Former President Donald Trump took aim at Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) on Thursday over the governor’s ties to a Muslim cleric who promoted a pro-Hitler movie.

“He’s praised a Hitler-supporting radical Muslim iman named Asad Zaman, calling him a ‘master teacher,’” Trump said in a speech in New Jersey to Jewish community leaders, citing exclusive reporting from the Washington Examiner.

“He knew him for a long time,” Trump said, referring to Walz’s relationship with Asad Zaman of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota that the Harris campaign has sought to dismiss. “He’s a ‘master teacher.’ If Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are elected, the radical-left flag burners and Hamas sympathizers will not just be causing chaos on our streets. They’ll be running U.S. foreign policy in the White House, and Israel will be gone.”

This week, the Washington Examiner published footage showing that Walz praised the cleric at a 2018 event hosted by his group, the Muslim American Society of Minnesota.

“I am a teacher, so when I see a master teacher, I know it. Over the time we’ve spent together, one of the things I’ve had the privilege of is seeing the things in life through the eye of a master teacher, to try and get the understanding,” Walz said of Zaman at the event. “It was imam talking [saying that] ‘in those times is where we find who we are, in those times is where we really see.’”

Zaman has come under fire and been thrust into the national spotlight over his ties to Walz. Zaman said on Oct. 7, 2023, that he “stands in solidarity with Palestinians against Israeli attacks” after 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas terrorists. Zaman once shared a link to an article on a website in 2015 for a pro-Hitler film called The Greatest Story Never Told, among other controversial posts.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

In a Friday statement, the Anti-Defamation League said Zaman “has a troubling history of playing into classic anti-Jewish themes and justifying violence against Israel.”

Zaman released a statement on Wednesday blaming the “MAGA camp” for criticism of his prior comments but did not dispute the Washington Examiner’s reporting.

2024-08-16 00:49:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fcampaigns%2Fpresidential%2F3123661%2Ftrump-blasts-tim-walz-ties-muslim-cleric-who-shared-pro-hitler-film%2F?w=600&h=450, Former President Donald Trump took aim at Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) on Thursday over the governor’s ties to a Muslim cleric who promoted a pro-Hitler movie. “He’s praised a Hitler-supporting radical Muslim iman named Asad Zaman, calling him a ‘master teacher,’” Trump said in a speech in New Jersey to Jewish,

Former President Donald Trump took aim at Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) on Thursday over the governor’s ties to a Muslim cleric who promoted a pro-Hitler movie.

“He’s praised a Hitler-supporting radical Muslim iman named Asad Zaman, calling him a ‘master teacher,’” Trump said in a speech in New Jersey to Jewish community leaders, citing exclusive reporting from the Washington Examiner.

“He knew him for a long time,” Trump said, referring to Walz’s relationship with Asad Zaman of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota that the Harris campaign has sought to dismiss. “He’s a ‘master teacher.’ If Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are elected, the radical-left flag burners and Hamas sympathizers will not just be causing chaos on our streets. They’ll be running U.S. foreign policy in the White House, and Israel will be gone.”

This week, the Washington Examiner published footage showing that Walz praised the cleric at a 2018 event hosted by his group, the Muslim American Society of Minnesota.

“I am a teacher, so when I see a master teacher, I know it. Over the time we’ve spent together, one of the things I’ve had the privilege of is seeing the things in life through the eye of a master teacher, to try and get the understanding,” Walz said of Zaman at the event. “It was imam talking [saying that] ‘in those times is where we find who we are, in those times is where we really see.’”

Zaman has come under fire and been thrust into the national spotlight over his ties to Walz. Zaman said on Oct. 7, 2023, that he “stands in solidarity with Palestinians against Israeli attacks” after 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas terrorists. Zaman once shared a link to an article on a website in 2015 for a pro-Hitler film called The Greatest Story Never Told, among other controversial posts.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

In a Friday statement, the Anti-Defamation League said Zaman “has a troubling history of playing into classic anti-Jewish themes and justifying violence against Israel.”

Zaman released a statement on Wednesday blaming the “MAGA camp” for criticism of his prior comments but did not dispute the Washington Examiner’s reporting.

, Former President Donald Trump took aim at Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) on Thursday over the governor’s ties to a Muslim cleric who promoted a pro-Hitler movie. “He’s praised a Hitler-supporting radical Muslim iman named Asad Zaman, calling him a ‘master teacher,’” Trump said in a speech in New Jersey to Jewish community leaders, citing exclusive reporting from the Washington Examiner. “He knew him for a long time,” Trump said, referring to Walz’s relationship with Asad Zaman of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota that the Harris campaign has sought to dismiss. “He’s a ‘master teacher.’ If Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are elected, the radical-left flag burners and Hamas sympathizers will not just be causing chaos on our streets. They’ll be running U.S. foreign policy in the White House, and Israel will be gone.” This week, the Washington Examiner published footage showing that Walz praised the cleric at a 2018 event hosted by his group, the Muslim American Society of Minnesota. “I am a teacher, so when I see a master teacher, I know it. Over the time we’ve spent together, one of the things I’ve had the privilege of is seeing the things in life through the eye of a master teacher, to try and get the understanding,” Walz said of Zaman at the event. “It was imam talking [saying that] ‘in those times is where we find who we are, in those times is where we really see.’” Zaman has come under fire and been thrust into the national spotlight over his ties to Walz. Zaman said on Oct. 7, 2023, that he “stands in solidarity with Palestinians against Israeli attacks” after 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas terrorists. Zaman once shared a link to an article on a website in 2015 for a pro-Hitler film called The Greatest Story Never Told, among other controversial posts. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER In a Friday statement, the Anti-Defamation League said Zaman “has a troubling history of playing into classic anti-Jewish themes and justifying violence against Israel.” Zaman released a statement on Wednesday blaming the “MAGA camp” for criticism of his prior comments but did not dispute the Washington Examiner’s reporting. Well, here they go again! pic.twitter.com/mJ8heVHn9B — Imam Asad Zaman (@ImamAsadZaman) August 14, 2024, , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Trump-Gaza.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Gabe Kaminsky,

A project of a left-wing dark money group linked to anti-Israel protests inaccurately labeled Hansjorg Wyss, a Swiss billionaire and philanthropist, as Jewish in an attempt to frame Republicans as antisemitic.

A More Perfect Union, an initiative under the San Francisco-based Tides Center, a nonprofit organization funding groups behind Hamas-sympathetic rallies following the Oct. 7 attack, published an article earlier this year declaring that critics attack “wealthy Jewish philanthropists” such as Wyss and George Soros, a Holocaust survivor, as “part of a larger effort to paint wealthy Jews as sinister puppeteers.” The article focused on the term “Zuckerbucks” that the GOP has used since 2020 to refer to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s grants to election agencies that they argue promoted illegality.

“While the term may seem harmless, it has a dark side — as well as implications for Jews and for American democracy,” Sofi Hersher Andorsky, vice president for strategy and communications at A More Perfect Union, wrote in the article. “Even though Zuckerberg stopped providing donations to election offices, ‘Zuckerbucks’ has continued to resonate as a coded allusion to wealthy Jews attempting to influence elections and seize power.”

There’s just one problem: Wyss, who has come under the spotlight as lawmakers investigate foreign influence in elections, is not actually Jewish, a spokesperson for the billionaire confirmed to the Washington Examiner.

Now, a correction note is affixed to the article by Andorsky, a former Twitter, now X, employee.

“An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Hansborg Wyss is Jewish,” the correction, which misspelled Wyss’s first name, read. “A spokesman for Mr. Wyss confirmed he is not. We have corrected this article to reflect this information.”

The factual inaccuracy printed about Wyss by the dark money group ironically comes as A More Perfect Union’s parent group, the Tides Center, finances entities connected to antisemitic protests in the United States. The protests are being investigated by watchdog groups and GOP members of Congress over national security concerns.

The Tides Center sponsors the Arab Resource & Organizing Center, which helped coordinate the recent violent protest in Washington, D.C., against Israel. The Tides Center and its affiliate, the Tides Foundation, also fund a charity housing the Palestinian Youth Movement, Students for Justice in Palestine, and other anti-Israel activist hubs, tax records show. Soros is a financial backer of the Tides Center and the Tides Foundation.

“This pop-up group claims to care about democracy and Jews,” said Scott Walter, president of the conservative Capital Research Center think tank. “How ironic it’s fiscally sponsored by a massive network of Democratic-aligned ‘dark money’ that assists multiple groups supporting Hamas’s crusade against Israel.”

A More Perfect Union did not reply to a request for comment. A source close to the group told the Washington Examiner it regrets the error and had wrong information about Wyss. A spokesperson for Wyss did not say whether he is religious or not.

Wyss, 88, routes his fortune through a private foundation in D.C., which has an affiliated advocacy and lobbying arm funding left-wing causes. In recent years, Republicans have scrutinized his giving as they investigate alleged loopholes allowing foreign nationals to exert influence over elections.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Wyss, however, insists he is above board. In 2022, the Federal Election Commission notably found that he made $119,000 in illegal political donations between 1990 and 2006. But the regulator declined to take action against Wyss, saying the statute of limitations had passed.

“The Wyss Foundation and Berger Action Fund do not support or oppose political candidates or engage in electoral activities, and complies with the rules, laws, and disclosure requirements governing their activities,” Marnee Banks, a spokeswoman for the two groups, recently told the Washington Examiner. “Any allegations to the contrary are patently false.”

2024-08-06 07:00:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2F3110664%2Fbillionaire-falsely-labeled-jewish-dark-money-group-antisemitism%2F?w=600&h=450, A project of a left-wing dark money group linked to anti-Israel protests inaccurately labeled Hansjorg Wyss, a Swiss billionaire and philanthropist, as Jewish in an attempt to frame Republicans as antisemitic. A More Perfect Union, an initiative under the San Francisco-based Tides Center, a nonprofit organization funding groups behind Hamas-sympathetic rallies following the Oct. 7,

A project of a left-wing dark money group linked to anti-Israel protests inaccurately labeled Hansjorg Wyss, a Swiss billionaire and philanthropist, as Jewish in an attempt to frame Republicans as antisemitic.

A More Perfect Union, an initiative under the San Francisco-based Tides Center, a nonprofit organization funding groups behind Hamas-sympathetic rallies following the Oct. 7 attack, published an article earlier this year declaring that critics attack “wealthy Jewish philanthropists” such as Wyss and George Soros, a Holocaust survivor, as “part of a larger effort to paint wealthy Jews as sinister puppeteers.” The article focused on the term “Zuckerbucks” that the GOP has used since 2020 to refer to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s grants to election agencies that they argue promoted illegality.

“While the term may seem harmless, it has a dark side — as well as implications for Jews and for American democracy,” Sofi Hersher Andorsky, vice president for strategy and communications at A More Perfect Union, wrote in the article. “Even though Zuckerberg stopped providing donations to election offices, ‘Zuckerbucks’ has continued to resonate as a coded allusion to wealthy Jews attempting to influence elections and seize power.”

There’s just one problem: Wyss, who has come under the spotlight as lawmakers investigate foreign influence in elections, is not actually Jewish, a spokesperson for the billionaire confirmed to the Washington Examiner.

Now, a correction note is affixed to the article by Andorsky, a former Twitter, now X, employee.

“An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Hansborg Wyss is Jewish,” the correction, which misspelled Wyss’s first name, read. “A spokesman for Mr. Wyss confirmed he is not. We have corrected this article to reflect this information.”

The factual inaccuracy printed about Wyss by the dark money group ironically comes as A More Perfect Union’s parent group, the Tides Center, finances entities connected to antisemitic protests in the United States. The protests are being investigated by watchdog groups and GOP members of Congress over national security concerns.

