A clash between conservative marchers and black-clad protesters in Portland this weekend, which left a conservative journalist roughed up and bloodied, has renewed attention in a movement dedicated to confronting white supremacists, right-wing extremists and, in some cases, ordinary supporters of President Trump.

Known as antifa, a contraction of the word “anti-fascist,” the loose affiliation of radical activists has surfaced in recent years at events around the country, including in opposition to the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.

Supporters of the leaderless ideology generally seek to stop what they see as fascist, racist and far-right groups from having a platform to promote their views, arguing that public demonstrations of those ideas lead to the targeting of minority people.

“The argument is that militant anti-fascism is inherently self-defense because of the historically documented violence that fascists pose, especially to marginalized people,” said Mark Bray, a history lecturer at Dartmouth College and the author of “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.”

Many antifa organizers also participate in more peaceful forms of community organizing, but they believe that using violence is justified because of their views that if racist or fascist groups are allowed to organize freely, “it will inevitably result in violence against marginalized communities,” said Mr. Bray, whose support for the anti-fascist movement has incited controversy at Dartmouth.

It is impossible to know how many people count themselves as members of antifa. Its followers acknowledge that the movement is secretive, without official leaders and organized into autonomous local cells. It is also only one in a constellation of activist movements that have come together in the past few years to the fight the far right.

Although the Merriam-Webster dictionary says the word “antifa” was first used in 1946 and was borrowed from a German phrase signaling an opposition to Nazism, more people began joining the antifa movement in the United States after the 2016 election of President Trump, to counter the threat they believed was posed by the so-called alt-right, Mr. Bray said.

The word and movement gained more visibility in 2017 after a series of events that put a spotlight on anti-fascist protesters, including the punching of a prominent alt-right member; the cancellation of an event by a right-wing writer at the University of California, Berkeley; and the protests in Charlottesville that turned violent.

In Portland last weekend, an activist clad in black, the usual uniform of antifa members, as well as anarchists and some other protest groups, struck the conservative journalist Andy Ngo in the face during a counterprotest against conservative marchers pushing a #HimToo message. Mr. Ngo, who was also pelted with milkshakes, reported the attack in a video livestreamed to his more than 140,000 Twitter followers.

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