Lawmakers say they are standing at the gates against 'Trojan horses' promoting malign foreign interests

On Tuesday morning, a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C., took an unexpected turn when three activists were removed from the chamber after they took seats behind witnesses wearing shirts that displayed support for the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Communist Party of Cuba.

The session, titled “Trojan Horses: Covert Foreign Malign Influence Operations in America,” was underway when, roughly half an hour in, Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga of Michigan called for a pause and ordered Capitol Police to escort the protesters out. Huizenga later described the incident as a planned disruption rather than a spontaneous exchange of ideas, saying the activists were attempting to appear as ordinary participants while pursuing a different agenda once inside the hearing room.

Huizenga warned that groups presenting themselves as domestic advocates can be conduits for foreign governments seeking to amplify hostile messages through American democratic channels. “They’re coming in, trying to look like one thing, but we know that once they’re inside the gates that those doors are going to spring open, and there’s a whole other motivation for what they’re trying to do,” he said. He added that the episode was “all planned out” and characterized it as political theater designed to generate footage for online distribution.

The hearing’s focus was on what lawmakers described as a network of activists, nonprofits, social media influencers and other ostensibly American voices that foreign governments—particularly China, Russia, Iran and Cuba—may fund or exploit to spread propaganda inside the United States. Lawmakers argued that the modern “Trojan horse” is no longer a wooden figure but a web of interconnected organizations and individuals that can shift narratives without overtly revealing their foreign ties.

Central to the discussion was Neville Roy Singham, an American‑born technology entrepreneur who lives in Shanghai. According to a Fox News Digital investigation, Singham has directed roughly $285 million to six U.S‑based nonprofits that promote pro‑China, pro‑communist and anti‑American positions, including the activist group CodePink. Singham married CodePink co‑founder Jodie Evans in a Jamaican ceremony in 2017. Both Singham and CodePink deny receiving direction from the Chinese government, asserting that their activities reflect personal political convictions.

Lawmakers expressed concern that such funding arrangements obscure the true origins of political messaging. Huizenga urged greater transparency, repeating that “transparency. Transparency is the watchword” and insisting that the public must know not only what messages are being spread but who is financing them. He warned that without disclosure, seemingly domestic advocacy could be covertly advancing foreign interests.

Representative Michael Baumgartner of Washington echoed the call for openness, noting that the United States’ open political system creates openings for foreign influence via social media, universities and other institutions. He suggested that if evidence emerged that organizations were acting on behalf of foreign governments without complying with disclosure statutes, the matter could be referred to the Justice Department for possible action under the Foreign Agent Registration Act.

Representative Randy Fine of Florida warned that social media personalities, influencers and protest movements can serve as vectors for what experts term “cognitive warfare,” aiming to sow division and weaken public trust from within. Representative Darrell Issa of California pointed to emerging technologies, arguing that foreign adversaries benefit when American political pressure slows advances in artificial intelligence.

Huizenga stressed that the various groups under scrutiny should be viewed as a coordinated network rather than isolated actors, noting that the same individuals frequently appear at different events, rallies and organizations linked to the same funding streams.

Outside the committee room, Medea Benjamin continued to document the episode, filming herself adjusting her hair with a comb and later following Representative Fine down a hallway while a teammate recorded the exchange. Roughly two hours after the activists were escorted from the hearing, CodePink posted a carefully edited video of the confrontation on its social‑media accounts, where it began to circulate among sympathetic networks.

To date, the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York have convened a grand jury to examine allegations of money laundering, bank fraud and wire fraud involving Singham and the organizations he has funded. No criminal charges have been filed against Singham or CodePink in connection with that investigation.

The hearing underscored a broader debate about how to protect American political discourse from concealed foreign influence while preserving constitutionally protected speech. Lawmakers concluded that the most effective safeguard lies in robust disclosure requirements that allow citizens to trace the financial roots of the messages they encounter.