The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Special: The Truth with Lisa Boothe — Inside the Protest Industrial Complex: How Billionaires and Foreign Interests Fund America’s Radical Left

Original air date: October 28, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode, hosted by Lisa Boothe, centers on the secretive funding and organizational structures behind left-wing protest movements in the U.S., particularly Antifa and similar groups. Boothe welcomes Seamus Bruner, Government Accountability Institute’s Director of Research, for a deep dive into the so-called “protest industrial complex” (also called “Riot Inc.”). They discuss the flows of money—from well-known and obscure billionaires to legal and PR support networks—the operational logistics of these activist groups, and the implications of the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle these networks.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The White House Roundtable and Growing Scrutiny

• Recent EU/White House actions: Bruner describes attending a White House roundtable, along with journalists like Andy Ngo, Julio Rosa, and Savannah Hernandez, focused on tracking and disrupting Antifa funding and activities. This event signals a stronger “whole government” approach to left-wing protest groups.
  [04:46] “What I said to President Trump in the Cabinet was that we've tracked this money to what we call the protest industrial complex. We call it Riot Inc.” – Seamus Bruner

• Left-wing panic: The increased government scrutiny has led to visible panic among some leftist organizations, as they scramble to address impending investigations and potential RICO charges.
  [04:28] “It seems like some of these left wing groups are starting to panic a little bit as a result of some of the research that you've done.” – Lisa Boothe

2. Who Funds “Riot Inc.”?

• Primary funders: While George Soros and the Open Society Foundations are the most notorious, Bruner highlights philanthropic networks such as Arabella Advisors, The Tides Foundation, the Rockefeller family, and a lesser-known but influential foreign billionaire, Neville Roy Singham.
  [07:44] “The big ones are really Tides, Arabella, and Soros funding networks.” – Seamus Bruner

• Neville Roy Singham:

  • Sold his company ThoughtWorks (~$1B in 2018), now based in Shanghai and married to the leader of Code Pink.
  • Runs The People's Forum in New York, described as a distribution hub for activist funding.
  • Allegedly funds a range of radical groups (BLM, Armed Queers of Salt Lake City) and has sent American activists to Cuba for “Marxist revolutionary training.”
    [08:41-11:36]
  • [11:36] “Neville Roy Singham is what we would consider a foreign investor in Riot Inc. He lives in Shanghai.” – Seamus Bruner

3. The Role of Legal and PR Divisions

• Legal support: Major resources are directed toward legal defense via the National Lawyers Guild and the ACLU, assisting arrested activists or rioters.
  [12:15] "That's where a lot of the money goes to, is lawyers at things like the ACLU. The National Lawyers Guild is like a more extreme version..." – Seamus Bruner

• Bail funds: These networks rapidly bail out suspected rioters, often enabling repeat offenses. [13:56] “...bail funds that instantly get...people...back out on the streets the next day to attack our law enforcement officials.” – Seamus Bruner

4. Obfuscating Funding Paths

• Complexity and decentralization:

  • Funds are moved through numerous opaque channels, including GoFundMe-style platforms, Open Collective, and the Action Network.
  • Donations via Venmo, Cash App, and cash are common, along with anonymous contributions.
  • Open Collective, a nonprofit, received nearly $3M from Arabella, Soros, and Tides-linked networks.
    [13:56][16:48] “These Open Collective and Action Network are...specifically tailored to these protest groups… what we found is $500 donations by Anonymous.” – Seamus Bruner

• Law enforcement challenges:

  • Decentralization makes it extremely hard to map funding or prosecute top operators.
  • Even with existing government powers, tracing money directly to criminal actions remains hard because activists often dissolve groups and rebrand. [13:56] “[Veteran] Antifa... OGs, they've kind of gone to ground. I mean, some of them have fled the country. They're taking President Trump's crackdown very seriously.” – Seamus Bruner

5. Gear, Travel, and Organizational Logistics

• Uniforms and travel: Activists often show up equipped—sometimes appearing “uniform-like”—with shields, gas masks, etc., often purchased via Amazon or provided through “mutual aid” networks.

  • Real estate used as safe-houses and headquarters, especially in cities like Portland, is costly, showing the financing scale. [21:44] “You know, an antifa, like headquarters or safe house...that's very expensive real estate that costs money.” – Seamus Bruner

• Coordination: There is sophisticated behind-the-scenes coordination—logistics, legal, mutual aid (food, housing), and communication.

6. Public and Taxpayer Involvement

• Taxpayer dollars: Some foundations receiving government grants (like Tides and Rockefeller) pass those funds to protest groups, directly or indirectly.
  [23:33] “Tides receives tens of millions of dollars, taxpayer dollars. So it's not a very...meandering path.” – Seamus Bruner

• Direct funding link: Example from Atlanta—Tides gave $160K to Network for Strong Communities, whose leaders later faced charges for violent law enforcement attacks.

