Group stoking L.A. riots tied to pro-Chinese Communist millionaire
By Hudson Crozier, Daily Caller News Foundation
PSL condemns ‘Trump’s reign of terror targeting immigrant families’
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.