The Revolutionary Communist Party, USA and Political Violence
by Michael V. Clinton
July 2026
Leftist movements are by nature violent, radical, and terrorist—they have shown their true colors more and more as the years go by. The Revolutionary Communist Party, USA (Revcom) openly advocates for a radical adoption of communism in the United States of America. This report will investigate Revcom’s relation to leftist political violence.
by Michael V. Clinton
July 2026
Leftist movements are by nature violent, radical, and terrorist—they have shown their true colors more and more as the years go by. The Revolutionary Communist Party, USA (Revcom) openly advocates for a radical adoption of communism in the United States of America. This report will investigate Revcom’s relation to leftist political violence.
Introduction: Politically Violent Rhetoric
Firstly, Revcom is brazen about its radical aims. It does not coat its communist ambitions in demagogic language but speaks of radically altering the United States, one of the longest-standing polities in the world. Its top title page states “Welcome to the REVOLUTION: The voice of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA.” A prominent banner reads, “a whole new way to live, a fundamentally different system.” Its article on the Declaration of Independence states that “this country [is] now being ruled by a fascist regime.” This libelous rhetoric leads to political violence. (They even audaciously claim that prominent black Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is a fascist.)
The communist has this threefold predication about America (and the West generally):
In a Revcom article posted on June 8, 2026, Bob Avakian writes the following about these United States,
After denigrating the history of our nation, and caricaturizing it as a diabolical force, he proposes an answer, which, the author posits, is a communist revolution. This writing is not intellectually serious or factually consistent; it is a polemic which stirs the emotions of the reader into a state of rage at the benefactors and forefathers of this great Republic.
Part II: Explicit Violence
In a page titled “THE REVCOM CORPS: For The Emancipation Of Humanity,” several questions and points are answered in a dropdown menu. Under the section titled “What are the Points of Attention, the code of the revolution?” the sixth point writes as follows:
Despite their apparent disavowal of violence, their call is “for an actual overthrow” of this system. It is highly dubious that they seek to elect sympathetic politicians who will eventually replace the Constitution with something novel as they have disavowed slow or gradual “reform”. They are effectively endorsing a coup d’état.
InfluenceWatch, an organization documenting the connections of these nefarious groups, writes about the dark history of Revcom:
According to InfluenceWatch, this organization has had many encounters with law enforcement, including the FBI, which include felony charges. This dissuades any misinformed view that Revcom is a peaceful group.
Furthermore, Revcom’s actions have sparked nationwide debate about a very heinous and disgraceful act: burning the flag of the United States in an act of hatred for this country. On August 22, 1984, Gregory Lee Johnson, a member of Revcom’s Youth Brigade, set an American flag on fire outside the 1984 Republican National Convention to protest the Reagan administration. This sparked nationwide controversy about the practice of flag burning, reaching the Supreme Court in the 1989 case Texas v. Johnson.
This practice is consistent with their vicious hatred of the United States, their prior illegal activities, and disregard for the laws at the time. Burning the flag represents a violent desecration and repudiation of the sacrifice that countless generations of Americans have made—a sentiment consistent with their group and beliefs.
Conclusion
Revcom is different from other leftist groups, as it is more honest and explicit. As a result, they write their polemical anti-history of this country in order to justify communist revolution. As shown above, to be a member of their group, one must support actual overthrow of the American system. Additionally, they have been charged with felonies and even had negative attention from the FBI. Lastly, instead of peacefully protesting, they engage in the vicious act of burning the national flag.
Firstly, Revcom is brazen about its radical aims. It does not coat its communist ambitions in demagogic language but speaks of radically altering the United States, one of the longest-standing polities in the world. Its top title page states “Welcome to the REVOLUTION: The voice of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA.” A prominent banner reads, “a whole new way to live, a fundamentally different system.” Its article on the Declaration of Independence states that “this country [is] now being ruled by a fascist regime.” This libelous rhetoric leads to political violence. (They even audaciously claim that prominent black Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is a fascist.)
The communist has this threefold predication about America (and the West generally):
- Fascism must be violently overthrown
- America’s conservative government is fascist
- America’s conservative government must be violently overthrown
In a Revcom article posted on June 8, 2026, Bob Avakian writes the following about these United States,
- Any country which began with its foundation in slavery (and genocide against the native peoples); which maintained, and expanded, slavery (on land stolen from native peoples and Mexico) for nearly 100 years after its founding; which for another 100 years after the Civil War carried out thousands of lynchings of Black people, with mass celebrations of this, including the selling of postcards of lynchings throughout the country; which still has thousands of monuments to the Confederacy and white supremacy; and which today continues racist oppression in every dimension of society, enforced by continuing police terror—any such country has absolutely no claim to any positive celebration of itself or its history and heritage!
After denigrating the history of our nation, and caricaturizing it as a diabolical force, he proposes an answer, which, the author posits, is a communist revolution. This writing is not intellectually serious or factually consistent; it is a polemic which stirs the emotions of the reader into a state of rage at the benefactors and forefathers of this great Republic.
Part II: Explicit Violence
In a page titled “THE REVCOM CORPS: For The Emancipation Of Humanity,” several questions and points are answered in a dropdown menu. Under the section titled “What are the Points of Attention, the code of the revolution?” the sixth point writes as follows:
- We are going for an actual overthrow of this system and a whole better way beyond the destructive, vicious conflicts of today between the people. Because we are serious, at this stage we do not initiate violence and we oppose all violence against the people and among the people.
Despite their apparent disavowal of violence, their call is “for an actual overthrow” of this system. It is highly dubious that they seek to elect sympathetic politicians who will eventually replace the Constitution with something novel as they have disavowed slow or gradual “reform”. They are effectively endorsing a coup d’état.
InfluenceWatch, an organization documenting the connections of these nefarious groups, writes about the dark history of Revcom:
- In January 1979, Avakian and 78 other RCP members and supporters were arrested and charged with various crimes in connection with a militant protest against Deng Xiaoping, Mao’s successor as Paramount Leader of the People’s Republic of China, and his visit to the White House. Seventeen demonstrators, including Avakian, were charged with multiple felonies. After the RCP and its organized legal support for the defendants, the charges were dropped in 1982. Avakian applied for political asylum in France, but was denied. When the charges were dropped, Avakian and RCP continued their activism. As a result, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) later admitted to conducting several surveillance campaigns against the RCP.
According to InfluenceWatch, this organization has had many encounters with law enforcement, including the FBI, which include felony charges. This dissuades any misinformed view that Revcom is a peaceful group.
Furthermore, Revcom’s actions have sparked nationwide debate about a very heinous and disgraceful act: burning the flag of the United States in an act of hatred for this country. On August 22, 1984, Gregory Lee Johnson, a member of Revcom’s Youth Brigade, set an American flag on fire outside the 1984 Republican National Convention to protest the Reagan administration. This sparked nationwide controversy about the practice of flag burning, reaching the Supreme Court in the 1989 case Texas v. Johnson.
This practice is consistent with their vicious hatred of the United States, their prior illegal activities, and disregard for the laws at the time. Burning the flag represents a violent desecration and repudiation of the sacrifice that countless generations of Americans have made—a sentiment consistent with their group and beliefs.
Conclusion
Revcom is different from other leftist groups, as it is more honest and explicit. As a result, they write their polemical anti-history of this country in order to justify communist revolution. As shown above, to be a member of their group, one must support actual overthrow of the American system. Additionally, they have been charged with felonies and even had negative attention from the FBI. Lastly, instead of peacefully protesting, they engage in the vicious act of burning the national flag.