The Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation (DAMPL): What You Need to Know

The Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation (DAMPL) is a radical, far-left, anti-Zionist group known for engaging in violent and destructive “direct actions” against institutions and individuals perceived as being connected to Israel.

Launched in the spring of 2025, its network of anti-Israel activists operates in the United States and abroad. These members, referred to by the group as “DAMPL Action Comrades,” coordinate their activities via social media and messaging applications. DAMPL activists are typically careful to obscure their identity, often using pseudonyms online, wearing keffiyehs to cover their faces, and sometimes using digital programs to alter their voices in videos.

Ideology and Tactics

DAMPL endorses an extreme approach to anti-Israel activity, openly promoting and justifying violence and criminal activity. The group calls for “direct action by every and any means necessary” and urges “the people of the world” to “protest, attack, destory [sic], sabotage and shut down Zionist and U.S infrastructures & business and all its affiliates.”

The group has also glorified U.S.-designated terror groups and their leaders, including by disseminating Hamas content and venerating its spokesperson, Abu Obaida; supported antisemitic violence, such as the deadly shooting of a young couple outside the Capital Jewish Museum in May 2025; vilified Zionism, the movement for self-determination and statehood of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland; and called for the destruction of Israel, as well as the “death” of “all empire [sic].”

 (Screenshot / Telegram)

DAMPL logos.

One of DAMPL’s leaders outlined the group’s core beliefs in a May 2025 video statement, including that it sees “direct militant action by your own hands [as] the only viable means to approaching liberation.” The DAMPL leader continued by characterizing “the liberation of the homeland as inseparable from the broader fight against global imperialism” and threatening to “create every disturbance, every disruption. Be every force of destruction...turn every stone...emblaze every flame...force every elite, every decision maker, every complicit body of the Zionist dual nationality criminal invader heed to our demands.”

The leader signed off with the slogans: “Intifada until Liberation. [In Arabic:] Palestine or we scorch the earth.”

The group seeks to accomplish its goals through targeted “direct actions.” In July 2025, DAMPL claimed responsibility for vandalizing the Massachusetts State House overnight on July 23 “with paint mixed with feces” and lighting “homemade thermites/flares on its gates.” In its statement posted and then deleted from Telegram and Instagram, DAMPL framed its decision to target a high-profile government building as a symbolic act reflecting “the rot at the core of empire and the fire raining down on Gaza” and explicitly accused the state’s leaders of complicity in Israel's actions.

 (Screenshot/CBS Boston on YouTube)

The aftermath of a vandalism attack at the Massachusetts State House overnight on July 23, 2025, claimed by the extreme anti-Zionist group DAMPL.

On August 11, 2025, authorities announced the arrest of DAMPL activist Jermaiah Yusuf Sawaqed, 25, of Everett, MA, in connection to the Massachusetts State House vandalism. The criminal complaint identified Sawaqed as "a central and active participant in a series of organized, politically motivated acts of vandalism, targeting prominent public institutions, including the Massachusetts State House, the George Washington Monument on the Public Garden and the MIT Stata Center." The complaint also alleged that "Sawaqed's actions have been deliberate, calculated and in furtherance of an ideology that advocates disruption through violence and criminal activity...He has shown a clear disregard for public safety and government property and has demonstrated the capability and willingness to escalate these acts through his association with DAMPL."

In claiming responsibility for vandalism, DAMPL frequently threatens further violent escalations. The group had earlier in July 2025 boasted on social media about an act of vandalism targeting the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and warned: “The next time we paint AIPAC walls in DC, it won’t be paint they’ll be cleaning up…,” followed by a blood drop emoji.

The Rise in Escalatory Anti-Israel Actions Post-October 7

DAMPL’s activities are part of a trend of similar escalatory actions (often referred to as “direct actions” or “autonomous actions”) by segments of the anti-Zionist movement who have become disillusioned with the effectiveness of “peaceful” protest, advocating instead for more aggressive and sometimes harmful acts like destruction or defacement of property, targeted arson attacks, and more. These types of activities have increased substantially since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Unity of Fields (formerly Palestine Action U.S.) is among the most well-known anti-Israel groups in the U.S. that advocates for “material” or “militant direct actions” that reads as violence in this context.

