A Marxist political party with ties to a recent embassy shooter has raised nearly $400,000 from donors inside Amazon, academia, and Silicon Valley, fueling alarm ahead of the 2024 election.
At a Glance
- The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) has raised nearly $387,000 for its 2024 presidential candidate Claudia De La Cruz
- An Amazon senior account manager overseeing a USAID contract donated $3,300 to the campaign
- A Northwestern University professor with a history of pro-Hamas activism gave $3,000
- Software engineers from Bloomberg, Google, Toast, and other tech firms are among major donors
- The PSL was recently linked to Elias Rodriguez, a shooter at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Corporate and Campus Contradictions
The Party for Socialism and Liberation, a fringe but increasingly visible Marxist political force, is gaining traction in unexpected corners of American society. Federal Election Commission records reveal that professionals from high-profile corporations and elite academic institutions are fueling the party’s 2024 campaign, helmed by presidential candidate Claudia De La Cruz.
Among the top donors is Amazon senior account manager Marcone Cangussu, who oversees a government contract with USAID. His $3,300 donation has raised eyebrows given PSL’s avowed aim of dismantling capitalist and democratic structures. Cangussu has reportedly participated in PSL-aligned events in Atlanta.
At Northwestern University, research assistant professor Alithia Zamantakis also contributed $3,000. Zamantakis, who has supported pro-Hamas activism and was once charged (though not prosecuted) for interfering with law enforcement during campus protests, lists affiliation with the PSL in online profiles.
Silicon Valley’s Radical Undercurrent
Support for the PSL appears especially robust within the tech sector. Gregory Chen, a software engineer at Bloomberg, is among several donors from companies including Google, Justworks, Workday, Toast, and Verily Life Sciences. This trend suggests that revolutionary politics may be gaining sympathy among those working within, and profiting from, the very systems PSL condemns.
Additional sizable donations came from Maura Vebeliunas at Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling and Zachary Farber with Chicago Bulls Charities, each contributing $3,300. While the PSL’s broader donor base consists largely of small contributions, these high-profile gifts represent a potential shift in the demographics of radical left-wing political support.
Watch a report: Socialist tactics in the Bernie Sanders campaign.
Violent Ties and Political Fallout
Despite the influx of support, the PSL’s momentum has been marred by controversy. The party has acknowledged links to Elias Rodriguez, who was identified as the shooter in a recent attack at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. While the PSL insists his involvement was brief and non-operational, the connection has deepened concerns about the party’s broader associations and ideology.
Meanwhile, the ideological contradictions of corporate and academic support for a group seeking to dismantle those very institutions have drawn scrutiny. PSL’s growing reach may reflect broader disillusionment among elite professionals, or simply a blind spot in donor accountability.
While the De La Cruz campaign has no viable path to electoral victory, its financial growth signals a normalization of extremist rhetoric among segments of the American intelligentsia and workforce. As the 2024 election approaches, observers warn of a growing rift between traditional institutional values and the ideologies being subsidized from within.
