Pro-Palestine and Anti-America Voices Converged at “No Kings” Protests Nationwide
From chants of “Death to America” and “Death to the Zionist Entity", the protests reflected overlapping radical ideologies in a movement reportedly backed by major funders.
This week in Philadelphia and New York City, “No Kings” protests reportedly organized by the billionaire-backed 50501 Movement were presented as demonstrations against executive power. Yet in both cities, demonstrators waved communist flags, called for “communist revolution,” and chanted “Death to America” and “Death to the Zionist Entity (Israel).”
The scenes suggested a more radical ideological current than the movement’s public branding implies. They also renewed scrutiny of financial backing that watchdog organizations and journalists say has flowed through the broader protest network, with some pointing to funding from major foundations and donor-linked groups ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars.
Elite Foundation Money Powers “Grassroots” Movement
The No Kings protests are orchestrated by the 50501 Movement, which despite its grassroots branding, relies on massive institutional support. The movement’s three primary funders are Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss’ Foundation ($293.6 million), George Soros’ Open Society Foundation ($194.2 million), and Arabella ($47 million), according to reporting that identified the financial networks behind the demonstrations.
The 50501 Movement coordinates hundreds of organizations with billions in collective resources, raising questions about the authenticity of protests portrayed as organic citizen resistance. The scale of institutional backing stands in sharp contrast to the movement’s public messaging emphasizing grassroots participation.
“Death to America” in Philadelphia
Video footage from Philadelphia’s demonstration captured participants chanting “Death to America,” “Death to the Zionist Entity,” and “Long Live the Intifada” while carrying Palestinian flags.
The rhetoric directly contradicts the No Kings movement’s stated principles. According to the movement’s website, organizers “uphold a commitment to nonviolent action” and expect “all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events.”
Communist Flags and Revolutionary Chants in New York
In New York City, demonstrators displayed communist flags at a “No Kings” rally, prompting one observer to note the irony, “No kings, but yes Communist dictators.”
The communist presence grew more explicit as the demonstration continued. A communist group openly marched with the crowd while chanting, “There is only one solution, COMMUNIST REVOLUTION!” The call for revolutionary overthrow of the American system marked a significant departure from conventional political protest.
The Radical Overlap
Taken together, the chants for “Intifada,” the cries of “Death to America” and “Death to the Zionist Entity,” and the open calls for communist revolution did not appear as isolated or unrelated outbursts, but as overlapping expressions of the same radical political energy present at these No Kings protests. Rather than reflecting a narrow, peaceful objection to executive power, the demonstrations revealed a broader ideological coalition in which anti-Americanism, revolutionary leftism, and extremist pro-Intifada rhetoric existed side by side—and, in some cases, appeared to reinforce one another.