The Tides Center sponsors the Arab Resource & Organizing Center, which helped coordinate the recent violent protest in Washington, D.C., against Israel. The Tides Center and its affiliate, the Tides Foundation, also fund a charity housing the Palestinian Youth Movement, Students for Justice in Palestine, and other anti-Israel activist hubs, tax records show. Soros is a financial backer of the Tides Center and the Tides Foundation.

“This pop-up group claims to care about democracy and Jews,” said Scott Walter, president of the conservative Capital Research Center think tank. “How ironic it’s fiscally sponsored by a massive network of Democratic-aligned ‘dark money’ that assists multiple groups supporting Hamas’s crusade against Israel.”

A More Perfect Union did not reply to a request for comment. A source close to the group told the Washington Examiner it regrets the error and had wrong information about Wyss. A spokesperson for Wyss did not say whether he is religious or not.

Wyss, 88, routes his fortune through a private foundation in D.C., which has an affiliated advocacy and lobbying arm funding left-wing causes. In recent years, Republicans have scrutinized his giving as they investigate alleged loopholes allowing foreign nationals to exert influence over elections.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Wyss, however, insists he is above board. In 2022, the Federal Election Commission notably found that he made $119,000 in illegal political donations between 1990 and 2006. But the regulator declined to take action against Wyss, saying the statute of limitations had passed.

“The Wyss Foundation and Berger Action Fund do not support or oppose political candidates or engage in electoral activities, and complies with the rules, laws, and disclosure requirements governing their activities,” Marnee Banks, a spokeswoman for the two groups, recently told the Washington Examiner. “Any allegations to the contrary are patently false.”

, A project of a left-wing dark money group linked to anti-Israel protests inaccurately labeled Hansjorg Wyss, a Swiss billionaire and philanthropist, as Jewish in an attempt to frame Republicans as antisemitic. A More Perfect Union, an initiative under the San Francisco-based Tides Center, a nonprofit organization funding groups behind Hamas-sympathetic rallies following the Oct. 7 attack, published an article earlier this year declaring that critics attack “wealthy Jewish philanthropists” such as Wyss and George Soros, a Holocaust survivor, as “part of a larger effort to paint wealthy Jews as sinister puppeteers.” The article focused on the term “Zuckerbucks” that the GOP has used since 2020 to refer to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s grants to election agencies that they argue promoted illegality. “While the term may seem harmless, it has a dark side — as well as implications for Jews and for American democracy,” Sofi Hersher Andorsky, vice president for strategy and communications at A More Perfect Union, wrote in the article. “Even though Zuckerberg stopped providing donations to election offices, ‘Zuckerbucks’ has continued to resonate as a coded allusion to wealthy Jews attempting to influence elections and seize power.” There’s just one problem: Wyss, who has come under the spotlight as lawmakers investigate foreign influence in elections, is not actually Jewish, a spokesperson for the billionaire confirmed to the Washington Examiner. Now, a correction note is affixed to the article by Andorsky, a former Twitter, now X, employee. “An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Hansborg Wyss is Jewish,” the correction, which misspelled Wyss’s first name, read. “A spokesman for Mr. Wyss confirmed he is not. We have corrected this article to reflect this information.” From left, Hansjorg Wyss, Michael Bloomberg, and Sam Waterston attend Oceana’s 2015 New York City benefit at Four Seasons Restaurant on April 1, 2015 in New York City. ( Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Oceana) The factual inaccuracy printed about Wyss by the dark money group ironically comes as A More Perfect Union’s parent group, the Tides Center, finances entities connected to antisemitic protests in the United States. The protests are being investigated by watchdog groups and GOP members of Congress over national security concerns. The Tides Center sponsors the Arab Resource & Organizing Center, which helped coordinate the recent violent protest in Washington, D.C., against Israel. The Tides Center and its affiliate, the Tides Foundation, also fund a charity housing the Palestinian Youth Movement, Students for Justice in Palestine, and other anti-Israel activist hubs, tax records show. Soros is a financial backer of the Tides Center and the Tides Foundation. “This pop-up group claims to care about democracy and Jews,” said Scott Walter, president of the conservative Capital Research Center think tank. “How ironic it’s fiscally sponsored by a massive network of Democratic-aligned ‘dark money’ that assists multiple groups supporting Hamas’s crusade against Israel.” A More Perfect Union did not reply to a request for comment. A source close to the group told the Washington Examiner it regrets the error and had wrong information about Wyss. A spokesperson for Wyss did not say whether he is religious or not. Wyss, 88, routes his fortune through a private foundation in D.C., which has an affiliated advocacy and lobbying arm funding left-wing causes. In recent years, Republicans have scrutinized his giving as they investigate alleged loopholes allowing foreign nationals to exert influence over elections. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Wyss, however, insists he is above board. In 2022, the Federal Election Commission notably found that he made $119,000 in illegal political donations between 1990 and 2006. But the regulator declined to take action against Wyss, saying the statute of limitations had passed. “The Wyss Foundation and Berger Action Fund do not support or oppose political candidates or engage in electoral activities, and complies with the rules, laws, and disclosure requirements governing their activities,” Marnee Banks, a spokeswoman for the two groups, recently told the Washington Examiner. “Any allegations to the contrary are patently false.”, , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/512px-Hansjorg_Wyss_profile_image.png, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Gabe Kaminsky,

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is under fire from Republicans following a Washington Examiner report revealing the senator praised a poster depicting former President Donald Trump dead in front of the White House.

“It’s sick and twisted that Dems like Jon Tester are always fantasizing about my father being killed,” Donald Trump Jr., the eldest child of the former president, posted on X on Thursday. Tim Sheehy, the Republican Senate nominee in Montana running against Tester in 2024, also called Tester “sick.”

“The vile, dangerous rhetoric from radical Democrats has no place in Montana,” Sheehy posted on X. “Montana stands with President Trump and may God protect him as he fights to save America for WE THE PEOPLE! #RetireTester.”

The Montana Republican Party called Tester “a sick man” after the Thursday report, adding, “Montanans stand with President Trump and come November we are ready to #RetireTester to put a stop to this vile rhetoric!”

The GOP was reacting to the fact that Tester, in his 2020 book Grounded: A Rural Democrat’s Fight to Unite a Divided America, wrote that he “actually loved” an apocalyptic Pearl Jam concert poster co-created by the rock band’s bassist, Jeff Ament. The poster, which sparked controversy in 2018, was part of promotional materials for an August 2018 concert fundraiser for Tester’s campaign and featured Trump lying dead on the ground, with the White House, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial on fire.

“As soon as word spread of how wild the posters were, fans stood in line for hours to buy them all up at $35 a pop. Christie showed me a copy, gritting her teeth,” Tester wrote in his book, referring to his then-campaign manager, Christie Roberts.

“And there’s an unmistakable image of me, flying on my tractor above the fire and fury, waving with my two-fingered left hand,” the senator added. “‘This is so … interesting,’ I told Christie. Though the poster was off message, I didn’t want to admit to her that I actually loved it. None of us knew about the posters before we saw them on sale at the concert.”

However, Tester’s passage in the book diverged from his campaign’s sentiment in 2018. At the time, Tester’s campaign claimed that it neither condoned violence nor approved of the poster, which also depicted Tester flying on a tractor above the word “vote” in the sky.

The revelation of Tester’s comments in the book comes after the recent attempted assassination of Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania, at a political rally. Democrats, including Tester, condemned the July 13 attack. Still, in the aftermath of the attempted assassination, the GOP has slammed Democrats for their rhetoric against Trump, including them calling him an “existential threat” to democracy, holding that such remarks could fuel violence against political opponents.

“What is wrong with Jon Tester?” the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which works to elect GOP senators, posted on X on Thursday.

“Far-left Senator Jon Tester should apologize to Trump IMMEDIATELY!” Bruesewitz posted on X.

2024-08-02 15:33:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fsenate%2F3108679%2Ftester-under-fire-praising-poster-trump-dead-sick-twisted%2F?w=600&h=450, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is under fire from Republicans following a Washington Examiner report revealing the senator praised a poster depicting former President Donald Trump dead in front of the White House. “It’s sick and twisted that Dems like Jon Tester are always fantasizing about my father being killed,” Donald Trump Jr., the eldest child,

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is under fire from Republicans following a Washington Examiner report revealing the senator praised a poster depicting former President Donald Trump dead in front of the White House.

“It’s sick and twisted that Dems like Jon Tester are always fantasizing about my father being killed,” Donald Trump Jr., the eldest child of the former president, posted on X on Thursday. Tim Sheehy, the Republican Senate nominee in Montana running against Tester in 2024, also called Tester “sick.”

“The vile, dangerous rhetoric from radical Democrats has no place in Montana,” Sheehy posted on X. “Montana stands with President Trump and may God protect him as he fights to save America for WE THE PEOPLE! #RetireTester.”

The Montana Republican Party called Tester “a sick man” after the Thursday report, adding, “Montanans stand with President Trump and come November we are ready to #RetireTester to put a stop to this vile rhetoric!”

The GOP was reacting to the fact that Tester, in his 2020 book Grounded: A Rural Democrat’s Fight to Unite a Divided America, wrote that he “actually loved” an apocalyptic Pearl Jam concert poster co-created by the rock band’s bassist, Jeff Ament. The poster, which sparked controversy in 2018, was part of promotional materials for an August 2018 concert fundraiser for Tester’s campaign and featured Trump lying dead on the ground, with the White House, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial on fire.

“As soon as word spread of how wild the posters were, fans stood in line for hours to buy them all up at $35 a pop. Christie showed me a copy, gritting her teeth,” Tester wrote in his book, referring to his then-campaign manager, Christie Roberts.

“And there’s an unmistakable image of me, flying on my tractor above the fire and fury, waving with my two-fingered left hand,” the senator added. “‘This is so … interesting,’ I told Christie. Though the poster was off message, I didn’t want to admit to her that I actually loved it. None of us knew about the posters before we saw them on sale at the concert.”

However, Tester’s passage in the book diverged from his campaign’s sentiment in 2018. At the time, Tester’s campaign claimed that it neither condoned violence nor approved of the poster, which also depicted Tester flying on a tractor above the word “vote” in the sky.

The revelation of Tester’s comments in the book comes after the recent attempted assassination of Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania, at a political rally. Democrats, including Tester, condemned the July 13 attack. Still, in the aftermath of the attempted assassination, the GOP has slammed Democrats for their rhetoric against Trump, including them calling him an “existential threat” to democracy, holding that such remarks could fuel violence against political opponents.

“What is wrong with Jon Tester?” the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which works to elect GOP senators, posted on X on Thursday.

“Far-left Senator Jon Tester should apologize to Trump IMMEDIATELY!” Bruesewitz posted on X.

, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is under fire from Republicans following a Washington Examiner report revealing the senator praised a poster depicting former President Donald Trump dead in front of the White House. “It’s sick and twisted that Dems like Jon Tester are always fantasizing about my father being killed,” Donald Trump Jr., the eldest child of the former president, posted on X on Thursday. Tim Sheehy, the Republican Senate nominee in Montana running against Tester in 2024, also called Tester “sick.” “The vile, dangerous rhetoric from radical Democrats has no place in Montana,” Sheehy posted on X. “Montana stands with President Trump and may God protect him as he fights to save America for WE THE PEOPLE! #RetireTester.” The Montana Republican Party called Tester “a sick man” after the Thursday report, adding, “Montanans stand with President Trump and come November we are ready to #RetireTester to put a stop to this vile rhetoric!” The GOP was reacting to the fact that Tester, in his 2020 book Grounded: A Rural Democrat’s Fight to Unite a Divided America, wrote that he “actually loved” an apocalyptic Pearl Jam concert poster co-created by the rock band’s bassist, Jeff Ament. The poster, which sparked controversy in 2018, was part of promotional materials for an August 2018 concert fundraiser for Tester’s campaign and featured Trump lying dead on the ground, with the White House, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial on fire. It”s sick and twisted that Dems like Jon Tester are always fantasizing about my father being killed. Washington Examiner: Jon Tester praised Pearl Jam poster depicting Trump dead, records showhttps://t.co/WJot4ElW8H — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 1, 2024 “As soon as word spread of how wild the posters were, fans stood in line for hours to buy them all up at $35 a pop. Christie showed me a copy, gritting her teeth,” Tester wrote in his book, referring to his then-campaign manager, Christie Roberts. “And there’s an unmistakable image of me, flying on my tractor above the fire and fury, waving with my two-fingered left hand,” the senator added. “‘This is so … interesting,’ I told Christie. Though the poster was off message, I didn’t want to admit to her that I actually loved it. None of us knew about the posters before we saw them on sale at the concert.” However, Tester’s passage in the book diverged from his campaign’s sentiment in 2018. At the time, Tester’s campaign claimed that it neither condoned violence nor approved of the poster, which also depicted Tester flying on a tractor above the word “vote” in the sky. The revelation of Tester’s comments in the book comes after the recent attempted assassination of Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania, at a political rally. Democrats, including Tester, condemned the July 13 attack. Still, in the aftermath of the attempted assassination, the GOP has slammed Democrats for their rhetoric against Trump, including them calling him an “existential threat” to democracy, holding that such remarks could fuel violence against political opponents. “What is wrong with Jon Tester?” the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which works to elect GOP senators, posted on X on Thursday. This is the poster showing President Trump dead that Jon Tester says he loved. What is wrong with Jon Tester? https://t.co/3W4nWBy7e6 pic.twitter.com/zQMLOBtM0K — Senate Republicans (@NRSC) August 1, 2024 CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Alex Bruesewitz, a Trump-allied political consultant, called Tester’s embrace of the poster “disgusting.” “Far-left Senator Jon Tester should apologize to Trump IMMEDIATELY!” Bruesewitz posted on X., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Jon-Tester-GOP-Pearl-Jam-scaled-1024×683.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Gabe Kaminsky,

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) praised an apocalyptic Pearl Jam concert poster that depicted former President Donald Trump dead in front of the White House, records show.

In 2018, as Tester was seeking a third term, controversy swirled over promotional materials for an Aug. 13 concert fundraiser for the senator’s campaign featuring a drawing of Trump lying dead on the ground, with the White House, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial ablaze. At the time, Tester’s campaign insisted it neither condoned violence nor approved of the poster, which also depicted a gleeful Tester flying on a tractor above the word “vote” etched in the sky. The poster was co-created by Jeff Ament, a longtime friend of Tester and Pearl Jam’s bassist, Jeff Ament, the Washington Post reported in 2018.

However, despite the Tester campaign condemning the anti-Trump art in 2018, the senator hummed to a different tune in a passage buried in his 2020 book Grounded: A Rural Democrat’s Fight to Unite a Divided America, the Washington Examiner found. In the book, Tester revealed that he “actually loved” the Pearl Jam poster. Pearl Jam, a rock band whose lead vocalist is Eddie Vedder, was formed in Seattle in 1990.

“As soon as word spread of how wild the posters were, fans stood in line for hours to buy them all up at $35 a pop. Christie showed me a copy, gritting her teeth,” Tester wrote in his book, referring to his then-campaign manager, Christie Roberts.

“And there’s an unmistakable image of me, flying on my tractor above the fire and fury, waving with my two-fingered left hand,” the senator continued. “‘This is so … interesting,’ I told Christie. Though the poster was off message, I didn’t want to admit to her that I actually loved it. None of us knew about the posters before we saw them on sale at the concert.”

Tester also wrote in his book that “the big news” during the event “wasn’t the music; it was the artwork.”

News of Tester’s embrace of the artwork comes after the recent assassination attempt on Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The senator said in July he was “appalled by the violence at the political rally” and wrote a letter to other lawmakers requesting an investigation into the event, which he called a “tragedy.”

In the aftermath of the attempted assassination, Republicans have cast blame on Democrats for their rhetoric, calling Trump an “existential threat” to democracy, arguing that such claims could fuel extremist activity.

President Joe Biden said in June at a rally in North Carolina that Trump “is a genuine threat to this nation.” Days later, at a Wisconsin rally, Biden said, “I mean what I said: We cannot let Trump win. No, I mean, that’s not hyperbole. We can’t. This is the most dangerous election in American history.”

Tester’s campaign declined a request for comment, pointing the Washington Examiner to his statement in July following the assassination attempt.

“Tester’s violent rhetoric toward President Trump is sick,” said Mike Berg, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The spokesman for the NRSC, which works to elect Republicans to the upper chamber, also pointed to comments Tester made in 2019 declaring that the way to beat Trump was to “punch him in the face.”

“I don’t think, even in states where Donald Trump won big, that it does you any good running away from Donald Trump,” Tester said during an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe in 2019. “I think you need to go back and punch him in the face. I mean, the truth is this guy is bad for this country.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

On Aug. 21, Tester will appear alongside Ament, the Pearl Jam bassist, for a fundraiser in Missoula, Montana. The event is included in a package for “Big Sky Rocker” and “Super Fan” donors giving at least $400 to Tester, the Montana Free Press reported. The 2024 election fundraiser is one day before an Aug. 22 Pearl Jam concert at the University of Montana.

Tester faces a competitive challenge in Montana this year from Tim Sheehy, a businessman and ex-Navy SEAL. The Senate seat is widely viewed as a toss-up. Sheehy led Tester by five percentage points in a recent poll.

2024-08-01 09:01:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fsenate%2F3106054%2Fjon-tester-pearl-jam-poster-trump-dead%2F?w=600&h=450, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) praised an apocalyptic Pearl Jam concert poster that depicted former President Donald Trump dead in front of the White House, records show. In 2018, as Tester was seeking a third term, controversy swirled over promotional materials for an Aug. 13 concert fundraiser for the senator’s campaign featuring a drawing of Trump,

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) praised an apocalyptic Pearl Jam concert poster that depicted former President Donald Trump dead in front of the White House, records show.

In 2018, as Tester was seeking a third term, controversy swirled over promotional materials for an Aug. 13 concert fundraiser for the senator’s campaign featuring a drawing of Trump lying dead on the ground, with the White House, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial ablaze. At the time, Tester’s campaign insisted it neither condoned violence nor approved of the poster, which also depicted a gleeful Tester flying on a tractor above the word “vote” etched in the sky. The poster was co-created by Jeff Ament, a longtime friend of Tester and Pearl Jam’s bassist, Jeff Ament, the Washington Post reported in 2018.

However, despite the Tester campaign condemning the anti-Trump art in 2018, the senator hummed to a different tune in a passage buried in his 2020 book Grounded: A Rural Democrat’s Fight to Unite a Divided America, the Washington Examiner found. In the book, Tester revealed that he “actually loved” the Pearl Jam poster. Pearl Jam, a rock band whose lead vocalist is Eddie Vedder, was formed in Seattle in 1990.

“As soon as word spread of how wild the posters were, fans stood in line for hours to buy them all up at $35 a pop. Christie showed me a copy, gritting her teeth,” Tester wrote in his book, referring to his then-campaign manager, Christie Roberts.

“And there’s an unmistakable image of me, flying on my tractor above the fire and fury, waving with my two-fingered left hand,” the senator continued. “‘This is so … interesting,’ I told Christie. Though the poster was off message, I didn’t want to admit to her that I actually loved it. None of us knew about the posters before we saw them on sale at the concert.”

Tester also wrote in his book that “the big news” during the event “wasn’t the music; it was the artwork.”

News of Tester’s embrace of the artwork comes after the recent assassination attempt on Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The senator said in July he was “appalled by the violence at the political rally” and wrote a letter to other lawmakers requesting an investigation into the event, which he called a “tragedy.”

In the aftermath of the attempted assassination, Republicans have cast blame on Democrats for their rhetoric, calling Trump an “existential threat” to democracy, arguing that such claims could fuel extremist activity.

President Joe Biden said in June at a rally in North Carolina that Trump “is a genuine threat to this nation.” Days later, at a Wisconsin rally, Biden said, “I mean what I said: We cannot let Trump win. No, I mean, that’s not hyperbole. We can’t. This is the most dangerous election in American history.”

Tester’s campaign declined a request for comment, pointing the Washington Examiner to his statement in July following the assassination attempt.

“Tester’s violent rhetoric toward President Trump is sick,” said Mike Berg, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The spokesman for the NRSC, which works to elect Republicans to the upper chamber, also pointed to comments Tester made in 2019 declaring that the way to beat Trump was to “punch him in the face.”

“I don’t think, even in states where Donald Trump won big, that it does you any good running away from Donald Trump,” Tester said during an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe in 2019. “I think you need to go back and punch him in the face. I mean, the truth is this guy is bad for this country.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

On Aug. 21, Tester will appear alongside Ament, the Pearl Jam bassist, for a fundraiser in Missoula, Montana. The event is included in a package for “Big Sky Rocker” and “Super Fan” donors giving at least $400 to Tester, the Montana Free Press reported. The 2024 election fundraiser is one day before an Aug. 22 Pearl Jam concert at the University of Montana.

Tester faces a competitive challenge in Montana this year from Tim Sheehy, a businessman and ex-Navy SEAL. The Senate seat is widely viewed as a toss-up. Sheehy led Tester by five percentage points in a recent poll.

, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) praised an apocalyptic Pearl Jam concert poster that depicted former President Donald Trump dead in front of the White House, records show. In 2018, as Tester was seeking a third term, controversy swirled over promotional materials for an Aug. 13 concert fundraiser for the senator’s campaign featuring a drawing of Trump lying dead on the ground, with the White House, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial ablaze. At the time, Tester’s campaign insisted it neither condoned violence nor approved of the poster, which also depicted a gleeful Tester flying on a tractor above the word “vote” etched in the sky. The poster was co-created by Jeff Ament, a longtime friend of Tester and Pearl Jam’s bassist, Jeff Ament, the Washington Post reported in 2018. However, despite the Tester campaign condemning the anti-Trump art in 2018, the senator hummed to a different tune in a passage buried in his 2020 book Grounded: A Rural Democrat’s Fight to Unite a Divided America, the Washington Examiner found. In the book, Tester revealed that he “actually loved” the Pearl Jam poster. Pearl Jam, a rock band whose lead vocalist is Eddie Vedder, was formed in Seattle in 1990. “As soon as word spread of how wild the posters were, fans stood in line for hours to buy them all up at $35 a pop. Christie showed me a copy, gritting her teeth,” Tester wrote in his book, referring to his then-campaign manager, Christie Roberts. “And there’s an unmistakable image of me, flying on my tractor above the fire and fury, waving with my two-fingered left hand,” the senator continued. “‘This is so … interesting,’ I told Christie. Though the poster was off message, I didn’t want to admit to her that I actually loved it. None of us knew about the posters before we saw them on sale at the concert.” Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) walks to a vote on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Tester also wrote in his book that “the big news” during the event “wasn’t the music; it was the artwork.” News of Tester’s embrace of the artwork comes after the recent assassination attempt on Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The senator said in July he was “appalled by the violence at the political rally” and wrote a letter to other lawmakers requesting an investigation into the event, which he called a “tragedy.” In the aftermath of the attempted assassination, Republicans have cast blame on Democrats for their rhetoric, calling Trump an “existential threat” to democracy, arguing that such claims could fuel extremist activity. President Joe Biden said in June at a rally in North Carolina that Trump “is a genuine threat to this nation.” Days later, at a Wisconsin rally, Biden said, “I mean what I said: We cannot let Trump win. No, I mean, that’s not hyperbole. We can’t. This is the most dangerous election in American history.” Tester’s campaign declined a request for comment, pointing the Washington Examiner to his statement in July following the assassination attempt. “Tester’s violent rhetoric toward President Trump is sick,” said Mike Berg, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The spokesman for the NRSC, which works to elect Republicans to the upper chamber, also pointed to comments Tester made in 2019 declaring that the way to beat Trump was to “punch him in the face.” “I don’t think, even in states where Donald Trump won big, that it does you any good running away from Donald Trump,” Tester said during an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe in 2019. “I think you need to go back and punch him in the face. I mean, the truth is this guy is bad for this country.” CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER On Aug. 21, Tester will appear alongside Ament, the Pearl Jam bassist, for a fundraiser in Missoula, Montana. The event is included in a package for “Big Sky Rocker” and “Super Fan” donors giving at least $400 to Tester, the Montana Free Press reported. The 2024 election fundraiser is one day before an Aug. 22 Pearl Jam concert at the University of Montana. Tester faces a competitive challenge in Montana this year from Tim Sheehy, a businessman and ex-Navy SEAL. The Senate seat is widely viewed as a toss-up. Sheehy led Tester by five percentage points in a recent poll., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Jon-Tester-Montana-Donald-Trump-2024-scaled-1024×683.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Gabe Kaminsky,

A top aide to Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, supported the “defund police” movement and progressive efforts to pack the Supreme Court with more justices.

