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Trump admin unleashes IRS on LA protests over right-wing conspiracy theory
June 12, 2025 2:45PM ET
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem holds a press conference, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci
President Donald Trump's administration is following conspiracy theories that the protesters in Los Angeles are being paid.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revealed in a news conference Thursday that agents of the IRS have been deployed on the ground in Los Angeles to investigate who is "paying them" to protest.
The claim is a familiar one. As CNN pointed out, Trump has spent years claiming that anyone protesting him was being paid to do so.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Fox on Wednesday that it was something the Justice Department and the FBI were looking into, but there hasn't been any specific information.
Gabbard cited Craigslist ads that request protesters, promising to pay thousands of dollars. However, anyone can create a Craigslist ad for anything without requirements for verification that it's authentic. As an example, there is currently a Craigslist ad in Washington, D.C. offering $1,000 for "seat fillers" at Trump's birthday parade on Saturday.
Gabbard said that protesters are “obviously” being “orchestrated.”
The Associated Press issued a fact-check confirming that a Craigslist ad is not evidence that protesters are being paid.
See the clip and the full press conference below or at the link here.
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