A socialist group that promoted the chaotic anti-deportation protests in Los Angeles that began Friday is tied to a network of groups bankrolled by a pro-China millionaire.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) spoke out in support of the mob rioting against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the weekend, posted to X to call for more action on Sunday and created signs that protesters were seen carrying. The PSL shares personnel overlap with groups funded by American tech mogul Neville Singham, whom The New York Times described in August 2023 as sitting at the center of a “lavishly funded influence campaign” promoting pro-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda.
“The people of Los Angeles and surrounding areas have taken a courageous stand against [President Donald] Trump’s reign of terror targeting immigrant families,” the PSL said in a Sunday statement. “In response, the administration has falsely labeled those taking to the streets in protest of the brutal war on immigrants as ‘rioters’ and called in thousands of National Guard soldiers for a crackdown.”
Trump mobilized the National Guard on Saturday to quell the riots, which have included crowds blocking traffic, vandalizing property with anti-ICE messages, starting fires and throwing objects at law enforcement in support of illegal migrants. At least 56 people were arrested over the weekend, NBC News reported.
“National Guard go away! ICE out of LA!” reads a Sunday X post from the PSL at 12:45 a.m. that called for “mass mobilization.” The group later posted videos of protesters gathering in the streets with supportive captions, omitting scenes of unrest that reportedly led to more arrests on Sunday. The PSL did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Singham, the pro-China businessman, has donated tens of millions of dollars to the PSL-linked group People’s Forum through various shell organizations since 2017, the New York Post reported. The People’s Forum was founded by Claudia De La Cruz, who ran as the PSL’s candidate for president in 2024 and was a “central committee member” of PSL.
The PSL is not required to disclose its funding publicly. De La Cruz described the organization as “member-funded” in October 2024.
PSL founding member Ben Becker, along with former PSL candidates Karla Reyes and Yari Osorio, have held leading roles at Breakthrough BT Media Inc, a Singham-funded media organization pushing pro-CCP narratives, according to the Network Contagion Research Institute. Breakthrough BT Media Inc’s 2023 tax filings show Becker as editor-in-chief, Reyes as chair, Osorio as treasurer and De La Cruz as secretary.
The DCNF could not reach Singham directly for comment. A spokesperson for Thoughtworks, a software company he founded, told the DCNF that it “has not been involved with [Singham] in a business capacity” since he sold it in 2017.
The People’s Forum did not respond to a request for comment. The group referred to Singham in 2021 as “a Marxist comrade who sold his company & donated most of his wealth to nonprofits that focus on political education, culture & internationalism.”
“I categorically deny and repudiate any suggestion that I am a member of, work for, take orders from, or follow instructions of any political party or government or their representatives,” Singham told the New York Times in August 2023.
The PSL has praised the late murderous dictator Mao Zedong for his communist revolution that established the modern Chinese communist regime. The group also denied the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy protesters by CCP troops at Tiananmen Square, as the Chinese government does.
The group’s social media posts, however, claimed L.A. protesters were resisting “repression” from the Trump administration.
The PSL’s anti-Israel stances and open support for Hamas terrorism came under scrutiny when former PSL member Elias Rodriguez was charged with killing two Israeli Embassy workers in May to make a statement for Palestinians. The PSL deleted an article featuring Rodriguez and said it had “nothing to do” with him after the murders.