Brian Fallon, the former national press secretary for Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign, is now in a key staffer position as Harris appears likely to secure the nomination this year to face former President Donald Trump in November. In January, Fallon took a job as communications director for Harris after an almost six-year stint as executive director of Demand Justice, a left-wing dark money group aiming to upend the federal judiciary radically.

Fallon’s ties to Demand Justice and 2020 support for defunding police after George Floyd’s death sparked riots across the United States will likely become talking points for Republicans — who are seeking to frame Harris as anti-law-and-order. On Friday, CNN reported that Harris also, in June 2020, expressed support for the defund the police movement. Democrats have sought to distance themselves from the movement after crime rose in many cities.

Fallon, who also worked as a spokesman between 2013 and 2015 for then-Attorney General Eric Holder, founded Demand Justice in 2018. The progressive organization, which is registered under a section of the IRS code, 501(c)(4), that allows it to shield its donors from the IRS, used to be a project of Sixteen Thirty Fund. The latter entity is one of the most influential Democratic dark money groups in the U.S. under the Arabella Advisors consultancy network.

Demand Justice, which split off from Sixteen Thirty Fund in 2021, was notably behind advertising attacks on Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh during their confirmation processes. Demand Justice also spent large sums supporting President Joe Biden’s nomination of left-wing Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, records show.

Demand Justice is behind ad campaigns aiming to gin up support for adding more seats to the Supreme Court, a proposal that Republicans have long argued would politicize the federal judiciary and lead to an unfair imbalance of power in the country.

Carrie Severino, president of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, posted an image on X on Friday of a Fallon tweet from 2022 praising Supreme Court “leaks.”

Fallon’s post came in the wake of a draft opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade being leaked.

“SCOTUS leaks are good,” Fallon said in May 2022. “Elite lawyers on both the left and right treating the Court as precious all these years have just been giving cover to an institution that is wholly accountable. Rip the veil off.”

“Until she says otherwise, we can only assume Kamala shares Brian’s radical wish list,” Davis, who runs the Article III Project, told the Washington Examiner.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The Harris campaign did not return a request for comment.

According to a RealClearPolitics polling average, Trump leads Harris 47.9% to 46% nationally.

2024-07-27 10:00:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fcampaigns%2Fpresidential%2F3100826%2Ftop-harris-aide-backed-defund-police%2F?w=600&h=450, A top aide to Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, supported the “defund police” movement and progressive efforts to pack the Supreme Court with more justices. Brian Fallon, the former national press secretary for Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign, is now in a key staffer position as Harris appears likely,

A top aide to Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, supported the “defund police” movement and progressive efforts to pack the Supreme Court with more justices.

Brian Fallon, the former national press secretary for Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign, is now in a key staffer position as Harris appears likely to secure the nomination this year to face former President Donald Trump in November. In January, Fallon took a job as communications director for Harris after an almost six-year stint as executive director of Demand Justice, a left-wing dark money group aiming to upend the federal judiciary radically.

Fallon’s ties to Demand Justice and 2020 support for defunding police after George Floyd’s death sparked riots across the United States will likely become talking points for Republicans — who are seeking to frame Harris as anti-law-and-order. On Friday, CNN reported that Harris also, in June 2020, expressed support for the defund the police movement. Democrats have sought to distance themselves from the movement after crime rose in many cities.

Fallon, who also worked as a spokesman between 2013 and 2015 for then-Attorney General Eric Holder, founded Demand Justice in 2018. The progressive organization, which is registered under a section of the IRS code, 501(c)(4), that allows it to shield its donors from the IRS, used to be a project of Sixteen Thirty Fund. The latter entity is one of the most influential Democratic dark money groups in the U.S. under the Arabella Advisors consultancy network.

Demand Justice, which split off from Sixteen Thirty Fund in 2021, was notably behind advertising attacks on Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh during their confirmation processes. Demand Justice also spent large sums supporting President Joe Biden’s nomination of left-wing Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, records show.

Demand Justice is behind ad campaigns aiming to gin up support for adding more seats to the Supreme Court, a proposal that Republicans have long argued would politicize the federal judiciary and lead to an unfair imbalance of power in the country.

Carrie Severino, president of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, posted an image on X on Friday of a Fallon tweet from 2022 praising Supreme Court “leaks.”

Fallon’s post came in the wake of a draft opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade being leaked.

“SCOTUS leaks are good,” Fallon said in May 2022. “Elite lawyers on both the left and right treating the Court as precious all these years have just been giving cover to an institution that is wholly accountable. Rip the veil off.”

“Until she says otherwise, we can only assume Kamala shares Brian’s radical wish list,” Davis, who runs the Article III Project, told the Washington Examiner.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The Harris campaign did not return a request for comment.

According to a RealClearPolitics polling average, Trump leads Harris 47.9% to 46% nationally.

, A top aide to Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, supported the “defund police” movement and progressive efforts to pack the Supreme Court with more justices. Brian Fallon, the former national press secretary for Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign, is now in a key staffer position as Harris appears likely to secure the nomination this year to face former President Donald Trump in November. In January, Fallon took a job as communications director for Harris after an almost six-year stint as executive director of Demand Justice, a left-wing dark money group aiming to upend the federal judiciary radically. Fallon’s ties to Demand Justice and 2020 support for defunding police after George Floyd’s death sparked riots across the United States will likely become talking points for Republicans — who are seeking to frame Harris as anti-law-and-order. On Friday, CNN reported that Harris also, in June 2020, expressed support for the defund the police movement. Democrats have sought to distance themselves from the movement after crime rose in many cities. Fallon, who also worked as a spokesman between 2013 and 2015 for then-Attorney General Eric Holder, founded Demand Justice in 2018. The progressive organization, which is registered under a section of the IRS code, 501(c)(4), that allows it to shield its donors from the IRS, used to be a project of Sixteen Thirty Fund. The latter entity is one of the most influential Democratic dark money groups in the U.S. under the Arabella Advisors consultancy network. Demand Justice, which split off from Sixteen Thirty Fund in 2021, was notably behind advertising attacks on Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh during their confirmation processes. Demand Justice also spent large sums supporting President Joe Biden’s nomination of left-wing Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, records show. Demand Justice is behind ad campaigns aiming to gin up support for adding more seats to the Supreme Court, a proposal that Republicans have long argued would politicize the federal judiciary and lead to an unfair imbalance of power in the country. Carrie Severino, president of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, posted an image on X on Friday of a Fallon tweet from 2022 praising Supreme Court “leaks.” Fallon’s post came in the wake of a draft opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade being leaked. “SCOTUS leaks are good,” Fallon said in May 2022. “Elite lawyers on both the left and right treating the Court as precious all these years have just been giving cover to an institution that is wholly accountable. Rip the veil off.” Kamala Harris’s communications director called for more leaks at the Supreme Court in the wake of the Dobbs draft opinion being leaked. That leak helped lead to an assassination plot against Justice Kavanaugh a month later. pic.twitter.com/lqqpQaKmPq — Carrie Severino (@JCNSeverino) July 26, 2024 To conservative lawyers, including Mike Davis, the public is right to ask questions as to whether Harris supports the court policies Fallon’s group has sought to establish. Demand Justice has a “Supreme Court shortlist” on its website for progressive officials that the group argues would make good justices. The list includes Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, Assistant U.S. Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Kristen Clarke, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and others. “Until she says otherwise, we can only assume Kamala shares Brian’s radical wish list,” Davis, who runs the Article III Project, told the Washington Examiner. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER The Harris campaign did not return a request for comment. According to a RealClearPolitics polling average, Trump leads Harris 47.9% to 46% nationally., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Kamala-Harris-Brian-Fallon-2024-scaled-1024×683.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Gabe Kaminsky,

EXCLUSIVE — One day before anti-Israel protesters caused mayhem in Washington, D.C., burning an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he spoke to Congress, scrawling graffiti across federal property, and burning American flags, the National Park Service granted the organizing group a public gathering permit. The Washington Examiner obtained a copy of that permit in full from a Biden administration source — providing a key window into the planning of the rally and the ways in which demonstrators skirted federal rules.

The permit, a redacted version of which can be read at this link, was given to the ANSWER Coalition, a group that coordinated with other pro-Palestinian activist hubs on the planning and execution of the protest. Dozens of protesters were arrested following clashes with police, though at least 11 of them had their misdemeanor charges dropped by Thursday evening, the Washington Examiner reported.

But even before the protest began, the Interior Department’s National Park Service was aware of problems with ANSWER’s level of disclosure about its activities, documents reveal.

The NPS said in the permit documents that ANSWER “refused to provide specific locations for onsite contacts.” ANSWER is a project of a charity in San Francisco called Progress Unity Fund, according to tax records.

The Washington Examiner reached out for comment to both NPS and ANSWER.

In the permit, the ANSWER Coalition described how it would be protesting in various areas in the nation’s capital, including John Marshall Park and Columbus Plaza. At 3:37 p.m. on Wednesday, after many hours of protests in the streets, the NPS said the permit for Columbus Plaza had been revoked.

Minutes later, a man wearing a red shirt was captured on social media graffitiing the phrase “Hamas is coming” on a historic fountain in the plaza honoring Christopher Columbus.

The Wednesday protest, according to the permit, was slated for between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. that day. Activists continued to demonstrate after 4 p.m. in the district as part of the rally, which ANSWER said on the permit application was to “stop the genocide in Gaza.” The protest was called “Arrest Netanyahu! Surround Congress July 24 with the People’s Red Line for Palestine,” according to ANSWER’s website.

“These events were utterly predictable, as similar recent protests had also resulted in vandalism of federal property and assaults on Park Police, and the organization seeking the permit apparently did not even comply with its requirements before it was issued,” said Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public’s Trust, a watchdog group investigating the Biden administration.

The permit said ANSWER, per federal rules, was prohibited from climbing, removing, or injuring “any statue seat, wall, fountain, light poles, elevator towers, or other erection or architectural feature, or any tree, shrub, or landscaping feature” in protest areas.

The document also cited 36 CFR Section 7.96, a regulation holding that “the alteration, damage, or removal of park resources or facilities is prohibited.” On Thursday, NPS staffers began to power-wash the Christopher Columbus statue and fountain that were vandalized outside Union Station.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The NPS is already facing scrutiny for its handling of the Wednesday protest. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) sent a letter this week to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland slamming the agency for being “understaffed.” Westerman said the Interior Department denied the U.S. Park Police’s requests for more manpower before the protest.

The permit listed ANSWER’s point of contact as Brian Becker, ANSWER’s director and “a central organizer for the Party for Socialism and Liberation,” according to Liberation News.

