FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 29, 2024
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected] | 228-990-4168
Statement On Pelosi's Accusation That Ceasefire Activists Are Foreign Agents
CODEPINK vehemently condemns Representative Nancy Pelosi's latest public comment suggesting the FBI should investigate groups and organizations that are protesting for a ceasefire. It is an egregious insinuation that those activists who want an end to the genocide in Gaza are acting as agents of a foreign state. Such a statement not only undermines the fundamental principles of American democracy but also constitutes a slanderous attack.
This accusation leveled at antiwar dissent is a tale as old as time. When the group Women's Strike for Peace formed in the sixties to oppose nuclear weapons, their activism landed them unjustly before the House Un-American Activities Committee. The same slanderous tactic was a popular choice by racist lawmakers who used it in an attempt to silence civil rights such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
CODEPINK has not been exempt from such accusations as well. It does not matter to these reckless politicians which country they say our “alleged allegiance” lies in. They pick one that they have designated as public enemy #1 and then let the false accusations fly. For instance, in the Dana Bash interview, Pelosi claimed activists were under Russia's influence. Yet in October, she told ceasefire protesters to "Go back to China!"
Those who are protesting Pelosi have received ZERO dollars from any foreign country or outside influence; they are simply constituents who don't want to see their tax dollars funding the extermination of Palestinians. The same voices have persistently advocated for peace over the past 20 years. They are the very activists who have rightfully objected to all of the United States’ deadly and destabilizing wars and foreign policies, including the Iraq war, which Pelosi has supported.
On the contrary, it is Rep. Pelosi who receives money to represent the interests of foreign countries. Over the years, she has received over half a million dollars from pro-Israel lobbying groups.
It is shameful for the former Speaker of the House to insinuate that those advocating for peace are somehow un-American. Such accusations from someone as powerful as Pelosi should unite people in outrage at the notion that, according to her, being American requires surrender to the genocide of another population. CODEPINK, alongside a growing majority of Americans, staunchly rejects such a notion.
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