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  • ASRA NOMANI: Pro-Russia, pro-China radicals march against Trump: ‘Proud to identify as a socialist’This link opens in a new windowJan 20, 2025

    Soon after President Donald Trump took his oath of office across town at the U.S. Capitol, Johng Delacruz, 31, a local Filipino-American nurse, set out from another corner of the nation’s capital, on Meridian Hill off 16th Street NW, joining a cacophony of drums, chants, signs and conversations that left little ambiguity about the ideology bent of the gathering. 

    A man hoisted a pre-made sign, "SOCIALISM BEATS FACISM!" Beneath the message, the name of the organization that paid for the sign’s production: Democratic Socialists of America.

    WOKE ARMY RETREATS IN DC PROTEST, PIVOTS TO ‘FIGHT BACK’ FOR GAZA

    A pre-made neon green placard read: "WORKERS RIGHTS & PEOPLES NEEDS. NOT WAR & GENOCIDE," stamped with "Peoples Power Assembly," 

    Another slogan, "FIGHT TRUMP’S AGENDA," bore the smaller-print attribution to Freedom Road Socialist Organization. 

    A pre-printed banner carried by a group of demonstrators read: "WORKERS SHOULD HAVE POWER, NOT BILLIONAIRES!" Below it, the Party for Socialism and Liberation took credit.

    "I’m proud to identify as a socialist supporting socialist movements," Delacruz told me without hesitation. "I believe that is the future of humanity and the right side of history. Well, ‘left’ if you will," he added with a laugh.

    But you wouldn’t know that from the media coverage of this so-called professional "resistance" to Trump, with the Guardian reporting only that "anti-Trump protests sweep the globe on inauguration day." Voice of America merely describing the demonstrators as "anti-Trump protesters" and NBC News writing that "progressive groups" held marches around the country –  not a word about the self-described socialist dreams for many of the groups. 

    Nearby, three activists bundled in winter clothes carried a banner in the blue and red colors of Puerto Rico’s flag, also waving overhead. It bore the name, Diaspora Pa’lante Collective, advocating for Puerto Rico’s independence—and a socialist government to lead it.

    A man and a woman dressed in black masks dramatically pushed a faux guillotine, emblazoned with the ominous message: "COME GET SUM."

    These weren’t fringe gatherings of hobbyists. Among them was Medea Benjamin, the rich co-founder of Code Pink, marching with a cardboard heart-shaped sign painted hot pink.

    "The media doesn’t give a full and honest reportage of movements like this," Delacruz told me. "It holds a purpose to uphold the status quo of the capitalist system, if you will. If we believe socialism to be the antithesis to capitalism, then of course, it’s not going to cover it. I think at best it’ll say anti-Trump protesters from various grassroots movements, if that. But I highly doubt they will go with the particular calls and demands that we have."

    Understanding these demands is crucial. The groups here weren’t just protesting Trump—they were advancing socialism, Marxism and communism. Many of these organizations also have a pro-Russia stance, rooted in a propaganda tradition the Soviet Union pioneered: agitprop. Short for "agitation and propaganda," agitprop combines political messaging with provocative action to influence and mobilize. I call protests like this "agitprop actions."

    The journalists I spoke to at the rally admitted they rarely identify the groups behind the protests. "Audiences don’t really understand socialism," one reporter told me. "They tune out when they hear the word." It’s easier to reduce the activists to concepts their readers can grasp.

    On the eve of the protest, I stayed up until 3 a.m., researching the ideologies of the 205 groups involved nationwide in the January 20 protests, as part of reporting for the Pearl Project, a nonprofit investigative reporting project that I cofounded. My analysis: 27 were Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, or Islamist; 63 self-identified as socialist; and 115 fell into what I term "adjacent" categories.

    The protest industry is a complex and often opaque network of organizations, funding streams and ideological agendas that work together to orchestrate demonstrations, shape public narratives and influence political outcomes, like an effective "agitprop" operation. Understanding this ecosystem is critical because it reveals the motivations, alliances, and strategies behind what often appears to be spontaneous grassroots activism.

    Far from being isolated events, protests are frequently coordinated efforts involving global actors, local chapters, and significant financial backing. Through the Pearl Project, I aim to investigate and expose the mechanisms of this industry—identifying the players, tracing their funding and analyzing their impact. By shedding light on how protests are organized and sustained, positioning themselves now as the "resistance" to the Trump administration, I hope to provide transparency and equip the public with a deeper understanding of the forces shaping political discourse and activism.

    Walking through Meridian Hill Park revealed these agendas more clearly. The groups’ slogans championed socialism and anti-imperialism in countries like the Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, Cuba—and here in the U.S. Their endorsers didn’t hide their intentions.

