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Russia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Like everything else, protests in the US are a business
It should come as no surprise, but the next time you see a protest popping up in cities across America, there is a chance it was not as spontaneous and homegrown as once expected. In fact, many of the young, rebellious faces in the crowd are paid actors content to earn a paycheck on behalf of very wealthy individuals who are committed to artificially manipulating the US political system. Enter Adam Swart, the CEO and founder of Crowds on Demand (CoD), whose website details a long list of services it provides to give any political movement the booster rockets it needs to get off the ground. 'If you need to hire protesters, we can get a crowd on the street, sometimes within 24 hours time. If you need speakers to present at a council meeting, we can provide talented and well-spoken individuals to advocate for the cause. We also have a dedicated team of phone-banking staff who can call Congressional Offices and convince government officials to support your cause and help you overcome opposition. If you need lots of letters and emails written from constituents, we have a network of tens of thousands of individuals across the country who can send well-written constituent letters to their representatives…' 'We are the ultimate guerilla lobbying and government relations firm,' the website boldly declares. Swart was forthcoming with the information that his publicity firm was offered a lucrative contract to assist in a Democrat-backed astroturfing effort. 'Interests aligned with the organizers of the July 17th movement have approached us and, in fact, we rejected an offer that probably is worth around $20 million dollars,' Swart admitted to NewsNation's Brian Entin in an interview. On July 17th, protests took place around the country against the Trump administration, organized by Good Trouble Lives On, a left-wing progressive organization. July 17th was the fifth anniversary of the death of former Democratic Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights leader who referred to protests as 'good trouble.' So why did Swart reject the multi-million dollar offer to host the July 17th event? After all, some Trump supporters suspect that CoD played a prominent role in the highly successful 'No Kings Day' protests, which were said to have attracted more than five million people in more than 2,100 cities and towns, possibly the largest single-day demonstration in American history. Right-wingers have insisted that the numbers turning out to oppose Trump are routinely bolstered by hired operatives supplied by Swart's company. While CoD denies any involvement in No Kings, for example, just the idea that a publicity firm could legally exist as a driving force to any protest movement is extremely unsettling (determining exactly what groups CoD supports is very difficult as employees are forced to sign non-disclosure forms that protect the client's anonymity). With regards to the 'Good Trouble Lives On' protest, Swart admits turning down the offer because the demonstrations would 'make us all look bad' as 1,500 events planned across country had the potential to 'turn violent.' The CEO said he does not activate any activists-for-hire if 'it involves illegal activity… we do not engage in any form of illegal activity – of course, no violence, no vandalism, and no blocking streets without a permit.' While Swart must be applauded for turning down a fortune for keeping the US political process transparent and safe, there are other big-league players who do not operate by such a moral compass. Consider George Soros and his Open Society Foundation for one. Last summer, at the height of anti-Israel protests on university campuses, US lawyer Alan Dershowitz told Fox News that organizations funded by the billionaire philanthropist and others helped finance the movements. 'There's no question that there are organizations funded by George Soros and the Rockefeller Brothers. Take for example 'Jewish Voice for Peace,'' Dershowitz said. 'It has been behind many of these demonstrations. They're not Jewish and they don't want peace. It's a fake organization. It's an old-line group of communists and anarchists that want to overthrow the United States government… These organizations are funded by Soros and other organizations that help turn these useful idiots into protesters and eventually into terrorists.' Getting back to the Democrats, the very act of astroturfing the US political system strongly suggests that Trump's MAGA presents a clear and present danger to the liberals. The Democrats have reached the point where they are practically forced to pay people a minimum wage check to mobilize against Donald Trump. Nothing screams a party in disorder more than one that obviously lacks grassroots support and is forced to rig the political system.
Russia Today
4 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Rent-a-crowd CEO lifts lid on US protest industry's ‘dirty secrets'
Political protests in the US are rarely acts of pure conviction, according to Adam Swart, CEO of a prominent publicity firm that supplies paid demonstrators for political and corporate events. Swart, who founded Crowds on Demand in 2012, revealed what was described as the 'dirty secrets' of his profession in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday. His company recruits and manages individuals who appear at rallies, protests, and public events on behalf of paying clients. Swart argued that compensating activists is not unethical. He said the service allows people to engage in causes they support but might not otherwise be able to attend. 'All activism is what I call incentivized activism,' he said. 'We compensate people for having their views known, but most people who attend demonstrations have some reason for being there other than the so-called purity of their beliefs.' Swart offered examples to bolster his claim, including the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. 'How many real housewives went out to protest for [the Black Lives Matter campaign] in the summer of 2020?' he said. 'Do you think it's because they cared about institutional racism? Or do you think it's to flex on social media?' He added that labor unions sometimes pressure members to attend demonstrations, with threats of less favorable work shifts, and political aides are often expected to take part in campaign events during their personal time. Paid demonstrators typically earn several hundred dollars per day, according to Swart. Nationwide publicity campaigns, he said, can cost millions. He noted that he recently turned down a $20 million offer from political interests opposed to US President Donald Trump. Swart emphasized that his rejection of the offer was not driven by ideology but by concerns that the campaign's likely failure would damage his firm's reputation. 'The problem is that these are the same consultant class who propped up [former US President Joe] Biden, who propped up [former Vice President] Kamala Harris, who fundamentally failed so miserably in the 2024 election, and who have failed every single day since then in reigning in Trump's agenda,' he said.
