Largely made up of anarchists and, to a lesser extent, activists ascribing to various strands of Marxism, anti-fascist activists decided to adopt the tactic of physical confrontations against white supremacists from across the spectrum: from neo-Nazi punks to the resurgent Ku Klux Klan.
The Anti-Racist Action (ARA) was established in 1988 in Minneapolis as one of the first organised anti-fascist networks.