A congressional hearing meant to brief lawmakers on the greatest global threats to the United States quickly evolved into a question session about the existence of antifa, a far-left militant faction, as House members on the Homeland Security committee seemed flummoxed and in disagreement about the nature of the movement.

Lawmakers focused their questions to FBI Director Christopher Wray on whether antifa is real, a conspiracy theory, who leads it, and how the government should respond, even though the witnesses focusing their opening remarks on foreign, not domestic, threats.