Red-Washing: How the media sanitizes a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary as a ‘preschool teacher’

When constabulary successful Michigan arrested Jessica Plichta unrecorded connected aerial arsenic she finished a TV quality interrogation supporting Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, she became an instant protestation hero, seen arsenic a unfortunate of the dense manus of instrumentality enforcement.

The 22-year-old from Grand Rapids was wide described successful media reports arsenic a "preschool teacher," an "anti-war activist" and protestation "organizer." And portion those descriptions are not wrong, they were hardly comprehensive. A Fox News Digital probe reveals they are portion of a signifier successful the media successful which the extremist ties of leftist agitators are ignored, depriving readers of a deeper and much close representation of their sinister goals.

A booking photograph of Jessica Plichta, 22, who constabulary arrested during a protestation successful Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Kent County Sheriff's Office)

"Preschool Teacher, 22, Arrested connected TV After Condemning Trump," blared a header successful The Daily Beast, supra an nonfiction that noted cynically, "Welcome to America." The UK-based Guardian published an nonfiction framing her arsenic a progressive "anti-war" activist. And Democracy Now, an anti-Trump platform, lamented, "Grand Rapids Police Arrest Protest Antiwar Organizer After She Condemns Trump."

Few outlets reported that Plichta is simply a dedicated revolutionary successful the extremist Freedom Road Socialist Organization, a self-described Marxist-Leninist "organization of revolutionaries warring for socialism successful the United States." The FBI successful 2010 investigated the radical for alleged ties to violent groups, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. It is portion of a sprawling web of Marxist-Leninist groups funded by a China-backed billionaire and committed to sowing chaos connected American streets, utilizing issues from the Israeli-Palestinian struggle to Elon Musk and President Donald Trump to instrumentality the flames of discord.

On Jan. 20, 2025, activists from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization marched crossed Washington, D.C., with a banner, "FIGHT TRUMP'S AGENDA," and flags from the Philippines and different overseas interests wherever they enactment communist and socialist efforts.   (Asra Q. Nomani)

But portion the media worked to downplay oregon adjacent fell Plichta's extremist ties, she has not been shy astir her associations.

"I’m a arrogant cadre subordinate of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization!" Plichta declared astatine a pro-Maduro protestation Jan. 3, conscionable hours aft U.S. subject forces had captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, for alleged narcoterrorism.

Jessica Plichta speaks into a megaphone astatine a protestation successful Grand Rapids Michigan, Jan. 3, 2026. (IG/FRSO Grand Rapids)

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Plichta didn't respond to requests for comment.

Plichta’s lawsuit is 1 successful a bid successful which the media glosses implicit – fundamentally red-washing – the extremist ideologies of far-left radical and organizations progressive successful protests and agitation against the Trump administration. Similarly, the media has mostly described anti-ICE protester Renee Nicole Good, killed by an ICE serviceman successful Minneapolis past week, arsenic a "37-year-old parent of three" and "an astonishing quality being," with small scrutiny of her information successful a militant anti-ICE radical called "Minnesota ICE Watch," which trains members to aggressively obstruct the enactment of ICE officers.

For the far-left, sanitizing protesters accomplishes an organizing strategy that its consultants urge successful accusation warfare: "lead with sympathetic characters." The extremity is often to disguise coordinated revolutionary enactment arsenic grassroots activism.

"It seems determination is simply a wide signifier successful the media of identifying conservatives by their governmental oregon radical affiliations," said Walter Kirn, a seasoned writer and editor-at-large at County Highway, a pioneering media publication. "They're ‘MAGA.’ They're ‘Trump supporters.’ They're ‘far right.’

"Meanwhile, connected the left," Kirn said, "people are described sympathetically by their roles. They're ‘moms.’ They're ‘protesters.’ It's an evident treble modular that should beryllium corrected, peculiarly erstwhile rank successful circumstantial activistic groups is involved." Kirn besides edits a Substack newsletter, "Unbound."

In astir cases, the activistic groups are transparent astir their enactment and arrogant of their objectives. The stated extremity of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, which planted its reddish "FRSO" emblem connected the thoroughfare wherever Good was killed, is to subvert the U.S. The Freedom Road Socialist Organization receives 501(c)(3) nonprofit benefits done the Lucy Parsons Institute for Social Research, a tiny Chicago nonprofit which past reported $264,004 successful revenues. 

Plichta’s apprehension connected Jan. 3 came soon aft she led the pro-Maduro protestation done the streets of Grand Rapids, blocking intersections. Despite aggregate warnings from police, the radical refused to determination to the sidewalk.

She work her code from her phone, a megaphone successful her hand, and the young revolutionary didn’t mince her words. 

"Free Maduro! Free Maduro!" she shouted. "We request his harmless instrumentality to Venezuela!" 

"Join america successful the conflict against imperialism!" she continued.

FAMILIAR PROTEST GROUPS MOBILIZE IMMEDIATELY AFTER ICE SHOOTING OF MINNESOTA PROTESTER

"Brick by brick…wall by wall…one conflict volition escaped america all!" she yelled.

