Far-left groups stage ‘ICE OUT’ protests against immigration enforcement nationwide
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A network of self-described socialist and communist organizations organized carefully coordinated protests targeting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement across the country on Friday, but their calls for nationwide closures of businesses, schools and commerce were mostly unsuccessful.
Many of the groups behind the demonstrations are affiliated with a group of nonprofits funded by tech mogul Neville Roy Singham, according to ongoing investigation by Fox News Digital. Singham, who lives in China and openly embraces Marxist ideology, used his extensive network to spread pro-Chinese Communist Party messages.
Organizers of an anti-ICE protest in Washington on Friday handed out dozens of prepared signs to be distributed to attendees. (Fox News Digital)
Fox News Digital was on hand in Washington, D.C., as activists gathered near the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station at 7th and H Street NW. At 2:49 p.m., a vehicle pulled into an alley near Walgreens, where a small group of activists from the local chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation were taking down dozens of bright yellow protest signs stapled to wooden stakes.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation is a self-described Marxist organization that has played a central role in past anti-police and anti-ICE demonstrations.
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Foot soldiers dispersed signs next to Planet Fitness, near the Chinatown Metro station.
At 3 p.m., the scheduled start time, one of the leaders of the Party for Socialism and Liberation carried a stack of banners to the corner and gave instructions.
“To the street” he shouted.
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Protesters followed silently behind, holding new banners.
The broader protest action was promoted as part of a “National Shutdown” planned for Friday, calling for “no work, no school, no shopping” against ICE operations across the country. Promotional materials accused federal immigration authorities of “terrorism” and demanded an end to ICE funding.
One sign read “STOP ICE TERROR NOW” in bold black letters, with “SOCIALISM AND LIBERATION PARTY” underneath in smaller letters.
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Organizations behind the protests included the Socialism and Liberation Party, as well as the People’s Forum, CodePink and BreakThrough News; these were all part of the communist ecosystem funded by Singham. CodePink co-founder Jodie Evans is married to Singham.
Other openly socialist and communist groups listed as endorsers or organizers included the Revolutionary Communists of America, the Communist Party USA and its regional offshoots, Socialists Without Borders, the Socialist Equality Party, the Freedom Trail Socialist Organization, Socialist Alternative, offshoots of the Democratic Socialists of America, Marxist student organizations such as the George Washington University Socialist Action Initiative, and revolutionary groups aligned with anti-capitalist causes.
The protest took place in the Chinatown area of Washington DC. (Fox News Digital)
Propaganda experts say such protests are aimed at creating a media narrative of a failed state, a key tactic of the insurgencies, and a narrative favorable to U.S. rivals such as China.
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In addition to far-left groups, organizations affiliated with the Democratic Party also took part in the protest coalition. Many chapters of Indivisible, a national activist network that frequently donates specifically to Democratic political campaigns, endorsed the protest.
The protest was organized by a network of far-left groups, including the Party for Socialism and Liberation. (Fox News Digital)
Other left-leaning civic and advocacy groups, including unions with ties to democratic politics, also signed on, blurring the lines between grassroots protests and partisan activism.
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Throughout the event, demonstrators took selfies, attacked cameras, and soon filtered away as police returned to the streets for a normal day.
“Where do you want to go for drinks?” one protester was heard asking another.
Fox News Digital’s Kiera McDonald and Hannah Brennan contributed to this article.