(Screenshot / Telegram)

DAMPL members, referred to by the group as “DAMPL Action Comrades,” affirm their commitment to “direct action” in a June 29, 2025, video posted on the group's social media.

“Direct actions” within the movement more broadly since October 7 have included vandalizing the homes of Jewish individuals and others accused of being “complicit in genocide,” attempting to sabotage companies allegedly tied to Israel, occupying buildings on university campuses, and more. In May 2025, Capital Jewish Museum shooting suspect Elias Rodriguez articulated beliefs in his alleged manifesto that demonstrated how this type of radical anti-Israel ideology can lead to the justification of deadly violence.

DAMPL was in its infancy at the time of the D.C. shooting, but DAMPL leadership praised Rodriguez’s actions and indicated that the group shared similar beliefs about the need for direct action.

Michael (Mike) Fantasia of Marlborough, MA—one of the self-described “founders” of DAMPL—responded to the Capital Jewish Museum shooting by posting a video of himself talking directly into the camera, stating, “Bodies will drop. Your relationship with the Zionist entity will cost you: your life or your funds, one or the other. No more do we ask nicely. No more do we chant for two hours and then go home. No more. If you aren’t with this, get the fuck out of our way and let us handle it.”

Fantasia further echoed these sentiments in another post shortly after the D.C. shooting: “If you are denouncing the murder of 2 zionists [sic] you are NOT WITH OUR MOVEMENT! IF YOU DONT SUPPORT RESISTANCE IN ALL ITS FORMS GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR WAY. BODIES WILL CONTINUE TO FALL UNTIL CHANGE IS MADE.” Fantasia also posted a photograph on Instagram of Yaron Lischinsky, one of the two Israeli embassy staffers murdered in the Capital Jewish Museum attack, and wrote: “Im [sic] so glad your [sic] dead.”

Fantasia had previously participated in traditional anti-Israel protests before adopting this more hardline approach.

On-the-Ground Activities

From the group’s launch in the spring through the summer of 2025, DAMPL activists engaged in what they called “Operation Global Monsoon”—an apparent reference to “Al-Aqsa Flood,” Hamas’s name for its October 7 attack. DAMPL described this campaign as an “international wave of coordinated direct actions aimed at dismantling the systems of domination upholding settler colonialism, western hegemony, and capitalist domination” and argued that “direct action is not t3rr0r1sm [terrorism]. It is res1stance [resistance].”

DAMPL is known to collaborate with other radical anti-Zionist organizations, both in the U.S. and internationally. For example, it has close ties to Palestine Actions Tunisia, sharing collaborative content online and affirming the groups’ ties on the ground. 

In June and July 2025, the group claimed responsibility for more than a dozen anti-Israel vandalism incidents in the U.S. and overseas. These included the following U.S.-based attacks:

• Boston, MA: Vandalism of the Massachusetts State House, including a splattered mixture of paint and feces and the spray-painted messages “DAMPL” and “DIVEST.”
• Boston, MA: Vandalism of the George Washington statue in the Boston Public Garden. Vandalism included splattered white paint and the acronym “DAMPL” and an inverted red triangle.
• Cambridge, MA: Vandalism of the Stata Center’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It featured the messages “DEATH TO THE IOF” [IOF being an abbreviation for “Israel Occupation Forces,” often used by anti-Israel activists to refer to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)], “FP” [“Free Palestine”] and “DAMPL.”
• Logan, OH: Vandalism of the Hocking County Civil War Memorial in a joint action with another radical pro-terror, anti-Zionist group, the Civilian Freedom Movement (CFM). Graffiti messages included “DMPL [sic],” “CFM,” “Glory Arron [sic] Bushnell” [a reference to the active-duty U.S. Air Force member who self-immolated outside the Israeli embassy in February 2024] and “Free Palestine.”
• Portland, OR: Vandalism of campus property at the University of Portland. Included splattered paint and the messages “FREE PALESTINE” and “DAMPL” alongside an inverted red triangle.
• Reston, VA: Vandalism of Microsoft Corporate Office.
• San Luis Obispo, CA: Vandalism of the Apple store that included the messages “HIND RAJAB” [the name of a young girl who was killed in Gaza in 2024] and “DAMPL” alongside an inverted red triangle.
• Washington, DC: Vandalism of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) headquarters that included a mixture of paint and dog feces, the message “FUCK ISRAEL” and inverted red triangles.
• Wilkes-Barre, PA: Vandalism of a General Dynamics manufacturing plant.

