Progressives have spent the past year conducting protests and riots against federal immigration enforcement operations but are now adding protests against U.S. strikes in Iran to their repertoire. Activists began mobilizing to protest the Iran strikes quickly, perhaps even too quickly. According to a Fox News report, a network of left-wing activist organizations began plotting protests even before President Donald Trump publicly announced the Iran strikes. The groups were largely funded by American-born, Shanghai-based tech multi-millionaire Neville Roy Singham, who has been linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Fully 10 minutes before Trump confirmed the Iran strikes late Friday night/early Saturday morning, the ANSWER Coalition scheduled a Saturday protest. The ANSWER Coalition, which describes itself as Marxist and communist, networks with progressive activist organizations, including the National Iranian American Council, 50501, American Muslims for Palestine, the People’s Forum, Palestinian Youth Movement, and CodePink. The activist groups framed the Iran strikes as the beginning of an illegal war and a blatant abuse of power intended to profit “a tiny elite and oil executives.”

Previously, the ANSWER Coalition and its subsidiaries protested the U.S. capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Now, U.S. legislators are trying to determine just how much foreign money is being funneled into left-wing activist programs and protests on American soil. Fox News reported that the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) for information on links between foreign dark money channels and protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. “The Committee seeks to understand [DOJ] efforts to track or assess possible connections among organized efforts to obstruct law enforcement with foreign influences and criminal activities, including fraud,” the committee wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi. “The Committee believes it is imperative to assess whether foreign-sourced funding and/or proceeds of financial crimes, particularly those involving federal funds, may be contributing to, or otherwise exacerbating unrest and efforts to obstruct law enforcement.”

In comments to The Washington Stand, FRC Action Director Matt Carpenter asserted, “It’s no secret that left-wing activists rely on wealthy backers to underwrite their protests.” He explained that such protests have two primary purposes. “First, to gin up angst among the electorate by making them think the chaos is legitimate opposition to the policies of the current administration; and second, to keep the Democratic Party base in a state of anger which will help turnout in the upcoming midterm elections.” Carpenter added, “Tracking how the money flows from the financier to the NGOs, and activists, is important to figuring out whether these protests are legitimate First Amendment expressions or if it’s a sophisticated effort to destabilize America.”

In September, Trump designated the violent left-wing activist group Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, later classifying Antifa as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), specifically citing the group’s overseas funding sources. At a roundtable with law enforcement officials and reporters in October, the president shared that his administration has “a lot of records already, a lot of surprises, a lot of bad surprises, it’s people that you would never think,” regarding the foreign funding behind Antifa. The increased scrutiny was prompted by the assassination of Turning Point USA Founder and Trump ally Charlie Kirk. Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, was linked to Antifa and transgender-themed domestic terrorist cells following the assassination.

As TWS reported at the time, Singham has been tied to Antifa funding, distributing at least $100 million to Antifa-linked protest and activism groups. Other foreign funding sources connected to the organization include Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros, Swiss pharmaceutical billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, and the Europe-based Antifa International network.

Scott Mechkowski, visiting fellow for Deportation Studies at the Oversight Project and a former ICE officer, told TWS, “As a retired federal law enforcement officer with over 24 years at ICE and more than 30 years as a U.S. Army veteran, I can state unequivocally [that] foreign funding sustaining anti-ICE violence, pro-Iran agitation, and radical groups like Antifa represents a direct assault on American sovereignty, weaponizing domestic unrest to advance adversarial interests and threatening the very foundations of our society’s security and self-determination.”

Oversight Project President Mike Howell cited Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) Seven, entitled “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” which directed federal agencies to target left-wing domestic terrorism groups and identify their funding sources in the wake of Kirk’s murder. “Full enforcement” of NSPM-7, Howell told TWS, should be taking place. “We don’t have time to go after one or two people after violence occurs. We should be clear that the vast majority of the people in the streets are there on their own volition, but there is undoubtedly organizational funding that comes into play as well.”

The Oversight Project previously tracked connections between 50501, the organization responsible for orchestrating last year’s “No Kings” protests, and other left-wing organizations and funding sources. 50501 was found to have connections not only to ANSWER Coalition and CodePink, but also to Antifa, the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and, through them, to the CCP.

According to the Oversight Committee, foreign funding could also be propping up anti-ICE protests and riots, like those targeting the president’s operations in Minneapolis. “In response to federal response and enforcement actions, Minnesota has experienced repeated episodes of civil unrest, including incidents of property damage, assaults on law enforcement, and disruptions to public institutions,” the Oversight Committee’s letter read. “While peaceful protest is a protected feature of American society, recurring unrest places measurable strain on local communities and public safety resources.”