A full-fledged FBI investigation into the possible financial backers of the violent anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles has reportedly kicked off in response to a California-based company revealing that it had received requests to help gather a crowd to participate in the protests.
For context, on June 13, 2025, Fox News Digital reported that Crowds on Demand, a company based in California, had told the news outlet that they had received multiple requests to artificially increase the attendance at the Los Angeles protests, which kicked off on June 6. According to a company spokesperson, Crowds on Demand declined the requests. Moreover, The Epoch Times reported on June 11 that FBI Director Kash Patel had confirmed that his agency was already investigating “any and all monetary connections” to the riots.
Furthermore, after revealing to Fox that Crowds on Demand had received “numerous high budget requests” to beef up the attendance of the protests, a spokesperson told the outlet that they had refused to participate because they did “not want to get close to any form of illegal activity, including violence, vandalism or blocking off roads without a permit.”
In addition, the organization’s spokesperson told Fox, “We receive inquiries regarding practically every major social cause imaginable, and the anti-ICE demonstrations are no exception.” The spokesperson added, “The fact that we receive requests does not mean we take them, in many cases, because the budget does not match the ambition.”
Clarifying their values and the reasons why they declined the “high-budget” offers, Crowds on Demand’s spokesperson said that the company works with “impactful commonsense causes both for liberals and conservatives, but always [represents] the commonsense position.”Moreover, the spokesperson also explained, “Even organizing peaceful demonstrators around this issue (anti-ICE) could put those demonstrators at risk due to the presence of violent agitators and the difficulty for law enforcement in distinguishing between peaceful and violent activists.”
Furthermore, on June 16, 2025, retired FBI special agent Jason Pack told Fox News Digital that the individuals who organized the violent riots may face serious charges, saying, “Federal authorities may describe violent actions during protests as ‘domestic terrorism’ if there is evidence the individuals intended to intimidate the public or influence government decisions through force.”
Continuing, Pack said that while domestic terrorism is clearly defined by federal law, there is “no specific criminal charge by that name.” However, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice told Fox that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to charges against those involved in the riots. The DOJ spokesperson also told the outlet that the Justice Department “will charge the most serious readily provable offenses.”
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Importantly, a key player in the push to investigate the alleged financial backing for the anti-ICE riots is Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who reportedly is pursuing a personal investigation into multiple leftist organizations, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and the Union del Barrio (UD). Sen. Hawley told Fox News, “This is not spontaneous, and the proof of that can be seen as the riots are spreading to Chicago, to St. Louis.” The senator added, “Somebody is paying for all of this, and we’ve got to get to the bottom of it.”
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