Fox News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Advocacy group CEO claims he was offered $20 million to recruit protesters for anti-Trump demonstrations
The CEO of an advocacy group said his organization turned down an offer that he said would have been worth around $20 million to help recruit for a national rally against President Donald Trump. "Interests aligned with the organizers of the July 17th movement have approached us and, in fact, we rejected an offer that probably is worth around $20 million dollars," Adam Swart, the CEO and founder of Crowds on Demand, told NewsNation's Brian Entin in an interview that aired on Tuesday. On Thursday, protests around the country are being planned against Trump, spearheaded by Good Trouble Lives On, a group that calls itself a peaceful and nonviolent protest and social change organization. They are planning to oppose Trump and what they call on their website "the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations." The protests planned for Thursday also take place on the fifth anniversary of the death of former Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a civil rights leader who routinely referred to protests as "good trouble." Swart said Crowds on Demand — a company based in California that specializes in providing on-demand crowds for protests — rejected the offer because they didn't think protests like the ones Good Trouble Lives On is hosting on Thursday would be effective. "I mean this is a nationwide thing, right? It's not to say I would have made 20 million dollars personally, but the value of the contract would have been worth around that amount nationwide to organize huge demonstrations around the country," Swart said. "But personally, I just don't think it's effective," he added. "So it's not, I'm not trying to call myself virtuous for rejecting it. What I'm saying is, I'm saying I'm rejecting it, not because I don't want to take the business, but because, frankly, this is going to be ineffective. It's going to make us all look bad." "President Trump's America is so successful that blue-haired basement dwellers are paid to stage fake protests against the administration's remarkable achievements," Harrison Fields, special assistant to the President and principal deputy press secretary, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Paid agitators should find real jobs instead of selling out for gift cards and meager paychecks that aim to divide the nation and obstruct America's greatest comeback. Nothing screams a party in disarray more than one that clearly lacks organic support and is forced to astroturf everything." Left-wing riots in Los Angeles resulting in violence, including the burning of the American flag and the assault of law enforcement officers, as well as the "No Kings Day" protests across the country, have recently made headlines. Fox News Digital reached out to Swart for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Fox News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Anti-ICE riot funding investigated after ‘numerous high budget requests' for paid agitators were reported
An investigation is underway into who is funding anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) riots disrupting Los Angeles and other major U.S. cities after a major company revealed it had received requests for help. Crowds on Demand, a California-based company that specializes in providing on-demand crowds for protests, told Fox News Digital it received "numerous high budget requests" to get involved with the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles and other cities but declined to participate. A company spokesperson said it declined to get involved in what is happening in Los Angeles because it did "not want to get close to any form of illegal activity, including violence, vandalism or blocking off roads without a permit." "We receive inquiries regarding practically every major social cause imaginable, and the anti-ICE demonstrations are no exception," the company said. "The fact that we receive requests does not mean we take them, in many cases, because the budget does not match the ambition." The company added it only takes on "impactful commonsense causes both for liberals and conservatives, but always represent(s) the commonsense position." "Even organizing peaceful demonstrators around this issue (anti-ICE) could put those demonstrators at risk due to the presence of violent agitators and the difficulty for law enforcement in distinguishing between peaceful and violent activists," the company said. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said anyone found to be abusing the law will be held accountable. "We're not here to negotiate with criminals. Break the law, attack our agents — you will be arrested, prosecuted, and held accountable. No exceptions," the agency vowed in a statement on X. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., the chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, shared that the committee is sending letters to multiple organizations believed to be behind the funding. One of the organizations called into questioning by Hawley and Republican California Rep. Kevin Kiley is the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA, an advocacy group believed to be at the center of the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. "Who is funding the LA riots? This violence isn't spontaneous. As chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Terrorism, I'm launching an investigation to find out," Hawley posted in a statement on X. Hawley's letter noted that "credible reporting" has indicated the organization has provided "logistical support and financial resources to individuals engaged in these disruptive actions," referring to the Los Angeles riots. "Let me be clear: bankrolling civil unrest is not protected speech. It is aiding and abetting criminal conduct. Accordingly, you must immediately cease and desist any further involvement in the organization, funding or promotion of these unlawful activities," Hawley wrote. Kiley also questioned who was behind the funding for the rioters and suggested that California Gov. Gavin Newsom's motive may be a conflict of interest. "The 'nonprofit' behind the LA riots donated almost $500,000 to support Newsom's campaign. It then received $34 million in state funding. I'm sure this is all a coincidence," Kiley wrote in a post on X. Kiley also shared with Fox News Digital that CHIRLA has reportedly also sponsored a campaign to abolish ICE in the past. "The NGO known as CHIRLA was centrally involved in the LA riots. The organization, which has previously sponsored a campaign to abolish ICE, alerted the rioters to where ICE operations were occurring in real time. The agitators would then show up and disrupt ICE activities, including through the use of violence," Kiley said. "This group is a major campaign contributor to Gavin Newsom and has received $34 million in state funding. An investigation is absolutely appropriate and necessary." IRS records obtained by Fox News show CHIRLA has received $34 million in government grants, including three from former President Joe Biden's administration for $750,000. The Million Voter Project, which received a portion of these funds and opposed Newsom's recall, has also supported anti-ICE protests, according to records. It is not clear whether either group funded any protest activity, and there is no evidence that they supported rioting. "It is absolutely absurd that either myself or the governor would be supportive in any way, shape or form to the vandalism and the violence that has taken place in our city," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNN in an interview Tuesday. "I have been abundantly clear that what is happening on our streets is unacceptable. Looting is criminal behavior. People will be arrested and prosecuted. I don't believe anybody who vandalizes the city supports immigrants." Bass' office told Fox News Digital she also set a curfew in downtown Los Angeles to "curb bad actors who do not support the immigrant community." "Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew, and you will be prosecuted," Bass vowed. Fox News Digital reached out to CHIRLA and Newsom's office for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to
