledgers ^[1].

2. The organizational money trail: Antifa International and the International Anti‑Fascist Defense Fund

Reporting dated September 25, 2025 describes Antifa International as operating a funding arm—named the International Anti‑Fascist Defense Fund—which the articles say provides bail, legal defense, and expenses for arrested activists and has disbursed funds across countries ^[2]. The coverage cites specific totals—over $250,000 disbursed to more than 800 individuals in 26 countries—indicating an operational bail/assistance mechanism rather than anonymous largesse. These figures, if accurate, document organized charitable support for activists, but the sources do not in the excerpts include the fund’s public filings, donor lists, or audited statements to independently confirm donor identities or rules governing disbursement ^[2].

3. The Soros allegation: scale, source, and context

A September 25, 2025 report from the Capital Research Center asserts that George Soros’s Open Society Foundations gave more than $80 million to groups “tied to terrorism or extremist violence,” including $23 million to seven groups alleged to directly assist domestic terrorism in the U.S. ^[3]. The claim is framed as a large aggregate figure and labels some recipient groups as connected to violence. Capital Research Center is a research organization known for conservative-leaning investigations; the reporting provides a high‑impact allegation that requires cross‑checking against Open Society Foundations’ publicly disclosed grants and recipient organizations’ missions and activities to determine whether the grants directly funded violent activity or broader civil society work ^[3].

4. What is documented versus what is inferred: parsing donor identity

The materials show documented channels of support—a named author reportedly directing proceeds to a named defense fund and an international bail fund that reports disbursements ^{[1] [2]}. By contrast, the linkage of billionaire donors to violent activity is presented as an accusatory synthesis by a single watchdog organization ^[3]. Distinguishing donation to civil‑society groups or legal defense funds from funding of criminal acts requires public grant records, recipient accounting, and statements from donors; the provided excerpts do not include such corroborative primary records, so naming private donors beyond Bray or fund‑listed contributors is not substantiated here ^{[1] [2]}.

5. Competing narratives and potential agendas behind the claims

The sources include advocacy and watchdog actors whose missions shape framing: one set of pieces emphasizes Antifa’s organized funding networks and names an academic donor ^[1], while the Capital Research Center frames philanthropic grants as funding “extremist violence” ^[3]. These framings reflect different agendas—scholarly/ investigative description versus a conservative critique of philanthropy—and explain why the same factual universe yields divergent headlines. Readers should treat grant‑amount claims and labels of “extremist” as interpretations contingent on definition and evidence beyond grant ledgers ^{[3] [2]}.

6. Where public records and next steps would clarify donor identities

To move from allegation to verifiable list of private donors, one needs publisher royalty statements, charity tax filings or public donation acknowledgments from the International Anti‑Fascist Defense Fund, and Open Society Foundations’ grant databases linked to the named recipient organizations. The reporting gives concrete starting points—Bray’s book, the named defense fund, and specific grant totals—that can be cross‑checked with public financial disclosures and organizational statements; absent those documents in the present reporting, publicly naming additional private donors is not fully supported by the provided sources ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

7. Bottom line for the original question: who are the private donors publicly supporting antifa?

From the supplied materials, the only individually named private backer is Mark Bray, described as directing book proceeds to an antifascist defense fund ^[1]. The materials document an organizational fund—Antifa International’s bail fund—that receives and disburses support internationally ^[2]. The broader claim that George Soros’s Open Society Foundations funded groups tied to extremist violence is asserted by a single watchdog report and requires cross‑verification with open grant records before listing Soros or other private donors as public supporters of “antifa” in the same sense as an individual donor directing proceeds ^[3].