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    The groups’ 205 "endorsers" nationwide don’t hide their agendas. Based in Salt Lake City, "Mormons with Hope for a Better World" says it is "committed to anti-racism, intersectional feminism, Trans and Queer liberation, disability justice, individual bodily autonomy, reproductive justice, socialism, anti-imperialism, and decolonization." Leaders of Qiao Collective, a media outlet say they seek to "be a bridge between the U.S. left and China’s rich Marxist, anti-imperialist political work and thought." The "Project for a Revolutionary Marxist International" has its agenda in its name.

    As the march turned from 16th Street NW onto Massachusetts Avenue NW, Lacy MacAuley, 46, became a focal point for cameras. Wearing a disco outfit for a nearby "dance-off protest," she donned a mask over her sunglasses that read: "TRUMP IS SO NOT THE VIBE."

    "I am an anarchist," she said with a smile. "I self-identify as one. That means I question and oppose hierarchies and the rule of people over others." While MacAuley criticized socialism as often becoming "too centralized," she added, "It’s thinking in the right direction."

    By the end of the day, the protest wound down at Dupont Circle. The scent of marijuana lingered in the air as demonstrators dispersed. One marcher shoved his sign into a trash can, its message peeking out: "WE FIGHT BACK NETWORK."

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM ASRA NOMANI


     

  • Trump makes presence felt during college football national championshipThis link opens in a new windowJan 20, 2025

    President Donald Trump had a taped message for college football fans who tuned into ESPN to watch the national championship between Notre Dame and Ohio State on Monday night.

    Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States earlier in the day. Although he’s been to national championships as president before, he was unable to go since it was his first day back in the White House. He still appeared to have the game on his mind.

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

    "Hello to my great, fellow Americans. This has been a historic and exciting day for our country. In recent years, our people have suffered greatly, but starting now, we’re going to bring America back and make it safer, richer and prouder than ever before," Trump said.

    "We’ll have a nation filled with compassion, strength and exceptionalism. Through our power and might, we will stop wars, and we will bring our world to peace. We will be respected again, and we will be admitted again — admired like we haven’t been in many, many years. We’ll put America first, and by doing so, we’re gonna make America great again."

    NOTRE DAME'S RILEY LEONARD POINTS TO FAVORITE BIBLE VERSE AFTER SCORING OPENING TD IN NATIONAL TITLE GAME

    Trump touted the excitement he’s seen around the country since he won the election over former Vice President Kamala Harris. He also had a message for the players competing in the game.

    "In less than three months since the election, you have already seen it happening. You can feel the excitement, and you can see the confidence and spirit returning to our nation. Together we are going to lead our county to glorious new heights. The golden age of America has just begun.

    "To all of the players and fans watching tonight, I know it’s been a long and difficult journey. It’s been a long season, but you have two tremendous teams, and get to the game and go out and fight hard and fight fair and let the better team win. And I’m going to enjoy watching it. Thank you, and good night."

    Vice President JD Vance must have been happy at halftime as Ohio State led the game, 21-7.

    Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

  • Nancy Pelosi slams Trump’s ‘shameful’ pardons of Jan 6 defendantsThis link opens in a new windowJan 20, 2025

    Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., slammed President Trump on Monday night for pardoning more than 1,000 people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots. 

    Trump signed pardons for approximately 1,500 defendants who were charged with crimes stemming from the riot at the U.S. Capitol, fulfilling a promise he made in December to act quickly and pardon them. 

    Trump also commuted the sentences of six people on Monday, including the leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups.

    BIDEN TAKES DEPARTING JAB AT TRUMP, SAYS HE WAS ‘GENUINE THREAT TO DEMOCRACY’

    But Pelosi called the move "shameful" and said to remember the "courage" of law enforcement "heroes" who "ensured that democracy survived."

    "The President's actions are an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution," Pelosi, who didn’t attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday, said in a statement posted to X.

    "It is shameful that the President has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers who put their lives on the line to stop an attempt to subvert the peaceful transfer of power," Pelosi wrote.

    DOJ SEEKS TO BLOCK JAN. 6 DEFENDANTS FROM ATTENDING TRUMP INAUGURATION 

    The Justice Department reported that approximately 140 police officers were assaulted during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. That included law enforcement members from both the U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.

    Trump announced earlier on Monday at his inaugural parade at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., he would issue pardons for the "hostages."

    "Tonight I'm going to be signing on the J6 hostages, pardons to get them out," Trump said at the parade at Capital One Arena. "I'm going to the Oval Office, and we'll be signing pardons for a lot of people."

    So far, judges or a jury after a trial have convicted roughly 250 people who faced charges for their involvement in the riot, and more than 1,000 had pleaded guilty to crimes as of January.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.