CEO Of Crowd-For-Hire Company Calls For Transparency In Who Funds Demonstrations

Via American Greatness,

The CEO of Crowds On Demand is urging members of Congress to pass a Transparency In Political Demonstration Act (TPDA) that would require greater transparency in groups that hire demonstrators for events around the country.

Adam Swart wrote a letter to Congress on November 11, calling for more transparency in who is hiring protestors in order to “protect free speech while ensuring accountability and safety.”

Paid protest CEO urges Congress to pass law exposing who funds demonstrations

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— Brent Cutburth (@brentcutburth) November 12, 2025

According to Swart, the TPDA is needed to ensure that the American people have full knowledge of who is funding and facilitating political demonstrations.

Swart expressed concern that “in recent years, we’ve seen the line between authentic civic expression and paid political manipulation blur beyond recognition.”

In his letter, Swart told Congress, “Across the country, peaceful activism has too often been replaced by coordinated influence campaigns. Most concerningly, many of these campaigns result either intentionally or unintentionally in violence, property destruction, and the mass disruption of American cities through unpermitted road closures.”

He added, “While these demonstrations are branded as ‘grassroots,’ evidence increasingly shows large-scale organization and financing behind them, often routed through opaque nonprofit networks designed to conceal true funders—some of whom may be foreign entities with nefarious intentions.”

The TPDA would require disclosure of funding sources behind demonstrations that exceed a defined number of participants as well as establish a “public accountability portal” where the sponsors or subcontractors involved in planning or logistics of large scale protests must be disclosed.

According to The Hill, the proposed bill would also seek to ensure that foreign entities and intermediaries cannot covertly fund or coordinate demonstrations intended to destabilize domestic institutions.

The TPDA would also hold funders and organizers to a strict nonviolence standard and would disqualify those who promote or tolerate violence from nonprofit protections or certain federal benefits.

Swart told Newsnation that he’s making his proposal to Congress because peaceful protest is supposed to be protected speech, saying, “This isn’t about stopping protest; it’s about protecting it. The First Amendment only works when Americans know who’s paying.”