Internationally, DAMPL has claimed responsibility for actions including:

• Berlin, Germany: Vandalism of Coca-Cola HQ.
• Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Vandalism of Raytheon Technologies warehouse, including breaking windows and arson.
• St. Albert, Alberta, Canada: Vandalism of the office of Canadian MP Michael Cooper.
• Valencia, Spain: Vandalism of a Starbucks location.

Online Activities

DAMPL has had an active presence on various platforms, including Telegram, Instagram, TikTok, Signal, Discord, and UpScrolled, and seeks to use its expanding online footprint to draw activists and encourage further direct action globally.

DAMPL uses its social media accounts to claim responsibility for its “direct actions” and provides followers with instructions on engaging in such actions, from wheatpasting (to plaster materials to public and private property using a mixture of wheat flour or starch and water as an adhesive) to more destructive behavior.

DAMPL also uses its social media to spread anti-Israel propaganda, messaging from terror groups and “anti-imperialist” and anti-capitalist views. DAMPL has also promoted classic antisemitic tropes on its social media, such as alleging that Israel “controls” the U.S. government.

The group’s online activities demonstrate its admiration for U.S.-designated terror groups and the antisemitic violence they’ve committed. DAMPL has circulated Hamas content, including statements and videos that wholeheartedly endorse the October 7 attack and other violence.

(Screenshot / Telegram) 

Examples of Hamas content shared by DAMPL on its Telegram channel. 

The group has also adopted some of Hamas’s language and visual lexicon, including the terror group’s messaging, gestures and symbols, which are frequently used by DAMPL leadership on social media. DAMPL consistently glorifies Abu Obaida—the spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Obaida frequently appears in propaganda videos distributed by Hamas and is often glorified by extreme anti-Israel activists.

Fantasia has also repeatedly expressed support for Hamas and its leaders. Fantasia has used photographs of himself wearing a Hamas headband, as well as a shirt depicting former Hamas leader and October 7 attack architect Yahya Sinwar as his profile picture on social media. He has also posted a photograph of himself with two other self-described “DAMPL Founders,” with a flag bearing the image of Abu Obaida displayed in the background.

(Screenshot / Instagram)

A photograph posted on Instagram by Michael (Mike) Fantasia in May 2025, self-identifying the individuals pictured as “DAMPL Founders.” A flag bearing the image of Hamas spokesperson Abu Obaida can be seen displayed in the background, seemingly hanging from the balcony of Fantasia’s home in Marlborough, MA. 

The group often uses inverted red triangle imagery in its videos and in its graffiti to mark the targets of its “direct actions.” The inverted red triangle is a symbol first used by Hamas in propaganda videos after October 7, 2023, to mark Israeli targets, and which has since been popularized and used by some anti-Israel activists to glorify the use of violence.

In written statements, too, DAMPL uses language that indicates its support for violence. For example, DAMPL frequently signs its social media posts with the message, “Intifada until liberation. Palestine or we scorch the earth.” References to Intifada are frequently incorporated into anti-Israel slogans, such as “Globalize the Intifada,” which is generally understood as a call for indiscriminate violence against Israel, and potentially against Jews and Jewish institutions worldwide. Other phrases commonly seen in DAMPL posts include hashtags such as “#deathtoisrael” and “#deathtoallempire.”