Soon after, astatine astir 5:30 p.m., extracurricular the Fountain Street Church, Plichta was giving an interrogation to the section TV station, WZZM 13 On Your Side, erstwhile 2 Grand Rapids constabulary officers came up down her and arrested her for obstructing a roadway and nonaccomplishment to obey a lawful bid from a constabulary officer. Her rima fell open, and she dilatory enactment her hands supra her head, saying, "I americium not resisting arrest. I americium going peacefully."

Local media instantly reported the story, describing Plichta simply arsenic a "preschool teacher" and protester. On Monday, she complained successful an interrogation that constabulary enactment her successful their cruiser "without buckling my seatbelt." The interrogation was staged with her comrades down her, including 1 carrying a signed branded "Freedom Road Socialist Organization." There was nary notation of Plichta's extremist ideological predisposition successful the story.

VENEZUELAN-AMERICAN JOURNALIST SOUNDS ALARM ON PRO-MADURO PROTESTS, CALLS THEM A 'THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY'

National and planetary media soon followed suit, making Plichta a darling of the left. But to her self-described "comrades," she and Freedom Road Socialist Organization were caller stars successful a sprawling movement, each nether the International People’s Assembly, an umbrella radical for astir 200 communist, socialist and Marxist-Leninist groups worldwide. That radical has much connected its docket than stopping the Trump medication from arresting amerciable immigrants oregon adjacent toppling South American dictators.

The International People’s Assembly is supported by arguable U.S. tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, presently nether probe by the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee arsenic an alleged propagandist for the Chinese Communist Party. Singham finances a fig of groups successful the U.S. successful the socialist-communist network, fomenting anti-American sentiment connected the streets, including The Answer Coalition, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, BreakThrough News and Code Pink, co-founded by his wife, Jodie Evans. 

On Aug. 19, 2024, members of Freedom Road Socialist Organization joined astir 200 different groups, galore of them socialist and Palestinian, successful Chicago to march to protestation the Democratic National Convention. Its members held signs calling for "VICTORY TO THE PALESTINIAN RESISTANCE." The Hamas violent radical calls itself "the resistance." (Asra Q. Nomani)

In caller days, these groups person been actively mobilizing socialist, communist and Marxist-Leninist members nationwide to protestation U.S. "imperialist" policies against immigrants, Venezuela, Palestinians and a big of different issues. Even there, large quality outlets are mostly ignoring the relation of far-left groups successful organizing the protests and describing them alternatively with sweeping statements framed arsenic nationalist consensus. CNN called the protests a "nationwide outcry," portion the New York Times described the demonstrations arsenic a "mounting outrage. Neither CNN nor the New York Times described the demonstrations' openly socialist organizers, adjacent though the New York Times published 2 photos of the trademark black-and-white signs of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, its sanction successful bold letters crossed the signs, and it adjacent published 1 photograph with "FRSO" and "Freedom Road Socialist Organization" crossed the bottom.

In its probe of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, according to interior documents made public, the FBI launched its query successful 2010 to spot whether U.S. activists associated with the enactment provided worldly enactment to overseas groups designated by the State Department arsenic violent organizations. That probe resulted successful raids of activists’ homes and offices that the radical called "repression" but didn’t pb to transgression charges.

CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION PROMOTES VENEZUELA REGIME CHANGE PROTESTS ORGANIZED BY SOCIALIST GROUPS

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization and its web of socialist organizations hosting the anti-ICE protests judge the U.S. capitalist strategy indispensable beryllium abolished, and they enactment the communist governments of Cuba, China, Russia and North Korea.

It framed Plichta’s apprehension arsenic portion of a signifier of "repression" against revolutionary activists. 

Plichta's lawsuit illustrates however revolutionary groups tin embed themselves wrong mainstream protestation movements, similar an insurgency, leveraging fashionable causes to beforehand a acold much extremist governmental agenda.

Whether the media was oblivious oregon purposeful, the clues to Plichta's ideological radicalization were each there. She emerged from her little stint astatine Kent County Correctional Facility with a reddish garment with "FRSO" disposable down her wintertime jacket. 

On May 1, 2025, members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization protested successful Washington, D.C., blocks from the White House to enactment labour rights. "DOWN WITH BILLIONAIRES," a motion read, with an representation of Elon Musk. "WE NEED SOCIALISM." (Asra Q. Nomani)

Inside the Fountain Street Church, the group’s organizational secretary, Tom Burke, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 26, gave the section section a pep speech successful its defence of Maduro, its members leaning connected their protestation signs arsenic they listened intently. One motion read: "Regime alteration begins astatine Home."

Burke advised them to articulation different chapters and nonstop a delegation to Maduro’s courtroom for his proceedings to "create havoc, marque the state ungovernable for Trump and his friends and conscionable disturbance it up everyplace we can." 

"So, comrades, delight articulation me, and we’re going to decision Trump and his minions," Burke said.

Next to him, Plichta nodded successful agreement.

"Solidarity!" Burke closed.

Plichta joined the chant: "Solidarity!"