ASRA NOMANI: Pro-Russia, pro-China radicals march against Trump: ‘We are proud to identify as a socialist’

WASHINGTON, DC – Shortly after President Donald Trump took his oath of office across the city at the US Capitol, John Delacruz, 31, a local Filipino-American nurse, moved from another corner of the nation’s capital, Meridian Hill at 16th Street NW, to join the cacophony . of drums, chants, signs and conversations that left unclear the bent ideas of the assembly.

A man held up a pre-made sign, “COMMORITY OVER FACISM!” Below the message, the name of the organization that paid for the production of the sign: Democratic Socialists of America.

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A neon green sign previously erected read: “WORKERS AND PEOPLE NEED RIGHTS. NOT WARS AND VIOLENCE,” stamped “Peoples Power Assembly,”

Another slogan, “FIGHT TRUMP’S AGENDA,” has the acronym Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

A previously published banner carried by a group of protesters read: “WORKERS SHOULD HAVE THE POWER, NOT BILLIONAIRE!” Under it, the Party for Socialism and Liberation took prominence.

“I am proud to present myself as a social organization that supports social organizations,” said Delacruz without hesitation. “I believe that is the future of humanity and the right side of history. Well, the ‘left’ if you will,” he added with a laugh.

But you wouldn’t know that from the media coverage of this so-called “resistance” to Trump, and the Guardian. reporting only that “anti-Trump protests sweep the world on inauguration day.” Just an American word he explained protesters as “anti-Trump protesters” and NBC News writes that “continuous groups” held marches across the country – not a word about the self-defined social dreams of many groups.

Nearby, three winter-clad activists hold a blue-and-red banner of the Puerto Rican flag, which also flies aloft. It was called the Diaspora Pa’lante Collective, advocating Puerto Rico’s independence—and a socialist government to lead it.

A man and a woman wearing black masks pushed a fake guillotine, which was inscribed with an ominous message: “COME AND GET The Sum.”

Lacy MacAuley described himself as an anarchist and expressed his support for socialism (Asra Nomani, Pearl Project)

These were not hobbyist gatherings. Among them was Medea Benjamin, the wealthy founder of Code Pink, carrying a heart-shaped cardboard sign painted in hot pink.

“The media does not give a full and honest report of actions like this,” said Delacruz. “There is an intention to raise the status of the capitalist process, if you like. If we believe that socialism is opposed to capitalism, then, it will not include it. I think it is better to say that anti-Trump protesters from various departments at the grassroots level, if so, I highly doubt that they will agree and the calls and requests we have.

Understanding these needs is important. The groups here weren’t just protesting Trump—they were promoting Socialism, Marxism and communism. Many of these organizations also have a pro-Russian stance, based on a propaganda tradition pioneered by the Soviet Union: agitprop. Short for “agitation and propaganda,” agitprop combines political messages with provocative action to influence and mobilize. I call protests like this “acts of agitprop.”

Journalists I spoke to at the rally admitted that they rarely target groups that cause protests. “The audience doesn’t really understand co-operation,” said one reporter. “They sing when they hear a voice.” It is easy to reduce activists to concepts that their students can grasp.

The night before the protest, I stayed up until 3 a.m., researching the opinions of 205 groups nationally involved in the January 20 protests, as part of a report for the Pearl Project, a non-profit investigative reporting project I co-founded. Mine analysis: 27 were Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, or Islamist; 63 identified themselves as social workers; and 115 fall into what I call “intimate categories”.

The protest industry is a complex and often conflicting network of organizations, funding channels and ideological agendas that work together to organize protests, shape public affairs and influence political outcomes, such as successful “agitprop” activity. Understanding this ecosystem is important because it reveals the motivations, alliances, and strategies behind what often appears to be spontaneous social activism.

A walk through Meridian Hill Park revealed these plans more clearly. The slogans of these groups promoted socialism and anti-imperialism in countries like the Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, Cuba—and here in the US.

Rather than being isolated events, protests are efforts are constantly coordinated including global actors, local chapters, and significant financial support. With the Pearl Project, I aim to investigate and expose the mechanisms of this industry—identifying the players, tracking their funding and analyzing their impact. By clarifying how the protests are organized and reinforced, positioned now as “resistance” to the Trump administration, I hope to provide transparency and equip the public with a deeper understanding of the forces that shape political discourse and activism.

A walk through Meridian Hill Park revealed these plans more clearly. The slogans of the groups were fighting for welfare and against imperialism in countries like the Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, Cuba—and here in the US. Their supporters did not hide their intentions.

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“Supporters” of 205 groups across the country do not hide their intentions. Based in Salt Lake City, “Mormons Hope for a Better World” it says it is “committed to anti-racism, feminism, Trans and Queer liberation, disability justice, individual bodily autonomy, reproductive justice, socialism, anti-imperialism, and decolonization.” The leaders of The Qiao Collectivethe media said they wanted to “be a bridge between the US left and China’s rich Marxist, anti-imperialist political work and thought.” I “Project of the Revolutionary Marxist International” it has its own agenda in its name.

As the march moved from 16th Street NW onto Massachusetts Avenue NW, Lacy MacAuley, 46, became the focus of the cameras. Dressed in a disco dress at a nearby “dance protest,” she put a mask over her glasses that read: “TRUMP NO VIBE.”

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“I’m an anarchist,” he said with a smile. “I present myself as an individual. That means I question and oppose the categories and the management of people over others.” While MacAuley criticized socialism as often being “too moderate,” he added, “It’s right thinking.”

At the end of the day, the protest ended at Dupont Circle. The smell of marijuana lingered in the air as the protesters dispersed. One of the marchers stuck his sign in a trash can, its message sticking out: “WE FIGHT BACK WITH THE TAXI.”

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