Nancy Pelosi Thinks Some Pro-Palestinian Protests Have Russian Ties

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested on Sunday that the FBI should probe pro-Palestine protests over concerns that they’re tied to Russia. “For them to call for a cease-fire is [Russian president Vladimir Putin’s] message,” the onetime top House Democrat said during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s State of the Union. “Make no mistake, this is directly connected to what he would like to see.”

Asked about whether Russia is directly planting protesters in said demonstrations, she responded: “I think some financing should be investigated. And I want to ask the FBI to investigate that.”

In response, Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has called Pelosi’s claims “delusional” and warned against a return to the way Washington handled peace activists in the 1960s. “Sadly, Rep. Pelosi’s comments echo a time in our nation when opponents of the Vietnam War were accused of being communist sympathizers and subjected to FBI harassment.”

While Russia has previously been responsible for meddling in US politics, Pelosi provided no reported evidence of Kremlin involvement in the protests at hand. Instead, such demonstrations appear to largely be a product of domestic organizing efforts—from city councils to faith assemblies to campus activists—along with growing public sentiment against Israel’s bombing of Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 26,422 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Young people are particularly dissatisfied; poll after poll has shown that more Americans ages 18–29 disapprove than approve of the Biden administration’s support for the Israeli war on Gaza and want a cease-fire.

That sentiment has been shared across the globe. At a UN general assembly session last month, 153 member states voted for a cease-fire. (There were 23 abstentions and 10 votes against, including from the US and Israel.) Meanwhile, support for Israel’s war remains the dominant position on Capitol Hill—even if it is not universal. So far, at least 60 House Democrats have crossed the White House by calling for a cease-fire, including 9 representatives from California. On the Senate side, support for a cease-fire is shared by Democrats Peter Welch, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, Chris Van Hollen, and Dick Durbin.