In a remarkable piece of investigative journalism published in Fox News, Asra Q. Nomani documented how a network of self-described Marxist and communist organizations mobilized pro-Nicolás Maduro protests across more than 100 American cities within 12 hours of his capture on Jan. 3 by U.S. forces. The minute-by-minute reconstruction reveals the operational capability that I described in my congressional testimony in December 2024: a sophisticated, foreign-funded rapid-response infrastructure operating on American soil.
Nomani’s reporting raises a critical question: What is this network actually built to do? The answer matters profoundly for understanding both the campus antisemitism many Jewish students experienced after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the broader threat to American foreign-policy coherence.
This infrastructure exists to mobilize immediate domestic opposition to U.S. actions that threaten authoritarian regimes aligned with Chinese and Russian interests. Not all anti-Israel protests fall into this category. But specific campaigns, particularly the “Shut It Down for Palestine” (SID4P) movement that blocked airports, bridges, tunnels and critical infrastructure, were organized by groups with documented ties to Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based American tech billionaire who sold his company for $785 million.
What The New York Times investigation revealed in August 2023 was a global operation. Singham has been co-opting left-wing movements worldwide—from political parties in South Africa to news organizations in India and Brazil, systematically steering them toward pro-China Communist Party narratives. The Times tracked hundreds of millions of dollars flowing to groups that “mix progressive advocacy with Chinese government talking points.”
In South Africa, Singham’s network funded the Nkrumah School, which hosts boot camps attended by activists and politicians from across Africa. According to U.S. tax records, one of Singham’s nonprofits donated at least $450,000 for training at the school. But activists who attended these sessions began noticing something troubling. What was marketed as liberation politics increasingly took a pro-China tilt. New Frame, a South African news outlet funded by Singham, shut down in July 2022 after staff questioned why there was no coverage of Uyghur oppression or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This pattern of co-optation was repeated globally. In India, Singham funded NewsClick, which “sprinkled its coverage with Chinese government talking points.” In Brazil, funding went to Brasil de Fato, which interspersed articles about land rights with praise for Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The operational model was consistent: Find genuine progressive movements, provide substantial funding and gradually shift their focus toward CCP strategic priorities.
According to the George Washington University Program on Extremism, this network has provided funding for U.S.-based pro-Palestinian protest movements. In my congressional testimony, I detailed how Singham has funneled more than $20 million into organizations, including The People’s Forum, ANSWER Coalition, and entities connected to the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
The network’s response to Oct. 7 demonstrates how this co-optation functions. Within hours of the attacks, BreakThrough News, which shares office space with The People’s Forum, framed the massacre as “resistance” and featured an interview with a politburo member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The PFLP is a designated terrorist organization reported to have held Israeli hostages. One day after the atrocities in Israel, at an Oct. 8 rally organized by The People’s Forum, education director Layan Fuleihan stated that “yesterday, the world woke up to incredible news,” referring to attacks that slaughtered 1,200 men, women and children.
These groups subsequently coordinated the July 2024 demonstration at Union Station in Washington, D.C., that resulted in an assault on a police officer and vandalism of monuments. Protesters displayed the flags of Hamas, Hezbollah and the PFLP. The operational coordination between The People’s Forum, ANSWER Coalition, BreakThrough News, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation was evident throughout the SID4P campaign.
It’s critical to understand that this network doesn’t operate within traditional American political categories. During the most recent U.S. presidential election, the Party for Socialism and Liberation ran Claudia De la Cruz as its candidate. The broader movement supported Jill Stein of the Green Party and left-wing professor Cornel West, who ran as an Independent, while attacking Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris as vigorously as any Republican. Their opposition isn’t to one party but to American power itself.
While China isn’t overtly antisemitic, Beijing recognized Oct. 7 as a strategic opportunity. The CCP calculated that activists mobilized to shout “Free Palestine” could later be activated to shout “Hands Off Taiwan.” Before Oct. 7, this network focused on amplifying pro-CCP content and denying Uyghur genocide. After Oct. 7, it shifted to anti-Israel narratives. Now, defending Maduro, the same infrastructure deploys with identical coordination.
Consider the operational history. In 2019, People’s Forum executive director Manolo De Los Santos physically blocked opposition figures from accessing Venezuela’s New York consulate. In March 2019, the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s De la Cruz traveled to Caracas for an International People’s Assembly conference, declaring “Venezuela is the epicenter … the personification of the anti-imperialist struggle.” And in November 2021, Vijay Prashad, director of the Singham-chaired Tricontinental Institute, posted a photo with Maduro on Venezuelan election day.
For Jewish students who experienced the SID4P campaign’s tactics, the Maduro protests clarify what they faced. This wasn’t primarily organic student activism. Specific campaigns were orchestrated by foreign-funded organizations testing rapid-response capabilities for broader deployment against American interests. The antisemitism that they experienced was tactical, not ideological. Beijing doesn’t care about Jews or Palestinians. It cares about building infrastructure to constrain American power.
The threat matrix extends beyond current events. As Maduro faces trial, expect sustained mobilization. When tensions escalate in the Middle East, particularly if Israel must act against Iran’s nuclear program, these organizations will generate immediate domestic opposition. Should China move on Taiwan, this infrastructure will activate with full force. Campus activists who blocked airports are being cultivated as future anti-intervention forces for Taiwan scenarios.
This raises questions under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. These groups share office space with CCP propaganda entities. Singham himself shares office space in Shanghai with the Maku Group, “whose goal is to educate foreigners about ‘the miracles that China has created on the world stage.’” Their messaging consistently aligns with Chinese and Russian strategic interests. Yet they operate as 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofits.
The operational structure is sophisticated. The International People’s Assembly functions as a coordinating infrastructure. Tricontinental generates ideological content. BreakThrough News and People’s Dispatch handle media dissemination. The People’s Forum provides physical space and training. ANSWER Coalition, along with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, manages street mobilization.
As Brian Becker stated in his Jan. 3 livestream, “a few of us stood up all night” and organized protests in “100-plus cities” by morning. This represents standing infrastructure for ideological warfare.
Congressional investigations are ongoing. The House Oversight Committee has demanded Singham’s testimony. The Ways and Means Committee is examining tax-exempt status. The Senate Judiciary Committee has called for FARA investigations.
The threat picture is clear. When U.S. forces capture an indicted narco-dictator, and within 12 hours, there are coordinated protests with messaging aligned to Beijing talking points, we’re observing foreign-backed influence operations. When the same network that co-opted South African labor movements, Indian news outlets and Brazilian media organizations now orchestrates American campus activism, the pattern reveals purpose-built anti-interventionist infrastructure.
This infrastructure will be deployed for Iran, for Venezuela during Maduro’s trial and for Taiwan when China calculates the moment has arrived. Nomani’s reporting documents the operational tempo. The Jewish community experienced the tactics firsthand. Understanding that Jewish communities faced not antisemitism for its own sake, but antisemitism as a tool of geopolitical warfare, is essential for recognizing what comes next.
