Hasan Piker lashes out at Treasury subpoena over Cuba trip, says it’s ‘BS’

Marxist political influencer Hasan Piker has lashed out at the federal investigation into his recent trip to communist Cuba, saying it is an “intimidation tactic” prompted by his tough stance on Israel and the United States.

Piker’s response, echoed by other leaders from the Democratic Socialists of America and pro-communist and anti-Israel leaders, shows how quickly the Cuban “solidarity” movement, pro-communist influencers, and anti-Israel activist networks came together online to frame the federal investigation not as an investigation of sanctions or foreign influence but as political pressure aimed at broader anti-capitalist, anti-Western, anti-Israel activist movements.

During a livestream on Twitch on Sunday afternoon, Piker told his followers that he was being targeted for being a “loud” and “rabble-rouser” who criticized Israel and the “fascist” United States.

Fox News Digital reported Saturday that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued administrative subpoenas to Piker and leftist CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin to obtain documents related to the financial, logistical and contact details of their trips to Cuba in March, in possible violation of laws and regulations regarding doing business with the Cuban government.

“This isn’t great,” Piker told his followers in the first minutes of his livestream Sunday afternoon. “The news isn’t very good, okay? Um, I mean, it’s not great… But it’s still not great… I mean, it’s not great… but it’s still not great that they’re after your son. They’re after me…”

Piker did not respond to requests for comment, although he acknowledged taking the questions while speaking to his followers during the livestream. He said that he got his trip cleared by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, saying, “Everything we did was cleared by Treasury.”

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control did not respond to a request for comment.

At the end of his chapter on the federal investigation, Piker departed from the Cuban sanctions investigation, arguing that the scrutiny actually stemmed from reactions to his comments about Israel.

“A lot of this still has to do with Israel, by the way,” he said, charging that his critics “don’t like that I talk about Israel like that” and “don’t like that I’m a bomber, a mobster.”

He claimed that the investigation was “not just about Cuba” but also about his role in supporting anti-Israel voters and candidates.

“They are aware that Democrats and young people are against Israel,” he said, and they see him “campaigning with anti-Israel candidates and winning their races.”

FED, HASAN PIKER AND MEDEA BENJAMIN’S COURT FOR THEIR CUBA TRIPS

Piker’s response followed a pattern that has become common among the online activists studied: reframing a legal or regulatory investigation as political persecution and expanding the issue into an overarching ideological struggle. Rather than focusing narrowly on the sanctions questions surrounding his trip to Cuba, Piker has repeatedly cast himself as the victim of a coordinated campaign by “Israel first” Democrats, pro-Israel activists, mainstream media figures, and the “fascist” Trump administration.

He frequently shifted the conversation away from the details of the Treasury investigation and toward a broader narrative in which the federal government allegedly criminalizes anti-Israel activism, anti-capitalist politics and opposition to U.S. foreign policy. He sought to portray the investigation as evidence that powerful political and media institutions target dissident voices who challenge established attitudes about Israel, Cuba and American foreign policy.

At one point, Piker said he was serving as a journalist and was creating a mini-documentary about life in Cuba during his March trip. At other times he described the mission as a “humanitarian” effort and described his trip as providing “humanitarian aid” to the Cuban people.

Piker also described the debate using language increasingly emerging from online socialist, communist, and anti-capitalist movements, where activists use the phrase “Epstein class” as shorthand for the alleged moral corruption of wealthy elites and American capitalism. The rhetoric echoes the propaganda of America’s enemies, including Cuba, China, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia.

“We’ll set you free, bro,” read one fan’s comment.

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Democratic Socialists of America member Hasan Piker and CodePink co-founder Jodie Evans meet in Havana, Cuba, as part of the “United Front” supporting the communist regime. (CodePink via Storyful)

Piker responded: “It looks like I’m going to be an example of America’s gallop towards fascism.”

Yesterday, Elon Musk met Ashley St., the mother of Musk’s baby. After interviewing St. Clair, he dispelled suspicions that he had made a “boss call” to subpoena Piker. There is a custody dispute between the two.

“I haven’t received anything yet,” Piker said.

“Yes, I will get a lawyer,” he said in response to a follower.

He said he needed a lawyer who was an expert on the First Amendment and “knowledgeable about OFAC.”

“Nothing has happened to me yet,” he said. “And it’s unlike anything I’ve ever done.”

On Saturday evening, Piker shared a post on

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CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin arrives home in Washington DC with her partner Tighe Barry on May 11, 2026. (LG for Fox News Digital)

CodePink’s Benjamin posted at 22:51: “Is it now a crime to deliver medical supplies to pediatric hospitals in Cuba? Is it a crime to save babies’ lives? The management is beyond weird.”

Benjamin reiterated that the movement framed the Cuba trips more broadly as “humanitarian” missions, even as organizers and participants repeatedly paired aid campaigns with overt political rhetoric condemning the Trump administration, U.S. sanctions policy, and what activists describe as “imperialism” and “settler colonialism” in Cuba and Latin America.

Piker’s uncle, Cenk Ugyur, a far-left commentator and co-founder of Justice Democrats, a socialist organization that helped elect Ilhan Omar, Rashida Talib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Congress in 2018, defended Piker online Saturday night.

“It appears that the government has sent Hasan a ridiculous subpoena,” Ugyur wrote. “They tighten the noose on the conversation. Remember, they’ll always have an excuse or a technicality. It’s not like they’re going to tell you, ‘We did that because we didn’t like what you said.'”

Uygur later linked the investigation to broader left-wing allegations about the suppression of pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli speech, arguing that the government was using legal and procedural mechanisms to target political opposition rather than directly censoring viewpoints.

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Piker called CodePink co-founder Jodie Evans “an amazing person.” He took a photo in Havana with Evans, whom he shared on his Instagram account from Cuba.

A little after 3 p.m., an hour and 12 minutes into his livestream, Piker admitted: “I’d rather not have to deal with this.”

Half an hour later, he played a clip of Rep. Mike Lawler, R-Y., and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, DN.J., speaking about the rising tide of anti-Semitism, including Piker, who insisted he was being targeted for his strong opposition to the existence of the state of Israel.

At one point, Piker quipped as two lawmakers discussed reports of rising antisemitism in the US

Piker later switched to supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran in his talks with the United States and Israel to end the war in Iran; He mocked the Israeli delegation’s “chirp”, criticized US foreign policy for allegedly allowing “Israel to have control over our entire Middle East policy”, and shifted the focus of his monologue to criticism of the “Zionist” state of Israel and the “rogue” US.

Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton contributed to this report.

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