Crowds on Demand CEO Adam Swart says firm works with both parties as Trump alleges Dem-backed protests

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump claimed on Friday, August 15, that Democrats are paying protesters to oppose his crime policies in the capital.

While no specific evidence was provided, companies that organize demonstrations for a fee do exist, and their leaders claim they serve clients across the political spectrum.

How paid protests are organized

Adam Swart, CEO and founder of Crowds on Demand, appeared on 'Fox & Friends' to explain how the paid protest process works as requests surge compared to 2024.

He further informed NewsNation that his firm has spent 13 years providing “impactful advocacy campaigns, demonstrations, PR stunts, crowds for hire and corporate events.”

Swart said, “All of our protesters are sincere advocates for the cause at hand. We’ve been in business 13 years, so we have a large roster of people we know and have networks of others we can call upon to be compensated for expressing their sincere points of view.”

Swart explained that payments for protest participants typically fall in the “low hundreds of dollars,” describing the process as similar to “buying an ad.” He said the company works with both conservative and liberal clients.

“We have been clear that we work with both liberals and conservatives on causes that align with common-sense values. Democrats are hiring our company, and so are Republicans,” Swart noted.

He declined to reveal which demonstrations his company has been involved in, citing client confidentiality. However, he confirmed that his firm receives requests from both major political parties.

Earlier, Swart informed the outlet that he refused a $20 million offer to provide protesters for “Good Trouble Lives On” demonstrations in July. “I’m rejecting it not because I don’t want to take the business, but because frankly, this is going to be ineffective; it’s going to make us all look bad,” he said of the proposed anti-Trump protests.

Trump accuses Democrats of funding protests

Donald Trump has alleged that Democrats are paying protesters to oppose his aggressive law-and-order policies, though he has offered no evidence to back the claim.

The demonstrations broke out earlier this week near the White House and throughout Washington, DC, after Trump deployed 800 National Guard troops and federalized the city’s police force, despite crime rates showing a sharp decline.

In a Truth Social post on Friday, while flying to Alaska aboard Air Force One, Trump wrote, “It’s just been found that the Democrats are buying protestors in order to fight my attack on crime. These are criminals who support crime. They are unelectable!”

Trump has defended his security measures by pointing to 2023 crime data, even as the Metropolitan Police Department reports violent crime has fallen by 35% in 2024.