An online is drawing scrutiny after multiple Rutgers University professors and other American academics donated thousands of dollars to far-left activist and author Mark Bray, who fled to Spain following President Donald Trump’s new crackdown on Antifa and its alleged financiers.
Bray — dubbed “Dr. Antifa” by critics — and his wife, fellow Rutgers professor Yesenia Barragan, reportedly left the U.S. “for their safety” after Trump designated Antifa a domestic terror organization. The couple’s fundraiser, launched on the platform Freefunder, has raised over $42,000 as of Wednesday, with 518 donors contributing.
Donors include several of Bray’s Rutgers colleagues: associate history professor Jamie Pietruska, assistant history professor Jack Bouchard, and history professor Aldo Lauria, among others. Retired professors Temma Kaplan and François Cornilliat also contributed, while academics from Vanderbilt University, the University of Connecticut, and Bronx Community College added donations ranging from $50 to $200.
The fundraiser description claims Bray has been “violently targeted by conservative groups” and says he and Barragan fled “to protect their family.” Bray gained notoriety for his book Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, which advocates “militant anti-fascism” and directs at least half of its proceeds to the International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund.
In a recent post on Bluesky, Bray wrote, “Only mass antifascism, legal or not, can save us.”
President Trump has called Antifa-linked radicals “a very serious left-wing terror threat,” citing violent attacks against law enforcement and immigration officials.