READ THE PERMIT HERE

2024-07-26 16:13:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2F3100566%2Fbiden-nps-anti-israel-group-violent-protest-permit%2F?w=600&h=450, EXCLUSIVE — One day before anti-Israel protesters caused mayhem in Washington, D.C., burning an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he spoke to Congress, scrawling graffiti across federal property, and burning American flags, the National Park Service granted the organizing group a public gathering permit. The Washington Examiner obtained a copy of that permit,

EXCLUSIVE — One day before anti-Israel protesters caused mayhem in Washington, D.C., burning an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he spoke to Congress, scrawling graffiti across federal property, and burning American flags, the National Park Service granted the organizing group a public gathering permit. The Washington Examiner obtained a copy of that permit in full from a Biden administration source — providing a key window into the planning of the rally and the ways in which demonstrators skirted federal rules.

The permit, a redacted version of which can be read at this link, was given to the ANSWER Coalition, a group that coordinated with other pro-Palestinian activist hubs on the planning and execution of the protest. Dozens of protesters were arrested following clashes with police, though at least 11 of them had their misdemeanor charges dropped by Thursday evening, the Washington Examiner reported.

But even before the protest began, the Interior Department’s National Park Service was aware of problems with ANSWER’s level of disclosure about its activities, documents reveal.

The NPS said in the permit documents that ANSWER “refused to provide specific locations for onsite contacts.” ANSWER is a project of a charity in San Francisco called Progress Unity Fund, according to tax records.

The Washington Examiner reached out for comment to both NPS and ANSWER.

In the permit, the ANSWER Coalition described how it would be protesting in various areas in the nation’s capital, including John Marshall Park and Columbus Plaza. At 3:37 p.m. on Wednesday, after many hours of protests in the streets, the NPS said the permit for Columbus Plaza had been revoked.

Minutes later, a man wearing a red shirt was captured on social media graffitiing the phrase “Hamas is coming” on a historic fountain in the plaza honoring Christopher Columbus.

The Wednesday protest, according to the permit, was slated for between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. that day. Activists continued to demonstrate after 4 p.m. in the district as part of the rally, which ANSWER said on the permit application was to “stop the genocide in Gaza.” The protest was called “Arrest Netanyahu! Surround Congress July 24 with the People’s Red Line for Palestine,” according to ANSWER’s website.

“These events were utterly predictable, as similar recent protests had also resulted in vandalism of federal property and assaults on Park Police, and the organization seeking the permit apparently did not even comply with its requirements before it was issued,” said Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public’s Trust, a watchdog group investigating the Biden administration.

The permit said ANSWER, per federal rules, was prohibited from climbing, removing, or injuring “any statue seat, wall, fountain, light poles, elevator towers, or other erection or architectural feature, or any tree, shrub, or landscaping feature” in protest areas.

The document also cited 36 CFR Section 7.96, a regulation holding that “the alteration, damage, or removal of park resources or facilities is prohibited.” On Thursday, NPS staffers began to power-wash the Christopher Columbus statue and fountain that were vandalized outside Union Station.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The NPS is already facing scrutiny for its handling of the Wednesday protest. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) sent a letter this week to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland slamming the agency for being “understaffed.” Westerman said the Interior Department denied the U.S. Park Police’s requests for more manpower before the protest.

The permit listed ANSWER’s point of contact as Brian Becker, ANSWER’s director and “a central organizer for the Party for Socialism and Liberation,” according to Liberation News.

READ THE PERMIT HERE

, EXCLUSIVE — One day before anti-Israel protesters caused mayhem in Washington, D.C., burning an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he spoke to Congress, scrawling graffiti across federal property, and burning American flags, the National Park Service granted the organizing group a public gathering permit. The Washington Examiner obtained a copy of that permit in full from a Biden administration source — providing a key window into the planning of the rally and the ways in which demonstrators skirted federal rules. The permit, a redacted version of which can be read at this link, was given to the ANSWER Coalition, a group that coordinated with other pro-Palestinian activist hubs on the planning and execution of the protest. Dozens of protesters were arrested following clashes with police, though at least 11 of them had their misdemeanor charges dropped by Thursday evening, the Washington Examiner reported. But even before the protest began, the Interior Department’s National Park Service was aware of problems with ANSWER’s level of disclosure about its activities, documents reveal. The NPS said in the permit documents that ANSWER “refused to provide specific locations for onsite contacts.” ANSWER is a project of a charity in San Francisco called Progress Unity Fund, according to tax records. The Washington Examiner reached out for comment to both NPS and ANSWER. In the permit, the ANSWER Coalition described how it would be protesting in various areas in the nation’s capital, including John Marshall Park and Columbus Plaza. At 3:37 p.m. on Wednesday, after many hours of protests in the streets, the NPS said the permit for Columbus Plaza had been revoked. Minutes later, a man wearing a red shirt was captured on social media graffitiing the phrase “Hamas is coming” on a historic fountain in the plaza honoring Christopher Columbus. The Wednesday protest, according to the permit, was slated for between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. that day. Activists continued to demonstrate after 4 p.m. in the district as part of the rally, which ANSWER said on the permit application was to “stop the genocide in Gaza.” The protest was called “Arrest Netanyahu! Surround Congress July 24 with the People’s Red Line for Palestine,” according to ANSWER’s website. “These events were utterly predictable, as similar recent protests had also resulted in vandalism of federal property and assaults on Park Police, and the organization seeking the permit apparently did not even comply with its requirements before it was issued,” said Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public’s Trust, a watchdog group investigating the Biden administration. The permit said ANSWER, per federal rules, was prohibited from climbing, removing, or injuring “any statue seat, wall, fountain, light poles, elevator towers, or other erection or architectural feature, or any tree, shrub, or landscaping feature” in protest areas. The document also cited 36 CFR Section 7.96, a regulation holding that “the alteration, damage, or removal of park resources or facilities is prohibited.” On Thursday, NPS staffers began to power-wash the Christopher Columbus statue and fountain that were vandalized outside Union Station. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER The NPS is already facing scrutiny for its handling of the Wednesday protest. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) sent a letter this week to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland slamming the agency for being “understaffed.” Westerman said the Interior Department denied the U.S. Park Police’s requests for more manpower before the protest. The permit listed ANSWER’s point of contact as Brian Becker, ANSWER’s director and “a central organizer for the Party for Socialism and Liberation,” according to Liberation News. READ THE PERMIT HERE, , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24207334629189-scaled-1024×732.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Gabe Kaminsky,

Speaking to a joint meeting of Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday made the case for why the U.S. must support the Jewish state as it fights Hamas and other Iranian-backed militias: “If you remember one thing from this speech, remember this: Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory is your victory,” Netanyahu said to a standing ovation in the House chamber.

But outside, in the streets of Washington, D.C., thousands of protesters, some of them violent, sought to make their own case for why Netanyahu is a war criminal who should be charged with genocide over Israel’s retaliation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They did this by burning an effigy of Netanyahu outside the historic Union Station, just blocks away from the Capitol, and burning American flags. The demonstrators, dozens of whom were arrested, clashed with police and vandalized monuments.

“Hamas Is Coming” was graffitied in red on the Columbus Memorial Fountain, a tribute to explorer Christopher Columbus unveiled in 1912 at the direction of then-President William H. Taft. At the Watergate Hotel, where Netanyahu stayed, pro-Palestinian activists backed by a New York-based charity under investigation unleashed a horde of maggots and set off fire alarms.

The protest, dubbed “Arrest Netanyahu! Surround Congress July 24 with the People’s Red Line for Palestine,” was orchestrated by a coalition called ANSWER that was founded as an anti-war group days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The coalition provided resources online to supporters to bus them into Washington, D.C., and instructed people to “Wear red!” as a symbol for the alleged genocide in Gaza, according to a flyer for the demonstration.

ANSWER is a project of Progress Unity Fund, a charity that lists a San Francisco address on tax forms. 

A Washington Examiner review of social media posts and resources in connection to the planning of the protest found that a familiar cast of characters helped plan and execute the Wednesday rally that turned violent in the district. These organizations, which share ties to terrorist factions and some of the largest and most influential philanthropy networks funded by left-wing billionaires, touted on social media how they were behind the demonstration and sought to gin up support for the event in the lead-up to Netanyahu’s arrival.

Several of the organizations also have opaque “dark money” funding streams that have, following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on Israel, prompted federal investigations over national security concerns.

“We do know that Iran has been funding and encouraging some of the protest activity here in the United States,” White House national security adviser John Kirby said on Thursday, echoing similar comments made earlier this month by Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence.

Outside the Capitol, one group leading the rally, Code Pink, posted a video of notorious antisemite Linda Sarsour telling the public that “progress” to turn the world against Israel “is because of our movement.” Sarsour, a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign activist, emphasized that supporters should “stay disruptive” as well as “make sure the Democratic Party continues to listen and to hear from you that they will not ever be an influential party in this country without heeding the calls of our movement.”

Code Pink, which is connected to a pro-China propaganda network funded by businessman Neville Roy Singham, was one of more than a dozen groups behind the protests. Its funding stream also comes from the Tides Foundation and an assortment of donor-advised funds that allow the wealthy and well-connected to shield their giving from the public, tax records show.

Here are other groups behind the demonstrations.

Jewish Voice for Peace

Activists from Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Israel group, notably staged a sit-in at the Capitol’s Cannon Building and wore t-shirts with the phrases “not in our name” and “Jews say stop arming Israel” this week. Capitol Police reportedly arrested some 200 JVP activists for “crowding, obstructing, or incommoding” inside the building.

JVP, like other groups, was listed on an early July flyer as a leader of the Wednesday “Arrest Netanyahu! Surround Congress July 24 with the People’s Red Line for Palestine” protest.

JVP is funded by the George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations, the Tides Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Firedoll Foundation, and Kaphan Foundation, according to tax records.

Palestinian Youth Movement

The Palestinian Youth Movement, or PYM, set maggots loose at Netanyahu’s hotel, the Washington Free Beacon reported. PYM is a project of the WESPAC Foundation, a nonprofit group in White Plains, New York, that also sponsors Students for Justice in Palestine.

This week, the Anti-Defamation League asked the IRS to investigate WESPAC’s tax-exempt status over its unusual finances and alleged fomenting of antisemitism.

PYM’s funding is opaque due to it being a project of WESPAC. However, records show that WESPAC has received large checks in recent years from the Tides Foundation, which is bankrolled by Soros, the Rockefellers, the Ford Foundation, Bill Gates, and other top donors.

WESPAC, a dark money group due to its housing of projects with non-public finances, also receives donations from donor-advised funds and the Rockefellers.

The People’s Forum

The People’s Forum, another group listed on a Wednesday planning flyer, alleged on social media during the demonstrations that police were engaged in unjust brutality against activists.

People’s Forum is linked to the Code Pink-affiliated network that supports the Chinese Communist Party, prompting Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to launch an investigation. Rubio sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland about the pro-CCP network, citing multiple reports by the Washington Examiner.

People’s Forum’s funding is also largely opaque, though it received a staggering $12 million in 2019 from Goldman Sachs’s donor-advised fund.

It also received cash from Code Pink and United Community Fund, an obscure nonprofit organization that lists its address on tax forms as a UPS store mailbox in New York City.

Palestinian Feminist Collective

Palestinian Feminist Collective, or PFC, also was behind the Wednesday protests. The Washington Examiner reported in November 2023 that PFC rakes in funding through WESPAC.

On Oct. 7 of last year, PFC posted a graphic on social media appearing to praise the Hamas-led attack, noting it “holds firmly the right of Palestinians to resist the Zionist colonizer.”

PFC received a grant in 2023 from the Third Wave Fund, which “funnels grants to gay, lesbian, ‘intersex,’ and transgender advocacy groups in the name of ‘gender justice,’” according to the Capital Research Center think tank.

The Third Wave Fund, according to tax records, is a project of a Massachusetts-based group called Proteus Fund that routes money to grassroots initiatives aligned with the Left.