• “Money is fungible”—distinguishing dollar origins becomes nearly impossible once it enters these large funding pipelines.

7. Foreign Links and Terrorism Designations

• Foreign terror links: Beyond domestic unrest, some supported groups have possible connections to international terror-designated organizations, e.g. the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), PFLP. [26:15] “CARE is very, very much involved ... the PFLP is tied to some of the Singham entities. So the, the connections are there.” – Seamus Bruner

• Global reach: Antifa and similar cells now exist abroad, further challenging the effectiveness of domestic-only approaches.

8. The Trump Administration's Federal Response

• Terror organization designation: Trump’s labeling of Antifa as a domestic terror org is discussed:

  • Empowers federal agencies to charge offenders at a higher level.
  • Signals DOJ and DHS to prioritize these investigations and prosecutions, aiming to prevent repeat violence due to slap-on-the-wrist local handling.
  • Still, activists can “whack-a-mole” by changing names and organizational structures.
    [29:09] “As far as the designation, what it does is it sort of tells every official...this is an administration priority.” – Seamus Bruner

• The funding big picture: Bruner argues it’s not just about the protest groups, but the entire funding ecosystem, and that tackling the financiers using laws like RICO is the only effective disruption strategy.

9. The Activists’ True Objectives and Tactics

• Core beliefs? Boothe questions if groups are ideologically motivated or simply anti-establishment malcontents adopting whatever radical cause is prominent.

  • Bruner: Some true believers, but also many “malcontents” and opportunists, including paid agitators and large contingents from the homeless population, allegedly recruited and transported by organizers.
    [36:58] “You're right, a lot of these people are kind of just malcontents.” – Seamus Bruner

• Tactics: Described as “color revolution” style—highly flexible and persistent, exploiting decentralized cells and law enforcement gaps.

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• [04:46] “We've tracked this money to what we call the protest industrial complex. We call it Riot Inc.” – Seamus Bruner
• [06:41] “I was the follow the money guy.” – Seamus Bruner
• [08:41] “My colleague Peter Schweitzer wrote a huge book called Blood Money...that had a whole chapter on Neville or Roy Singham.” – Seamus Bruner
• [11:36] “Neville Roy Singham is what we would consider a foreign investor in Riot Inc. He lives in Shanghai.” – Seamus Bruner
• [12:15] "That's where a lot of the money goes to, is lawyers at things like the ACLU. The National Lawyers Guild is like a more extreme version..." – Seamus Bruner
• [13:56] “It's exceptionally difficult ... they're very well organized, very well trained, pretty savvy about it.” – Seamus Bruner
• [16:48] “What we found is $500 donations by Anonymous...there are digital platforms raising money for them.” – Seamus Bruner
• [21:44] “It's mind-boggling how well coordinated they are...they're traveling city to city.” – Seamus Bruner
• [23:33] “Tides receives tens of millions of dollars, taxpayer dollars...taxpayers give to Tides. Tides gives to groups that have its executives get arrested for violent crime.” – Seamus Bruner
• [26:15] “CARE is very, very much involved in a lot of this stuff and...the PFLP is tied to some of the Singham entities.” – Seamus Bruner
• [29:09] “It tells every official...this is an administration priority. He could have done it in a memo...” – Seamus Bruner
• [36:58] “You're right, a lot of these people are kind of just malcontents.” – Seamus Bruner
• [39:22] “I'm on all platforms at Seamus Bruner...find our investigations at thedrilldown.com.” – Seamus Bruner

Timeline of Key Segments

| Time | Segment Description | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------| | 02:47 | Lisa Boothe introduces Seamus Bruner | | 04:45 | White House roundtable; federal attention on Antifa | | 06:45 | Bruner's "follow the money" approach | | 08:41 | Deep dive on Neville Roy Singham | | 12:01 | Role of National Lawyers Guild, legal funding | | 13:56 | Difficulties tracing decentralized radical funding | | 16:48 | Anonymous donations, Open Collective, Action Network | | 21:44 | Organization logistics and resource coordination | | 23:35 | Taxpayer money flows through grant-giving networks | | 26:15 | Foreign terror links and global protest web | | 29:09 | Antifa terror designation—effects and limitations | | 36:31 | Motivations: Are these groups ideologically driven? | | 39:22 | Where to follow Seamus Bruner’s work |

Conclusion & Next Steps

The episode provides a comprehensive exposé of the networks, money, and motivations behind radical protest groups in America. It argues that while law enforcement faces structural challenges in targeting these decentralized, well-funded activists, a combined “whole of government” approach—especially attacking financial support—is the most viable path to reduce future violence.

Bruner’s work, and the Government Accountability Institute’s ongoing investigations, are positioned as key resources for those following the national debate on political unrest and foreign influence.

Where to Find More

• Seamus Bruner: Twitter, Instagram (@SeamusBruner), and at thedrilldown.com.
• Lisa Boothe: Updates via her podcast and social media.