NEW YORK CITY - A group financed by a pro-Chinese Communist Party tech tycoon was one of the first on the scene for Friday's May Day demonstrations and socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani's remarks.
The People's Forum, which received funding from Shanghai-based Neville Roy Singham, was a key player in organizing protesters in Union Square ahead of the May Day events, working closely with leaders from the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
A self-identified speaker from the Party for Socialism and Liberation announced a People's Forum spokesperson who was the second to speak at the microphone. The speaker rallied the crowd of demonstrators, asking them to repeat chants and later bashing capitalism.
Shortly before the remarks began, members from the Party for Socialism and Liberation arrived with equipment and dozens of pre-made anti-Trump signs packed in a van, unloading the signs and equipment from the van parked next to Union Square Park.
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A Fox News Digital investigation found that the People's Forum has received $22.4 million from Singham.
Communism was a recurring theme on May Day in New York, with the Revolutionary Communists of America, the Revolutionary Communist Party and the Communist Workers of America present, their signs held by several demonstrators.
Pro-communism advocates were canvassing the crowd, hawking communist newspapers and encouraging participation in upcoming organized events.
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"The existing capitalist-imperialist system and institutions of government in this country must be abolished and dismantled and replaced by a new, socialist system based on the constitution for the new socialist republic of America," one paper read.
Fox News Digital interviewed a Revolutionary Communists of America member, who went only by Tom and said capitalism "is in crisis in the U.S."
"The small farmer has been killed off by capitalism," Tom told Fox News Digital. "The small businessman has been killed off by capitalism. Big corporations dominate society. So, America is very proletarianized. And, therefore, the working classes have more of a, let's say, the class balance of forces. It's more on the side of the working class now than it ever has been."
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Teamsters and union members gathered downtown at Washington Square Park while the People's Forum and the Party for Socialism and Liberation marched from Union Square Park several blocks away. The union workers' rally ended shortly after the Singham-connected groups arrived.
May Day is historically focused on advocacy for pro-workers, but once New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani began speaking, a significant number of Teamsters and union employees had already left as calls for their cheers were dull, and the presence of other organizations dominated the crowd.
Mamdani stood in front of billboards labeled "NO ICE, NO WAR" and "NO BILLIONAIRES," pushed his commitment to taxing the rich and mentioned "faster buses" instead of his usual commitment to making bus transportation in the city free.
The crowd cheered loudly for Mamdani, whose appearance was not publicized and seemingly not expected from many of the demonstrators.
"That is why we continue to fight for those who power this city as we look to deliver universal childcare," Mamdani told the crowd. "Faster buses, cheaper groceries, protecting our neighbors from the cruelty of ice. And, yes, working to tax the wealthiest and the most profitable corporations in New York City."
Crowds dispersed after Mamdani's brief address, but some streets remained closed as demonstrators continued the march. And one ambulance with flashing lights was forced to turn around earlier in the day on the march from Union Square to Washington Square.
