NEWARK, N.J. – As he navigated the crowds in an impromptu appearance at a protest outside the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility, Marxist political influencer Hasan Piker defended figures in the pro-China activist network funded by American Marxist tech millionaire Neville Roy Singham as «wonderful people,» while dismissing scrutiny surrounding his Cuba trip.

Asked about reporting on Singham’s network and its connections to far-left activism, Piker said there is «this environment of suspicion» surrounding Singham and his activities, taking a «sinister shape,» but they are «totally above board and totally legal.»

In recent months, many agitators from the Singham network have fueled, coordinated and organized fiery protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, New York City, Los Angeles, New Jersey and elsewhere.

HASAN PIKER NAMES PRO-CCP TYCOON SINGHAM AS FINANCIER OF ‘POLITICAL MOVEMENTS’ DESPITE NONPROFIT VENEER

The remarks by Piker are noteworthy because the online influencer isn’t just a livestreamer on the Twitch platform. With millions of mostly young followers across Twitch, YouTube and social media platforms, he has emerged as one of the most influential — and polarizing — figures on the American left, regularly mobilizing support for candidates and causes aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America. Piker wore a baseball cap emblazoned with the group’s logo.

Piker has used his platforms to interview, promote and campaign alongside candidates backed by Democratic Socialists of America, helping introduce them to younger voters who consume political content online. His audience reach has made him a significant force in Democratic politics, giving him the ability to shape narratives and drive grassroots enthusiasm for candidates running on socialist and anti-establishment platforms.

Hasan Piker and Jodie Evans and Neville Roy Singham (Getty Images)

As reported, Singham is an American Marxist tech tycoon who has pumped $285 million since 2017 into a network of nonprofits that have organized and coordinated divisive anti-American street protests, such as the one unfolding in New Jersey.

«I don’t have any personal contact with Roy Singham or any of these other people,» Piker said, in response to questions from Fox News Digital. «I mean, I know some of these people. They’re wonderful people in general. They’re activists….None of it is actually hidden or illegal in any way, shape or form.»

The remarks come as federal investigators have expanded scrutiny of activists involved in travel to communist Cuba, including organizations and individuals linked to the broader network of nonprofits and advocacy groups that have received funding from Singham and his wife, Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans.

GOP LAWMAKERS URGE TREASURY TO PRESS AHEAD WITH PROBE OF HASAN PIKER OVER CUBA TRIP

As reported exclusively by Fox News Digital last Saturday, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sent Piker and CodePink an administrative subpoena as part of an investigation into a March convoy to Cuba. Piker claimed he hadn’t personally received any legal notice.

«Fox News Digital says I have a subpoena, but I have yet to be served one,» Piker said. «So I don’t even know what’s going on. It kind of feels like you guys have more insight into what the federal government’s doing than I do, and I’m supposed to be subpoenaed.»

Piker’s comments follow disclosures by CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin that Evans received the query via an email that initially landed in a spam folder.

«We heard this on Fox News, that there was this subpoena out,» Benjamin said in an interview shared publicly by BreakThrough News, another nonprofit that Singham has funded. «I was going outside my front door looking around for somebody to serve me. And it turns out that it was an email that was sent to Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans, and it was so unofficial that it landed in our spam box.»

As reported, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sent investigative letters seeking financial, logistical and communications documents about the March convoy. The Office of Foreign Assets Control administers and enforces U.S. sanctions programs, including restrictions governing financial transactions and certain travel-related activities involving Cuba.

Fox News Digital has reported that the March 2026 convoy to Cuba involved a transnational network of activists organized by another Singham-funded group, the People’s Forum, and a nonprofit, Progressive International, both with close ties to the communist regime in Cuba.

DAVID MARCUS: HASAN PIKER, USEFUL IDIOT FASHIONISTAS WANT TO MAKE AMERICA INTO COMMIE CUBA

The activists are protesting U.S. sanctions on the communist island. Piker participated in the trip alongside members of Code Pink and a network of 145 organizations, according to a Fox News Digital investigation.