Arab Resource & Organizing Center

Arab Resource & Organizing Center, also known as AROC, is an anti-Israel coalition that blocks ship ports with the goal of restricting U.S. weapons from going to Israel.

But AROC is technically a trade name.

It is sponsored by the Tides Center, an affiliate of the Tides Foundation that sponsors many anti-Israel groups. The Tides Center manages hundreds of millions of dollars in assets and used to fiscally sponsor the national Black Lives Matter group.

U.S. Palestinian Community Network

USPCN is another offshoot of WESPAC, making its own funding difficult to track. USPCN has also notably called on its website to free imprisoned Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist group members, including Khalida Jarrar.

One founding chapter member of USPCN is Rasmea Odeh, whom the U.S. government deported to Jordan in 2017 for her involvement in a fatal 1969 supermarket bombing in Jerusalem.

Al-Awda

Al-Awda, also known as the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition, has for years been led by Amani al Hindi Barakat, who has supported “intifada” against Israel and praised Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, as “excellent,” social media posts show.

Al-Awda is based in Coral Springs, Florida. It is soliciting donations through PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App, according to financial records.

U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights

USCPR is an anti-Israel group that has reportedly fiscally sponsored the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions National Committee.

The panel includes the Council of National and Islamic Forces in Palestine, the members of whom recently included U.S.-designated terrorist groups, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas.

USCPR fundraises through a charity called Education for Just Peace in the Middle East. The charity has received large checks over the years from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, according to tax records.

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network

IJAZN, according to fundraising records, is another WESPAC project. IJAZN calls itself an “international network of Jews who are uncompromisingly committed to struggles for human survival and emancipation, of which the liberation of the Palestinian people and land is an indispensable part.”

“The State of Israel betrays the long histories of Jewish struggles for liberation and traditions of participation in collective struggles for liberation more broadly,” IJAZN says on its website.

Council on American-Islamic Relations

CAIR, one of the most prominent anti-Israel groups in the U.S., is based in Washington, D.C., and has chapters across the country. Its national director said on Wednesday that Netanyahu “should be delivered to the Hague to give his testimony about his war crimes” instead of being allowed to speak in Congress.

CAIR was named as an “unindicted co-conspirator” of Hamas in a 2009 terrorism financing case, court records show. Top CAIR donors include the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a major donor-advised fund, the Tides Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and other grantmakers, according to a recent report by national security analyst Ryan Mauro.

Palestinian Assembly for Liberation

PAFL, which “is committed to strengthening Palestinian mobilizations for liberation and return,” was also listed on a planning flyer for the protest.

“The march on DC is tomorrow!” PAFL posted on Facebook this week before the event, sharing a bus drop-off location and instructions for supporters to attend it. “We are coming to show Netanyahu he is not welcome here. Remember to wear red!”

PAFL says on its website it is “based in North America.”

Writers Against the War on Gaza

Writers Against the War on Gaza calls itself “a coalition of media, cultural, and academic workers who are committed to the horizon of liberation for the Palestinian people.” It formed in October 2023 and was listed on a flyer for the D.C. protest.

On its website, WAWOG has a link for the public to donate to the WESPAC-housed Palestinian Youth Movement and promotes the work of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. Also known as PACBI, the latter coalition is a key cog in the BDS movement and was kicked off the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue last year.

American Muslims for Palestine

American Muslims for Palestine, or AMP, was also behind the anti-Netanyahu protest. AMP, also known as the AJP Educational Foundation, is closely affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine.

AMP, which is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, put out a statement after Oct. 7. blaming the Jewish state for allegedly being “the root cause of violence and unrest” in the Middle East.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

AMP advocacy director Ayah Ziyadeh spoke at the Wednesday protest in Washington, D.C. She has a history of praising terrorists, according to Canary Mission, a watchdog group.

2024-07-25 20:59:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Finvestigations%2F3098852%2Ffamiliar-faces-left-wing-dark-money-groups-fuel-violent-dc-protest-backing-hamas%2F?w=600&h=450, Speaking to a joint meeting of Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday made the case for why the U.S. must support the Jewish state as it fights Hamas and other Iranian-backed militias: “If you remember one thing from this speech, remember this: Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and,

Speaking to a joint meeting of Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday made the case for why the U.S. must support the Jewish state as it fights Hamas and other Iranian-backed militias: “If you remember one thing from this speech, remember this: Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory is your victory,” Netanyahu said to a standing ovation in the House chamber.

But outside, in the streets of Washington, D.C., thousands of protesters, some of them violent, sought to make their own case for why Netanyahu is a war criminal who should be charged with genocide over Israel’s retaliation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They did this by burning an effigy of Netanyahu outside the historic Union Station, just blocks away from the Capitol, and burning American flags. The demonstrators, dozens of whom were arrested, clashed with police and vandalized monuments.

“Hamas Is Coming” was graffitied in red on the Columbus Memorial Fountain, a tribute to explorer Christopher Columbus unveiled in 1912 at the direction of then-President William H. Taft. At the Watergate Hotel, where Netanyahu stayed, pro-Palestinian activists backed by a New York-based charity under investigation unleashed a horde of maggots and set off fire alarms.

The protest, dubbed “Arrest Netanyahu! Surround Congress July 24 with the People’s Red Line for Palestine,” was orchestrated by a coalition called ANSWER that was founded as an anti-war group days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The coalition provided resources online to supporters to bus them into Washington, D.C., and instructed people to “Wear red!” as a symbol for the alleged genocide in Gaza, according to a flyer for the demonstration.

ANSWER is a project of Progress Unity Fund, a charity that lists a San Francisco address on tax forms. 

A Washington Examiner review of social media posts and resources in connection to the planning of the protest found that a familiar cast of characters helped plan and execute the Wednesday rally that turned violent in the district. These organizations, which share ties to terrorist factions and some of the largest and most influential philanthropy networks funded by left-wing billionaires, touted on social media how they were behind the demonstration and sought to gin up support for the event in the lead-up to Netanyahu’s arrival.

Several of the organizations also have opaque “dark money” funding streams that have, following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on Israel, prompted federal investigations over national security concerns.

“We do know that Iran has been funding and encouraging some of the protest activity here in the United States,” White House national security adviser John Kirby said on Thursday, echoing similar comments made earlier this month by Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence.

Outside the Capitol, one group leading the rally, Code Pink, posted a video of notorious antisemite Linda Sarsour telling the public that “progress” to turn the world against Israel “is because of our movement.” Sarsour, a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign activist, emphasized that supporters should “stay disruptive” as well as “make sure the Democratic Party continues to listen and to hear from you that they will not ever be an influential party in this country without heeding the calls of our movement.”

Code Pink, which is connected to a pro-China propaganda network funded by businessman Neville Roy Singham, was one of more than a dozen groups behind the protests. Its funding stream also comes from the Tides Foundation and an assortment of donor-advised funds that allow the wealthy and well-connected to shield their giving from the public, tax records show.

Here are other groups behind the demonstrations.

Jewish Voice for Peace

Activists from Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Israel group, notably staged a sit-in at the Capitol’s Cannon Building and wore t-shirts with the phrases “not in our name” and “Jews say stop arming Israel” this week. Capitol Police reportedly arrested some 200 JVP activists for “crowding, obstructing, or incommoding” inside the building.

JVP, like other groups, was listed on an early July flyer as a leader of the Wednesday “Arrest Netanyahu! Surround Congress July 24 with the People’s Red Line for Palestine” protest.

JVP is funded by the George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations, the Tides Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Firedoll Foundation, and Kaphan Foundation, according to tax records.

Palestinian Youth Movement

The Palestinian Youth Movement, or PYM, set maggots loose at Netanyahu’s hotel, the Washington Free Beacon reported. PYM is a project of the WESPAC Foundation, a nonprofit group in White Plains, New York, that also sponsors Students for Justice in Palestine.

This week, the Anti-Defamation League asked the IRS to investigate WESPAC’s tax-exempt status over its unusual finances and alleged fomenting of antisemitism.

PYM’s funding is opaque due to it being a project of WESPAC. However, records show that WESPAC has received large checks in recent years from the Tides Foundation, which is bankrolled by Soros, the Rockefellers, the Ford Foundation, Bill Gates, and other top donors.

WESPAC, a dark money group due to its housing of projects with non-public finances, also receives donations from donor-advised funds and the Rockefellers.

The People’s Forum

The People’s Forum, another group listed on a Wednesday planning flyer, alleged on social media during the demonstrations that police were engaged in unjust brutality against activists.

People’s Forum is linked to the Code Pink-affiliated network that supports the Chinese Communist Party, prompting Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to launch an investigation. Rubio sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland about the pro-CCP network, citing multiple reports by the Washington Examiner.

People’s Forum’s funding is also largely opaque, though it received a staggering $12 million in 2019 from Goldman Sachs’s donor-advised fund.

It also received cash from Code Pink and United Community Fund, an obscure nonprofit organization that lists its address on tax forms as a UPS store mailbox in New York City.

Palestinian Feminist Collective

Palestinian Feminist Collective, or PFC, also was behind the Wednesday protests. The Washington Examiner reported in November 2023 that PFC rakes in funding through WESPAC.

On Oct. 7 of last year, PFC posted a graphic on social media appearing to praise the Hamas-led attack, noting it “holds firmly the right of Palestinians to resist the Zionist colonizer.”

PFC received a grant in 2023 from the Third Wave Fund, which “funnels grants to gay, lesbian, ‘intersex,’ and transgender advocacy groups in the name of ‘gender justice,’” according to the Capital Research Center think tank.

The Third Wave Fund, according to tax records, is a project of a Massachusetts-based group called Proteus Fund that routes money to grassroots initiatives aligned with the Left.

Arab Resource & Organizing Center

Arab Resource & Organizing Center, also known as AROC, is an anti-Israel coalition that blocks ship ports with the goal of restricting U.S. weapons from going to Israel.

But AROC is technically a trade name.

It is sponsored by the Tides Center, an affiliate of the Tides Foundation that sponsors many anti-Israel groups. The Tides Center manages hundreds of millions of dollars in assets and used to fiscally sponsor the national Black Lives Matter group.

U.S. Palestinian Community Network

USPCN is another offshoot of WESPAC, making its own funding difficult to track. USPCN has also notably called on its website to free imprisoned Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist group members, including Khalida Jarrar.

One founding chapter member of USPCN is Rasmea Odeh, whom the U.S. government deported to Jordan in 2017 for her involvement in a fatal 1969 supermarket bombing in Jerusalem.

Al-Awda

Al-Awda, also known as the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition, has for years been led by Amani al Hindi Barakat, who has supported “intifada” against Israel and praised Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, as “excellent,” social media posts show.

Al-Awda is based in Coral Springs, Florida. It is soliciting donations through PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App, according to financial records.

U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights

USCPR is an anti-Israel group that has reportedly fiscally sponsored the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions National Committee.

The panel includes the Council of National and Islamic Forces in Palestine, the members of whom recently included U.S.-designated terrorist groups, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas.

USCPR fundraises through a charity called Education for Just Peace in the Middle East. The charity has received large checks over the years from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, according to tax records.

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network

IJAZN, according to fundraising records, is another WESPAC project. IJAZN calls itself an “international network of Jews who are uncompromisingly committed to struggles for human survival and emancipation, of which the liberation of the Palestinian people and land is an indispensable part.”

“The State of Israel betrays the long histories of Jewish struggles for liberation and traditions of participation in collective struggles for liberation more broadly,” IJAZN says on its website.

Council on American-Islamic Relations

CAIR, one of the most prominent anti-Israel groups in the U.S., is based in Washington, D.C., and has chapters across the country. Its national director said on Wednesday that Netanyahu “should be delivered to the Hague to give his testimony about his war crimes” instead of being allowed to speak in Congress.

