Congress Probes Pro-Hamas Group Behind Union Station Riot for 'Strong' Ties to CCP

House Republicans are probing the People's Forum—the pro-Hamas social justice organization behind the violent riot at Union Station over the summer—over its "strong" ties to the Chinese Communist Party, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

Ten Republican members of the House Natural Resources Committee, led by the panel's chairman Bruce Westerman (R., Ark.), outlined how the People's Forum's funding can be traced back to Neville Roy Singham, a well-known socialist businessman with direct ties to China's global propaganda operations, in a letter sent to the New York-based group on Monday.

The letter marks an escalation in the committee's ongoing investigation into the events leading up to and following the July 24 riot at Union Station, where agitators launched human feces at U.S. Park Police officers, burned an American flag, raised a Palestinian flag, and defaced several monuments with graffitied slogans such as "abolish the U.S.A." and "Hamas is coming."

The investigation was launched in the immediate aftermath of the riot and has focused on the individuals and groups responsible for the riot. Lawmakers are now broadening the scope of the investigation, digging into the foreign influences driving those behind the riot.

A 2023 report published by the New York Times revealed how Singham has constructed a shady network of nonprofits headquartered at UPS stores, which send millions of dollars producing and distributing media content parroting Chinese propaganda talking points. At least one of the groups, the Justice and Education Fund, funds, provides services like accounting, and shares personnel with the People's Forum, according to federal tax filings.

Singham's network also funds the media outlets Dongsheng News and BreakThrough Media, both of which provide friendly coverage of Chinese issues—the People's Forum regularly touts content produced by both outlets. In September 2021, the People's Forum posted a video of BreakThrough Media journalist Kei Pritsker stating that "China is not our enemy, China isn't belligerent towards us, China wants peace."

Considering the People's Forum's involvement in the Union Station riot, the revelations raise serious concerns about China's efforts to influence public opinion and sow division in the United States. American intelligence agencies have warned that China engages in information warfare in the United States by, for example, providing financial incentives for academic institutions and nonprofit organizations to bolster positive views of the nation.

"The Committee is concerned with the CCP’s growing attempts to influence U.S. policies and that the relationship between the CCP and the People’s Forum may impact the People’s Forum’s political and advocacy activities, including those relating to the abuse of free speech," Westerman and the other lawmakers wrote to the People's Forum executive director Manolo De Los Santos.

The letter demanded the People's Forum share with the committee all documentation related to its actions ahead of the Union Station riot, communications it has conducted with CCP-affiliated individuals or groups, foreign agent disclosures, and financial transactions between it and any foreign entity.

De Los Santos and the People's Forum general manager David Sung Mo Chung both serve in top positions at Singham's Justice and Education Fund, further exemplifying the intricate ties binding the groups within the network.

The People's Forum regularly celebrates China and the Chinese socialist revolution, according to a Free Beacon review of the group's social media activity and the events it has organized. The group, for example, recently offered a three-part online course titled "When The People Stand Up: 75 Years of the Chinese Revolution." The group also accused the Pentagon of fueling "Sinophobic hate crimes" and hosted a festival showing short films that glorify the "history of modern China and its people."

The People's Forum did not respond to a request for comment.

The Natural Resources Committee's oversight and investigations subcommittee is also hosting a hearing on Tuesday to further examine the riot and its organizers. According to a memo sent to committee members and reviewed by the Free Beacon, the hearing will include testimony from the Interior Department's inspector general and experts.

The riot was planned as a public demonstration to protest Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the nation's capital, where he delivered an address to a joint session of Congress. The ANSWER Coalition, a pro-Hamas antiwar group, obtained federal permits for the demonstration, which it planned alongside the People's Forum.

The ANSWER Coalition and the People's Forum are both "convenors" and member organizations of the Shut It Down for Palestine coalition that was launched weeks after Hamas's deadly attacks on innocent Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023. The goal of the coalition is to organize marches, walk-outs, and sit-ins directed at political offices and businesses that "fund, invest, and collaborate with Israeli genocide and occupation."

The July protest was intended to be one of the most significant direct actions the group organized since it was founded. Prior to the demonstration, the People's Forum said it would be the "largest mass mobilization" of its kind and provide an opportunity for people to "call for the execution of international law and Netanyahu’s arrest."

"We will not be silent! The members of Congress who choose to participate in this shameful ritualistic embrace of Netanyahu will be remembered by history as complicit in aiding and abetting crimes against humanity," the group said.

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