Piker framed the investigation as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to target political activists and protesters, arguing that scrutiny of Cuba travel conflicted with Trump’s campaign promises to defend free speech.

«I feel like there are a lot of people who believed in that message, and now he’s betrayed that message,» Piker said.

Piker told Fox News Digital that he welcomed a debate with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

Piker, who was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, was visiting his home state from his $2 million home in West Hollywood, California, canvassing at a Saturday rally in Trenton for a controversial candidate, Adam Hamamy, endorsed by Democratic Socialists of America in his race for the U.S. Congress. 

The New York Times published a profile on Saturday, noting the candidate’s «ties to a militant cleric.» Piker defended Hamamy.

Marxist political influencer Hasan Piker stands outside his home in West Hollywood, Calif., on May 12, 2026, pointing silently to his dog Kaya to direct her back into his home. (MB/Splash for Fox News Digital)

Last week, on a livestream on the Twitch platform where he talked for about six hours nonstop, the influencer dismissed concerns about his connections to organizations involved in the Cuba convoy, while acknowledging that Singham finances a network of left-wing nonprofits engaged in «political advocacy» and «a lot of political movements.»

Critics have argued the network functions as a coordinated activist infrastructure advancing pro-communist causes, including support for Cuba, China and other authoritarian governments opposed to U.S. foreign policy.

As Fox News Digital asked Piker about concerns related to malign foreign influence from China, including at far-left activist events such as the anti-ICE protest unfolding around him, Piker walked away without answering the question.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Piker has polarized people in many communities, including among leftists and Democrats.

An activist shouted, «Get out of here,» as Piker walked away, punctuating his derision with, «Dog abuser,» a reference to allegations Piker trained his dog, Kaya, with a shock collar.

Piker has denied the allegations.

El Comando Sur de Estados Unidos (SOUTHCOM) llevó adelante un nuevo «ataque cinético letal» el sábado contra un buque dedicado al narcotráfico, el cual navegaba en aguas del Pacífico oriental. La reciente ofensiva estadounidense, la cuarta de la semana, dejó tres narcotraficantes muertos.

Según detalló el propio SOUTHCOM a través de un comunicado en redes sociales, la operación fue ejecutada por la Fuerza de Tarea Conjunta de la operación Lanza del Sur, bajo el mando del general Francis L. Donovan. Un vídeo en blanco y negro que acompañó la publicación mostró la narco lancha en alta mar antes de ser engullida por una gran explosión. 

El cuerpo militar precisó que la embarcación atacada estaba bajo control de organizaciones terroristas designadas y transitaba rutas frecuentemente utilizadas para el transporte ilícito de estupefacientes. Además, informó que no se registraron heridos ni daños entre las fuerzas estadounidenses que participaron en el operativo.

De acuerdo con el comunicado, la acción resultó posible por la utilización de información de inteligencia, que permitió identificar y localizar la nave involucrada. El SOUTHCOM aseguró que el objetivo mantenía una participación activa en actividades ilegales en la región.

La reciente operación, enmarcada dentro de la estrategia de la operación Lanza del Sur, evidencia la continuidad de los esfuerzos de Estados Unidos para combatir el narcotráfico en aguas internacionales, sin que se reporten bajas entre su personal en esta serie de intervenciones.

El ataque del Comando Sur elevó a más de 200 el número de narcotraficantes muertos desde el inicio de la ofensiva militar impulsada por la administración de Donald Trump en septiembre. La cifra refleja el saldo acumulado de fallecidos en el marco de la estrategia estadounidense contra el narcotráfico en América Latina.

La operación Lanza del Sur comenzó bajo la coordinación del Ejército estadounidense, como parte de la intensificación de acciones para frenar las actividades de los cárteles de la droga que operan desde América Latina. El propio Trump remarcó que Washington mantiene una guerra abierta contra estas organizaciones criminales.

SOUTHCOM es responsable de las operaciones de seguridad y cooperación en el Caribe, América Central y Sudamérica, en el marco de sus tareas de combate al narcotráfico en la región.