CAIR was named as an “unindicted co-conspirator” of Hamas in a 2009 terrorism financing case, court records show. Top CAIR donors include the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a major donor-advised fund, the Tides Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and other grantmakers, according to a recent report by national security analyst Ryan Mauro.

Palestinian Assembly for Liberation

PAFL, which “is committed to strengthening Palestinian mobilizations for liberation and return,” was also listed on a planning flyer for the protest.

“The march on DC is tomorrow!” PAFL posted on Facebook this week before the event, sharing a bus drop-off location and instructions for supporters to attend it. “We are coming to show Netanyahu he is not welcome here. Remember to wear red!”

PAFL says on its website it is “based in North America.”

Writers Against the War on Gaza

Writers Against the War on Gaza calls itself “a coalition of media, cultural, and academic workers who are committed to the horizon of liberation for the Palestinian people.” It formed in October 2023 and was listed on a flyer for the D.C. protest.

On its website, WAWOG has a link for the public to donate to the WESPAC-housed Palestinian Youth Movement and promotes the work of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. Also known as PACBI, the latter coalition is a key cog in the BDS movement and was kicked off the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue last year.

American Muslims for Palestine

American Muslims for Palestine, or AMP, was also behind the anti-Netanyahu protest. AMP, also known as the AJP Educational Foundation, is closely affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine.

AMP, which is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, put out a statement after Oct. 7. blaming the Jewish state for allegedly being “the root cause of violence and unrest” in the Middle East.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

AMP advocacy director Ayah Ziyadeh spoke at the Wednesday protest in Washington, D.C. She has a history of praising terrorists, according to Canary Mission, a watchdog group.

, Speaking to a joint meeting of Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday made the case for why the U.S. must support the Jewish state as it fights Hamas and other Iranian-backed militias: “If you remember one thing from this speech, remember this: Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory is your victory,” Netanyahu said to a standing ovation in the House chamber. But outside, in the streets of Washington, D.C., thousands of protesters, some of them violent, sought to make their own case for why Netanyahu is a war criminal who should be charged with genocide over Israel’s retaliation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They did this by burning an effigy of Netanyahu outside the historic Union Station, just blocks away from the Capitol, and burning American flags. The demonstrators, dozens of whom were arrested, clashed with police and vandalized monuments. “Hamas Is Coming” was graffitied in red on the Columbus Memorial Fountain, a tribute to explorer Christopher Columbus unveiled in 1912 at the direction of then-President William H. Taft. At the Watergate Hotel, where Netanyahu stayed, pro-Palestinian activists backed by a New York-based charity under investigation unleashed a horde of maggots and set off fire alarms. The protest, dubbed “Arrest Netanyahu! Surround Congress July 24 with the People’s Red Line for Palestine,” was orchestrated by a coalition called ANSWER that was founded as an anti-war group days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The coalition provided resources online to supporters to bus them into Washington, D.C., and instructed people to “Wear red!” as a symbol for the alleged genocide in Gaza, according to a flyer for the demonstration. ANSWER is a project of Progress Unity Fund, a charity that lists a San Francisco address on tax forms.  A Washington Examiner review of social media posts and resources in connection to the planning of the protest found that a familiar cast of characters helped plan and execute the Wednesday rally that turned violent in the district. These organizations, which share ties to terrorist factions and some of the largest and most influential philanthropy networks funded by left-wing billionaires, touted on social media how they were behind the demonstration and sought to gin up support for the event in the lead-up to Netanyahu’s arrival. Several of the organizations also have opaque “dark money” funding streams that have, following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on Israel, prompted federal investigations over national security concerns. “We do know that Iran has been funding and encouraging some of the protest activity here in the United States,” White House national security adviser John Kirby said on Thursday, echoing similar comments made earlier this month by Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence. Outside the Capitol, one group leading the rally, Code Pink, posted a video of notorious antisemite Linda Sarsour telling the public that “progress” to turn the world against Israel “is because of our movement.” Sarsour, a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign activist, emphasized that supporters should “stay disruptive” as well as “make sure the Democratic Party continues to listen and to hear from you that they will not ever be an influential party in this country without heeding the calls of our movement.” Code Pink, which is connected to a pro-China propaganda network funded by businessman Neville Roy Singham, was one of more than a dozen groups behind the protests. Its funding stream also comes from the Tides Foundation and an assortment of donor-advised funds that allow the wealthy and well-connected to shield their giving from the public, tax records show. Here are other groups behind the demonstrations. Jewish Voice for Peace Activists from Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Israel group, notably staged a sit-in at the Capitol’s Cannon Building and wore t-shirts with the phrases “not in our name” and “Jews say stop arming Israel” this week. Capitol Police reportedly arrested some 200 JVP activists for “crowding, obstructing, or incommoding” inside the building. JVP, like other groups, was listed on an early July flyer as a leader of the Wednesday “Arrest Netanyahu! Surround Congress July 24 with the People’s Red Line for Palestine” protest. JVP is funded by the George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations, the Tides Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Firedoll Foundation, and Kaphan Foundation, according to tax records. We are here in DC with over 100 grassroots, human rights organizations demanding that the U.S. government  immediately cease weapons transfers and military funding to the Israeli military. ARMS EMBARGO NOW pic.twitter.com/rlJ4boUSmN — Jewish Voice for Peace (@jvplive) July 24, 2024 Palestinian Youth Movement The Palestinian Youth Movement, or PYM, set maggots loose at Netanyahu’s hotel, the Washington Free Beacon reported. PYM is a project of the WESPAC Foundation, a nonprofit group in White Plains, New York, that also sponsors Students for Justice in Palestine. This week, the Anti-Defamation League asked the IRS to investigate WESPAC’s tax-exempt status over its unusual finances and alleged fomenting of antisemitism. PYM’s funding is opaque due to it being a project of WESPAC. However, records show that WESPAC has received large checks in recent years from the Tides Foundation, which is bankrolled by Soros, the Rockefellers, the Ford Foundation, Bill Gates, and other top donors. WESPAC, a dark money group due to its housing of projects with non-public finances, also receives donations from donor-advised funds and the Rockefellers. BREAKING: Capitol police pepper-sprayed and tear gassed demonstrators who protesting against 10 months of genocide perpetuated by the US and war criminal Netanyahu who is speaking in front of Congress today. pic.twitter.com/u2Z5du9Z8w — Palestinian Youth Movement (@palyouthmvmt) July 24, 2024 The People’s Forum The People’s Forum, another group listed on a Wednesday planning flyer, alleged on social media during the demonstrations that police were engaged in unjust brutality against activists. People’s Forum is linked to the Code Pink-affiliated network that supports the Chinese Communist Party, prompting Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to launch an investigation. Rubio sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland about the pro-CCP network, citing multiple reports by the Washington Examiner. People’s Forum’s funding is also largely opaque, though it received a staggering $12 million in 2019 from Goldman Sachs’s donor-advised fund. It also received cash from Code Pink and United Community Fund, an obscure nonprofit organization that lists its address on tax forms as a UPS store mailbox in New York City. BREAKING! Police brutalize protesters at #ArrestNetanyahu demonstration. While the US government prioritizes upholding “Fort Netanyahu”, the people stand with Palestine and against the genocide! #ArrestNetanyahu #ShutItDown4Palestine pic.twitter.com/R2PC2LBcjj — The People’s Forum (@PeoplesForumNYC) July 24, 2024 Palestinian Feminist Collective Palestinian Feminist Collective, or PFC, also was behind the Wednesday protests. The Washington Examiner reported in November 2023 that PFC rakes in funding through WESPAC. On Oct. 7 of last year, PFC posted a graphic on social media appearing to praise the Hamas-led attack, noting it “holds firmly the right of Palestinians to resist the Zionist colonizer.” PFC received a grant in 2023 from the Third Wave Fund, which “funnels grants to gay, lesbian, ‘intersex,’ and transgender advocacy groups in the name of ‘gender justice,’” according to the Capital Research Center think tank. The Third Wave Fund, according to tax records, is a project of a Massachusetts-based group called Proteus Fund that routes money to grassroots initiatives aligned with the Left. Arab Resource & Organizing Center Arab Resource & Organizing Center, also known as AROC, is an anti-Israel coalition that blocks ship ports with the goal of restricting U.S. weapons from going to Israel. But AROC is technically a trade name. It is sponsored by the Tides Center, an affiliate of the Tides Foundation that sponsors many anti-Israel groups. The Tides Center manages hundreds of millions of dollars in assets and used to fiscally sponsor the national Black Lives Matter group. U.S. Palestinian Community Network USPCN is another offshoot of WESPAC, making its own funding difficult to track. USPCN has also notably called on its website to free imprisoned Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist group members, including Khalida Jarrar. One founding chapter member of USPCN is Rasmea Odeh, whom the U.S. government deported to Jordan in 2017 for her involvement in a fatal 1969 supermarket bombing in Jerusalem. THREAD 1/3: Thousands have gathered in D.C. today as zionist war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Congress. Regardless of political party, the U.S. continues unconditional support for Israel, despite its genocidal campaign in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/yKE4Q84d64 — US Palestinian Community Network (@uspcn) July 24, 2024 Al-Awda Al-Awda, also known as the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition, has for years been led by Amani al Hindi Barakat, who has supported “intifada” against Israel and praised Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, as “excellent,” social media posts show. Al-Awda is based in Coral Springs, Florida. It is soliciting donations through PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App, according to financial records. U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights USCPR is an anti-Israel group that has reportedly fiscally sponsored the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions National Committee. The panel includes the Council of National and Islamic Forces in Palestine, the members of whom recently included U.S.-designated terrorist groups, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas. USCPR fundraises through a charity called Education for Just Peace in the Middle East. The charity has received large checks over the years from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, according to tax records. 6 intersections shut down to block Netanyahu. Tens of thousands of protesters packed outside the Capitol in resistance of the US-Israeli genocide machine. The more the state & police try to repress our movement, the harder we’ll keep fighting for our people. Escalate for Gaza pic.twitter.com/7MSmg3MjRF — USCPR #StopArmingIsrael (@USCPR_) July 24, 2024 International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network IJAZN, according to fundraising records, is another WESPAC project. IJAZN calls itself an “international network of Jews who are uncompromisingly committed to struggles for human survival and emancipation, of which the liberation of the Palestinian people and land is an indispensable part.” “The State of Israel betrays the long histories of Jewish struggles for liberation and traditions of participation in collective struggles for liberation more broadly,” IJAZN says on its website. Council on American-Islamic Relations CAIR, one of the most prominent anti-Israel groups in the U.S., is based in Washington, D.C., and has chapters across the country. Its national director said on Wednesday that Netanyahu “should be delivered to the Hague to give his testimony about his war crimes” instead of being allowed to speak in Congress. CAIR was named as an “unindicted co-conspirator” of Hamas in a 2009 terrorism financing case, court records show. Top CAIR donors include the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a major donor-advised fund, the Tides Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and other grantmakers, according to a recent report by national security analyst Ryan Mauro. “Instead of speaking today, [#Netanyahu] should be delivered to the Hague to give his testimony about his war crimes,” said @NihadAwad, our national executive director. #GazaGenocide #Israel #Gaza pic.twitter.com/ahpR0pAuc0 — CAIR National (@CAIRNational) July 25, 2024 Palestinian Assembly for Liberation PAFL, which “is committed to strengthening Palestinian mobilizations for liberation and return,” was also listed on a planning flyer for the protest. “The march on DC is tomorrow!” PAFL posted on Facebook this week before the event, sharing a bus drop-off location and instructions for supporters to attend it. “We are coming to show Netanyahu he is not welcome here. Remember to wear red!” PAFL says on its website it is “based in North America.” Writers Against the War on Gaza Writers Against the War on Gaza calls itself “a coalition of media, cultural, and academic workers who are committed to the horizon of liberation for the Palestinian people.” It formed in October 2023 and was listed on a flyer for the D.C. protest. On its website, WAWOG has a link for the public to donate to the WESPAC-housed Palestinian Youth Movement and promotes the work of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. Also known as PACBI, the latter coalition is a key cog in the BDS movement and was kicked off the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue last year. American Muslims for Palestine American Muslims for Palestine, or AMP, was also behind the anti-Netanyahu protest. AMP, also known as the AJP Educational Foundation, is closely affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine. 1/ Yesterday, tens of thousands of passionate advocates gathered in Washington, D.C. to stand against War Criminal Netanyahu’s visit and address to Congress at a massive rally and march organized by American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and our coalition partners. pic.twitter.com/GSXTjCbgcf — American Muslims for Palestine (@AMPalestine) July 25, 2024 AMP was notably ordered by a judge this month to comply with a demand by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares to open up its books, Miyares announced. Miyares is investigating AMP for potentially funneling money to terrorism. AMP, which is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, put out a statement after Oct. 7. blaming the Jewish state for allegedly being “the root cause of violence and unrest” in the Middle East. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER AMP advocacy director Ayah Ziyadeh spoke at the Wednesday protest in Washington, D.C. She has a history of praising terrorists, according to Canary Mission, a watchdog group. AMP’s Advocacy Director @ayahziyadeh addresses the thousands rallying in DC to protest war criminal Netanyahu’s speech in Congress today. #ArrestNetanyahu pic.twitter.com/7alnM8eA44 — American Muslims for Palestine (@AMPalestine) July 24, 2024 In March 2021, she shared a post on social media expressing support for Majd Barbar, a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist member, Canary Mission found., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/netanyahu-war-criminal.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Gabe Kaminsky,

