Left-wing dark-money donors, including billionaire George Soros, have contributed more than $20 million to progressive groups funding protests against President Donald Trump’s law enforcement crackdown in Washington, D.C., according to financial records reviewed by The New York Post.
Left-wing dark-money megadonors, including George Soros, contribute $20M to groups funding protests against Trump’s DC crime crackdownhttps://t.co/HaBTpTP3Ht
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) August 13, 2025
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The protests are organized by Free DC, described as a “fiscally sponsored special project” of progressive nonprofits Community Change and Community Change Action.
On Monday, the group brought approximately 150 demonstrators near the White House to oppose Trump’s decision to federalize the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and deploy National Guard troops to the city.
Free DC promotes a set of “guiding principles” that include slogans such as “Do not obey in advance” and “Take up space.”
The group encourages nightly demonstrations, urging participants to “go outside at 8:00 PM and bang pots and pans, sing, chant, or make noise for five minutes” during what it describes as “this occupation.”

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The group has also scheduled additional events, including a “Cop Watch Training,” signaling continued protests against Trump’s plan to increase policing, dismantle homeless encampments, and improve public safety in the capital.
Community Change and Community Change Action, which fund Free DC’s activities, have received substantial contributions from Soros’ Open Society Foundations, the Tides Foundation, and the Arabella Advisors network, according to research by Americans for Public Trust.
“It is ironic that a protest to ostensibly ‘Free DC’ was hosted by Community Change, a group funded by massive amounts of outside dark money to push a pro-crime agenda,” Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, said in a statement.
“D.C. is facing shootings, carjackings, and assaults, and yet progressive groups like The Pritzker Foundation, George Soros, and the Arabella Network all spend millions of dollars to manufacture protests that weaken our communities.”
Financial disclosures show that in 2023 alone, Community Change and Community Change Action received $4 million from Soros’ Open Society Foundations, $680,000 from the Arabella Advisors network, and $145,000 from the Tides Foundation.
Between 2020 and 2023, the groups received $12.6 million from Open Society Foundations, $5.6 million from Arabella’s network, and $1.9 million from the Tides Network, under grants labeled for “civil rights, social action, advocacy” and “social welfare activities.”
Arabella Advisors, based in Washington, D.C., oversees several funds — including the Sixteen Thirty Fund, Windward Fund, and New Venture Fund — that have contributed to Community Change and Community Change Action since 2020.
Left-wing dark money organizations, including George Soros’, have contributed over $20 million to groups PROTESTING President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Washington, D.C. and the federalization of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, per The New York Post.… pic.twitter.com/hMuHFdB6dU
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) August 13, 2025
Additionally, Community Change received $1 million in 2021 and 2022 from Future Forward USA Action, a Democratic-aligned super PAC connected to Future Forward PAC, one of the main political committees supporting former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
Free DC’s website states that it began organizing in 2023 in response to a congressional effort to block a revision of the D.C. criminal code. Neither Free DC nor Community Change responded to requests for comment.
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