Las operaciones del SOUTHCOM se enmarcan en una estrategia integral que combina control naval, vigilancia aérea y labores de inteligencia realizadas en conjunto con países de Sudamérica y Centroamérica. Este enfoque busca ejercer presión en distintos frentes para debilitar las redes de narcotráfico que operan en la región.

Autoridades estadounidenses remarcaron que las acciones militares cumplen con los estándares legales internacionales y se enfocan en neutralizar amenazas identificadas contra la seguridad no solo de Estados Unidos, sino también de países aliados.

El secretario de Defensa, Pete Hegseth, defendió la necesidad de este accionar: “No permitiremos que organizaciones criminales usen el mar para infiltrar drogas en nuestro país. Hemos salvado miles de vidas al cortar estas rutas”.

La administración del presidente Donald Trump otorgó máxima prioridad a esta ofensiva militar, implementando operaciones conjuntas, patrullas navales y coordinación permanente con agencias de inteligencia para detectar y destruir embarcaciones sospechosas tanto en el Caribe como en el Pacífico. Según la postura oficial, la finalidad es interrumpir cadenas logísticas criminales de alto impacto y reforzar la seguridad regional frente al avance del narcotráfico.

President Donald Trump on Saturday floated the idea of hosting a massive MAGA rally to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary after numerous artists pulled out of a planned concert this summer.

In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump suggested scrapping the Great American State Fair’s Freedom 250 concerts. He also took aim at a federal judge who on Friday ordered that his name be removed from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

«We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain,» Trump wrote.

«Cancel it, just like I canceled my involvement with the failing and unsafe to be in Kennedy Center, because a Highly Conflicted, Crooked Federal Judge, said that I should not be allowed to spend my time and money in order to MAKE THE CENTER GREAT AGAIN, actually, far greater than it ever was before!» he continued.

AMERICA 250 EVENTS TAKING PLACE THIS SUMMER CALLED ‘ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME’ TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES

The comments came as several artists backed out of performing at the Great American State Fair, a large-scale national celebration planned on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., stretching from the U.S. Capitol to the Washington Monument.

The event is scheduled to run from June 25 through July 10, 2026, as part of the nation’s America 250 celebration.

Earlier this week, Freedom 250 organizers released a list of performers slated to appear at the event, but several artists later withdrew, including Martina McBride, Bret Michaels, Young MC, Morris Day and The Time, and C+C Music Factory.

FIVE ARTISTS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SHOULD CALL TO PERFORM AT FREEDOM 250 CONCERT THIS SUMMER

President Trump floats hosting a massive MAGA rally for the nation’s 250th anniversary after several artists pulled out of planned Freedom 250 concert events. (Doug Mills/Getty Images/Pool)

Other performers, including rapper Vanilla Ice, have said they are «honored» to participate.

In a separate social media post Saturday, Trump suggested he could replace the concert with a major speech after several artists got «the yips.»

«I understand Artists are getting ‘the yips’ having to do with their performance on Wednesday, so I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP, to take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate ‘Artists,’ and give a major speech, rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President!» Trump wrote.

TRUMP CALLS ON AMERICANS TO PRAY FOR NATION AS 250TH BIRTHDAY APPROACHES: ‘ONE NATION UNDER GOD’

Vanilla Ice is «honored» to get to play during the Great American State Fair in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary of independence. (Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)

Trump said he was considering delivering the speech and holding a rally June 24 to kick off the festivities.

«I don’t want so-called ‘Artists’ that get paid far too much money, who aren’t happy,» he wrote. «I only want to be surrounded by Happy People, Smart People, Successful People, and People that know how to WIN.»

Freedom 250 later announced that Trump would, in fact, deliver a speech ahead of the Great American State Fair.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

«As the visionary behind the Great American State Fair, we are excited to announce that President Trump will personally kick off this historic celebration on Wednesday, June 24 in an opening ceremony celebrating America’s 250th birthday,» Freedom 250 spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez wrote on X.

Fox News Digital’s Lori A Bashian and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.