A Democratic group that spent thousands of dollars backing a since-failed tax proposal supported by Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) will soon disclose its donors and pay a fine as part of a settlement over campaign finance law violations, according to documents.

Boldly Forward Colorado, a group that, as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, is not required to report its donors to the IRS, agreed with state investigators to pay a more than $18,000 fine and submit paperwork listing its contributors in 2023, a settlement agreement stated. Boldly Forward Colorado is legally allowed to fund ballot measures, but the $350,000 it spent in 2023 supporting Proposition HH was determined to be above a certain threshold permitted by a 501(c)(4), meaning it should have registered as an issue committee and publicized its fundraising and expenses, state officials said.

“This case is just the latest example of the department working for Coloradans to promote transparency and ensure issue committees disclose their donors to the people of Colorado,” Jack Todd, a spokesman for Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said in a statement.

“This settlement is in line with previous campaign and political finance settlements and is the largest the department has ever obtained under the current statute,” Todd said.

The state-level revelation illustrates how dark money groups often engage in shadowy spending maneuvers that sometimes skirt federal law and, broadly, could raise transparency issues. Another big spender supporting the failed proposition in Colorado was Sixteen Thirty Fund, a group managed by the Arabella Advisors dark money network in Washington, D.C., that the Washington Examiner reported Thursday is connected to an operation targeting House Republicans in states through grassroots-sounding pop-up groups.

“Tactics like this from fake grassroots groups are the reason voters are fed up with a political system that’s overly nationalized, in the pocket of big-moneyed elites, and fails to address issues that their voters care about,” CEO Jeff Clements of American Promise, a group that advocates limiting certain spending in elections, said on Thursday of the Sixteen Thirty Fund-backed operation.

Boldly Forward Colorado has a tab on its website listing its “esteemed donors,” but the tab does not list amounts for these organizations. Some include the Vail Resorts Employee PAC, Advanced Technology, America Works, and the Vail Corporation.

Boldly Forward Colorado’s revenue in the fiscal year ending in 2021 was $112,500, though its revenue in the following tax period was less than $50,000, meaning it filed something called a Form 990-N (e-Postcard) for smaller organizations.

“We supported Prop. HH openly and transparently by contributing disclosed contributions to that ballot initiative, at the time we believed we were meeting all filing requirements,” Amber Miller, a spokeswoman for Boldly Forward Colorado, told CPR News.

“Once we received this complaint, we moved expeditiously to work with the Secretary of State to remedy and are now working with them on next steps,” Miller said.

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The settlement comes after the conservative Public Trust Institute nonprofit group filed a January complaint against Boldly Forward Colorado arguing that it should file as an issue committee.

The conservative group previously filed a complaint that led to Colorado’s ethics commission conceding that Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) skirted Colorado’s gift ban for public officials.

Lower Costs California, Nebraska for Us, and Michigan Families for Fair Care all have a bone to pick with Republicans; they run attack ads on GOP lawmakers running for reelection in competitive races and promote President Joe Biden‘s agenda.

At first glance, the trio appear distinct from one another and to be grassroots projects organized by concerned citizens aiming to hold power accountable in separate states. But in actuality, these three groups are all one and the same — shadowy legal trade names of a recently formed nonprofit organization registered in Wilmington, Delaware, according to corporate Washington, D.C., records. That entity, Unrig our Economy, is itself hardly grassroots: every dime of its publicly available funding, $5 million during Unrig Our Economy’s last fiscal year, derives from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, an influential Washington, D.C.-based activist hub that is bankrolled by left-wing billionaires and managed by Arabella Advisors, the largest Democratic-allied dark money network in the United States.

That the $1 billion Arabella Advisors consulting firm is closely linked to Unrig Our Economy’s state-level operation is a window into how financiers of Arabella’s offshoots work discreetly through complex tax laws to prop up self-styled grassroots groups that serve as GOP attack dogs come election season. Arabella’s offshoots, including the Sixteen Thirty Fund, sponsor hundreds of projects raking in anonymous checks and also incubate groups that often go on to become key players in the world of progressive-Left philanthropy.

The Sixteen Thirty Fund, which spent over $400 million in 2020 boosting Democrats and helping to unseat former President Donald Trump, is under no obligation as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group to disclose its donors. However, some public disclosures show major supporters to the Sixteen Thirty Fund in recent years have included entities tied to George Soros, Hansjörg Wyss, Pierre Omidyar, Mark Zuckerberg, as well as Mark Heising and his wife, Liz Simons.

There is “nothing local about these faux grassroots campaigns designed to confuse and mislead voters,” said Caitlin Sutherland, director of the conservative Americans for Public Trust watchdog group. APT, which has argued Arabella’s offshoots violated their tax-exempt status by allegedly enriching Arabella’s founder, Eric Kessler, is affiliated with a right-leaning network of groups shaped by conservative activist Leonard A. Leo. Arabella-linked groups, in turn, have accused Leo of enriching himself through the network. Both networks deny any wrongdoing.

Unrig Our Economy, which formed in 2022 as a merger of two Sixteen Thirty Fund projects called Tax March and Health Care Voter, told the Washington Examiner it “advocates for a fair tax code and an economy that works for everyone while holding corporations accountable for hurting working Americans.” The Sixteen Thirty Fund issued a $5 million grant in 2022 to Unrig Our Economy, the president of which, longtime Democratic political operative Andrea Purse, is the former managing director of the Arabella-linked Hub Project that, according to the New York Times, Wyss started.

And one year later, in 2023, Unrig Our Economy went on the offensive, creating pop-up groups to enjoy its tax-exempt status and do its political work in several states under the manufactured banner of grassroots activism, according to corporate records.

There’s Lower Costs California, “a group of concerned citizens who have a vision for a better and more affordable California for people from every background.” There’s Nebraska For Us, “a coalition of workers, farmers, grandparents, small business owners, and everyone in between committed to fighting for a fair Nebraska that works for us.”

And there’s also Michigan Families for Fair Care, which says on its website that it works to elevate “the voices of Michiganders and telling the stories of our families, friends, and neighbors who want a brighter and healthier future for their families and communities.”

The Sixteen Thirty Fund-backed initiatives have recently launched multimillion-dollar ad campaigns targeting House Republicans ahead of the 2024 election, according to press releases and Facebook’s ad spending database. Many ads depict individuals touting their credentials as residents of California, Nebraska, and Michigan, though they don’t appear to make any mention of Unrig Our Economy or its Washington, D.C.-based financier, the Sixteen Thirty Fund.

Lower Costs California ran ads between January and June against Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), who faces a tough challenge in Democrat Will Rollins. Nebraska for Us manages active campaigns accusing Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who is running against Democrat Tony Vargas, of wanting to cut Medicare and raise the retirement age. And Michigan Families for Fair Care launched a “12-week, seven-figure paid media ad campaign” earlier this year slamming Rep. John James (R-MI) for a congressional vote that the group said would raise healthcare costs.

“Michigan Families for Fair Care is a 501(c)(4) issue advocacy campaign devoted to educating the residents of Michigan’s 10th Congressional District on important economic issues and the impact of Congressman John James’ votes in Congress,” Michigan Families for Fair Care said this year when announcing an ad called “Can’t Afford It” featuring “Alex, a carpenter from Mount Clemens, who owns a construction business and knows what it’s like to struggle to afford health insurance.”

To CEO Jeff Clements of American Promise, a group that advocates limiting certain spending in elections, the Unrig Our Economy-led campaign is notable because out-of-state resources often go a long way in determining race outcomes. While legal, the lack of transparency in the case of the Unrig Our Economy arrangement is likely to leave voters uninformed about who may be influencing their candidate selections, according to Clements.

“Tactics like this from fake grassroots groups are the reason voters are fed up with a political system that’s overly nationalized, in the pocket of big-moneyed elites, and fails to address issues that their voters care about,” Clements said.

The Sixteen Thirty Fund and other Arabella-managed groups have in the past been connected to similar political operations masquerading as grassroots. The New York Times reported in 2022 that the Sixteen Thirty Fund in 2020 was the main backer of Piedmont Rising, which ran ads aiming to appear as news reports on a website dubbed the “North Carolina Examiner” attacking Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).

Moreover, Arabella groups have in recent years helped fund a Democratic operative-run political operation called Courier Newsroom that is behind partisan “local news” websites across the country, OpenSecrets reported in 2020.

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In 2018, the Sixteen Thirty Fund financed attack ads on House Republicans in swing states with the help of grassroots-sounding trade names in Florida, Michigan, and North Carolina, Politico reported.

The Sixteen Thirty Fund did not reply to a request for comment. Unrig Our Economy declined to comment on its ties to the Sixteen Thirty Fund.

An anti-Israel group is being ordered to open its books and produce sprawling records on its finances as part of an investigation led by a state attorney general into its alleged ties to Hamas, a Virginia judge ruled Tuesday.

Judge Richard B. Campbell for the Richmond Circuit Court ruled that American Muslims for Palestine is required to comply with a Civil Investigative Demand issued by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is concerned about whether AMP is violating its charitable status through unlawful fundraising and whether the group “may have used funds raised for impermissible purposes,” including “benefiting or providing support to terrorist organizations.” AMP, also known as the AJP Educational Foundation, is being sued by the family of a teenager named David Boim, who was killed in 2004 by terrorists in the West Bank. The Boim family says AMP is connected to Hamas.

AMP is based in Falls Church, Virginia, according to tax records. On Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel last year, the group notably put out a statement blaming the Jewish state for being “the root cause of violence and unrest” in the Middle East. AMP is closely affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine, the national college campus group protesting across the United States against Israel after the Oct. 7 attack.

Miyares’s request for records pressed AMP to turn over any financial audits, payment processing information, checks, ATM withdrawal records, communications about charitable solicitation, and other records.

“Have you provided any funds or permitted the use of funds raised by a solicitation or by contribution to benefit or provide support, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to terrorists, terrorist organizations, terrorist activities, or to family members of any terrorist, including the organization known as Hamas that was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States Department of State in 1997?”, the records request asked.

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The Washington Examiner reached out for comment to AMP.

“I’m pleased with the court’s decision,” Miyares told the Washington Examiner.