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WASHINGTON, DC – Shortly after President Donald Trump took the official oath across town at the U.S. Capitol, Johng Delacruz, 31, a local Filipino-American nurse, marched from another corner of the capital, on Meridian Hill near 16th Street NW, joining the cacophony of drums, chants, signs and conversations that left a little unclear about the ideology of the meeting.
The man held up a pre-made sign saying “SOCIALISM DEFEAT FASCISM!” Below the message is the name of the organization that paid for the creation of the sign: Democratic Socialists of America.
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A pre-made neon green poster read: “WORKERS’ RIGHTS AND THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE. NOT WAR AND GENOCIDE”, with the stamp “People’s Power Assembly”,
Another slogan, “FIGHT TRUMP’S AGENDA,” spelled out the socialist organization Freedom Road in smaller letters.
Filipino-American nurse Johng Delacruz expressed support for socialism (Asra Nomani, Pearl Project)
A pre-printed banner carried by a group of protesters read: “WORKERS SHOULD HAVE THE POWER, NOT BILLIONAIRES!” Under her, the Party of Socialism and Liberation took the credit.
“I am proud to identify as a socialist who supports socialist movements,” Delacruz told me without hesitation. “I believe it 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 it from the media coverage of that so-called professional “resistance” to Trump, with the Guardian reporting only for “anti-Trump protests to sweep the world on Inauguration Day.” Only VOA describing protesters as “anti-Trump protesters”, and NBC News writes that “progressive groups” held marches across the country – not a word about self-described socialist dreams for many groups.
Nearby, three female activists wrapped in winter clothing carried a banner in the blue and red colors of the Puerto Rican flag, which also fluttered above their heads. It went by the name, Diaspora Pa’lante Collective, advocating independence for Puerto Rico—and a socialist government to lead it.
A man and woman dressed in black masks dramatically pushed a fake guillotine, emblazoned with the ominous message: “COME TAKE THE SUM.”
Lacy MacAuley described herself as an anarchist and expressed her support for socialism (Asra Nomani, Pearl Project)
These were not side gatherings of hobbyists. Among them was Medea Benjamin, the wealthy co-founder of Code Pink, who marched with a heart-shaped cardboard sign painted hot pink.
“The media doesn’t give full and honest accounts of these kinds of movements,” Delacruz told me. “It has the purpose of maintaining the status quo of the capitalist system, if you will. If we believe that socialism is the antithesis of capitalism, then of course it will not cover it. I think at best anti-Trump protesters from various movements will say, if so, but I highly doubt it that they will come out with specific calls and requests that we have.”
Understanding these requirements is key. 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, rooted in the propaganda tradition founded by the Soviet Union: agitprop. Short for “agitation and propaganda,” agitprop combines political messages with provocative action to influence and mobilize. I call these kinds of protests “agitprop actions”.
Journalists I spoke to at the rally admitted that they rarely identify the groups behind the protests. “The public doesn’t really understand socialism,” one journalist told me. “They turn off when they hear the word.” It is easier to reduce activists to concepts that their readers can grasp.
In the run-up to the protests, I stayed up until 3 a.m. researching the ideologies of 205 groups across the country involved in the Jan. 20 protests, as part of my reporting for the Pearl Project, a non-profit investigative journalism project I co-founded. My analysis: 27 were Palestinians, Muslims, Arabs or Islamists; 63 identified themselves as socialists; and 115 fall into what I call “adjacent” categories.
The protest industry is a complex and often opaque network of organizations, funding streams, and ideological agendas that work together to orchestrate demonstrations, shape public narratives, and influence political outcomes, like an effective “agitprop” operation. Understanding this ecosystem is critical because it reveals the motivations, alliances, and strategies behind what often appears to be spontaneous grassroots activism.
A walk through Meridian Hill Park revealed these plans more clearly. The groups’ slogans advocated socialism and anti-imperialism in countries like the Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, Cuba—and here in the US
The protests are far from isolated events often coordinated efforts including global actors, local subsidiaries and significant financial support. Through Project Pearl, I seek to investigate and expose the mechanisms of this industry—to identify the players, track their funding, and analyze their influence. By shedding light on how protests are organized and sustained, now positioning themselves as “resistance” to the Trump administration, I hope to provide transparency and equip the public with a deeper understanding of the forces shaping political discourse and activism.
A walk through Meridian Hill Park revealed these plans more clearly. The groups’ slogans advocated socialism and anti-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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The group’s 205 “supporters” across the country do not hide their goals. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, “Mormons with hope for a better world” says she is “committed to anti-racism, intersectional feminism, trans and queer liberation, disability justice, individual bodily autonomy, reproductive justice, socialism, anti-imperialism, and decolonization.” Leaders of Qiao collectivethe media outlet says it seeks “to be a bridge between the American left and China’s rich Marxist, anti-imperialist political work and thought.” The “Project for a Revolutionary Marxist International” it has its agenda in its name.
As the march turned from 16th Street NW onto Massachusetts Avenue NW, Lacy MacAuley, 46, became the focus of the cameras. Wearing a disco outfit for a nearby “dance protest,” she pulled a mask over sunglasses that read, “TRUMP NOT THAT VIBE.”
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“I’m an anarchist,” she said with a smile. “I identify as one. That means I question and oppose hierarchies and the rule of men over others.” While MacAuley criticized socialism for often becoming “too centralized,” she added, “He’s thinking in the right direction.”
By the end of the day, the protest had ended in Dupont Circle. The smell of marijuana lingered in the air as the protesters dispersed. One demonstrator shoved his sign into a trash can, with the message sticking out: “WE FIGHT THE NETWORK.”
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