Morning Wire | “Follow the Money” – Dark Money Pipeline Uncovered Behind Minnesota Riots? (2.21.26)

Podcast: Morning Wire
Hosts: John Bickley, Georgia Howe
Guest: Seamus Bruner (Director of Research, Government Accountability Institute)
Release Date: February 21, 2026

Overview

This episode investigates the allegation that recent violent protests and riots—especially those in Minnesota—are not grassroots movements but orchestrated events funded by “dark money” networks. The hosts and guest explore the interplay between government welfare systems, immigrant communities, orchestrated protests, and the role of large non-profit networks in driving political outcomes. Seamus Bruner introduces the concept of a “border to ballot box pipeline,” examining how benefits and fraud serve as both a political and social lever in blue states.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The “Border to Ballot Box Pipeline” in Minnesota (03:36)

• Seamus Bruner details how Minnesota exemplifies the interconnected relationship between welfare systems, immigration, and political outcomes. He alleges that state leadership, particularly Governor Walz, has knowingly allowed welfare fraud “into the billions of dollars” for political gain, relying on reliably voting immigrant blocs.

  “Governor Walls, he covered it up... the numbers are astronomical, into the billions of dollars stolen from hardworking taxpayers by what turn out to be constituents of Governor Walz.” (03:36, Seamus Bruner)

• Media coverage: NYT reports are cited to reinforce the idea that these immigrant voting blocs are deliberately cultivated through welfare.

2. Expansion to Other States: California and Maine (05:33, 07:25)

• California: Bruner points out that Governor Newsom’s $20 billion allocation to homelessness is being redirected to migrant resettlement. He emphasizes that noncitizens are counted in Congressional apportionment, amplifying political power even if they do not vote.

  “That $20 billion disappears... has been redeployed towards illegal migrants and facilitating the resettlement of migrants because they don’t have homes when they come here.” (05:33, Seamus Bruner)

• Maine: Similar patterns observed, particularly with Somali communities, echoing Bruner’s claims of welfare exploitation and political leadership turning a blind eye.

  “…the political leadership in these blue states looks the other way because they know that as long as the benefits flow, the communities receiving those benefits will be reliably in their corner…” (07:25, Seamus Bruner)

3. Orchestrated Protests & “Riot Inc.” (09:02)

• Bruner outlines a theory of coordinated operations, likening nonprofit-funded protest networks to a corporate structure:
  • Migrant Inc.: NGOs facilitate migration and connect new arrivals to benefits.
  • Election Inc.: Mobilizes new arrivals and their communities for voting/ballot initiatives.
  • Riot Inc.: Activates protest and riot activities when the system is threatened.
• He names networks like Soros, Arabella, and Tides Foundation as key funders and cites “CHIRLA” (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles) as an example active in all three areas.

  “We called it Riot Inc.…these large NGOs, things like the Soros Network, the Arabella Funding network, the Tides Network, they are funding all of these groups that are on the ground causing chaos.” (09:31, Seamus Bruner)

• Points to evidence of Chinese Communist Party-linked funding (Neville Roy Singham network).

4. Federal Investigations & Political Reaction (12:06)

• Senator Josh Hawley is leading congressional calls for further investigation.
• Bruner states enforcement is ramping up—especially in the Treasury Department, tracking flows of foreign-linked money—but laments a lack of publicized law enforcement successes.

  “…it really falls to the DOJ and the enforcement agencies to actually bring criminal charges. And I would say probably the FBI and DOJ haven’t done a great job of really highlighting the successes that they're having.” (12:21, Seamus Bruner)

• Describes the situation as a “powder keg” fueled by media narratives and activist propaganda, resulting in escalating confrontations with law enforcement.

5. Reaction in the Trump White House (14:09)

• Bruner recounts briefing President Trump and senior officials, reporting that Trump was “shocked” and highly responsive, directing swift follow-up by legal and policy teams.

  “President Trump was, you know, shocked at some of the things that we, we showed him. Again, I was with Peter Schweitzer and we showed him some of the stuff on the foreign elements, on the…the invisible coup in the Chinese Communist Party linked efforts...” (14:09, Seamus Bruner)

• Raises issue of “bail funds” used by NGOs to release violent protesters and recidivism concerns.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the use of benefits as a political lever:

  “It's not about the people who are committing the fraud... it's the fact that the political leadership in these blue states looks the other way because they know that as long as the benefits flow, the communities... will be reliably in their corner.” (07:25, Seamus Bruner)

• On the scale of arrest activity:

  “There have been many arrests. I was shocked to learn, you know, thousands and thousands of arrests. You just don’t really see it.” (12:21, Seamus Bruner)

• On encouragement of direct action:

  “They’re training people to do crazy things like resist arrest and try to, like, assault law enforcement... giving out trainings on how to, like, break a police officer’s hold on someone who’s under arrest.” (12:21, Seamus Bruner)

• On the legal challenge:

  “…what the charge would be, I don’t know. I’m not a lawyer. I know that President Trump has talked about RICO investigations. And…those are very complicated investigations.” (14:09, Seamus Bruner)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Introduction and context: 00:04–00:32
• Minnesota “border to ballot box pipeline” explained: 03:36–05:09
• California and Maine cases: 05:33–08:48
• Mechanics of dark money NGOs (“Migrant Inc.”, “Election Inc.”, “Riot Inc.”): 09:02–12:06
• Details on ongoing investigations and legislative response: 12:06–13:53
• White House reaction and RICO discussion: 14:09–15:50
• Closing remarks: 16:05–16:06

Tone and Closing

The episode maintains an investigative, sometimes alarmed tone, underscored by skepticism toward both media narratives and the apparent lack of public enforcement action. The conversation is laced with political observations but grounds its claims with references to mainstream media coverage and government reports.

Closing Speaker:

“That was Seamus Bruner, director of research at the Government Accountability Institute. And this has been a weekend edition of Morning Wire.” (16:06, John Bickley)

Summary prepared for listeners seeking a comprehensive yet digestible overview of the episode’s main arguments, supporting evidence, and the political implications discussed.