The Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution prohibits Congress from restricting the right of the people to assemble peacefully, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
This provision is a fundamental reason that, while America is not perfect, it is one of the few places in the world that explicitly provides for and embraces the concept that everyone has a right to challenge their government.
Protests in America have been the norm since we were founded and secured independence from Britain which was driven in large part to a failure by Britain’s leadership to provide a path for the colonists to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Notable and successful protests that made a difference in American society are beyond counting.
They include protests for women’s voting rights, for civil rights for Black Americans, and against military actions like the war in Southeast Asia. Historically, these protests are known as “grassroots” protests.
A hallmark of grassroots protests are groups of volunteers who are energized and mobilized by a shared commitment to addressing a grievance of deep concern to them. Their goals are to educate the public and generate public support for ideas on how to address that grievance. A perfect example of grassroots protests done right were recent protests organized and executed by a group of Mid-Shore volunteers. Their peaceful protests helped secure the release of Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal from detention by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Unfortunately, America is experiencing fewer grassroots protests and more astroturf protests.
Astroturf protests do not include volunteers who are energized and mobilized by a shared deep commitment to and sincere concern about a grievance. They include paid protestors who are energized and mobilized solely by a shared commitment to receiving payment for services rendered.
Their goals are to help create an often-false perception that there is significant public support for addressing the grievance for which they are being paid, either directly or indirectly, and often by limited transparency on exactly where funds are coming from to pay them.
Their carefully orchestrated protests are especially appealing to some in the national media, who feature reports on astroturf protests to attract readers and viewers and also promote a perception there is widespread public support for addressing astroturf protesters grievances and their proposed solution on how to do so.
A perfect example of astroturf protesting is now occurring in Washington D.C., which not coincidentally, is the center of the political universe for almost all the national media.
These astroturf protests are focused on the Trump administration’s decision to deploy military troops to help address crime in Washington D.C.
This decision is very contentious in large part because of conflicting and unresolved questions on the accuracy of past and current reports on the actual levels of serious crimes there.
In any event, these protests confirm the growing use and problems of astroturf protests.
Adam Swart is president of Crowds on Demand, a nationwide company that provides clients with hired actors to serve as paid protesters.
His business in Washington D.C. is booming.
In a recent interview, Swart said, “Right now, D.C. inquiries are up roughly 400 percent compared to the same period in 2024.”
Swart also said his company always sees a spike in requests during what he calls “high-stakes political moments.”
Most revealing is Swart’s candid acknowledgement that the “vast majority” of people at political or advocacy events in D.C. are in some way paid.
This affirms their actions are based more on what they are paid to say and do, rather than on an understanding of and commitment to addressing the protest’s stated grievance.
Such motivations were certainly not what was envisioned by America’s national leaders when they adopted the Bill of Rights as amendments to the U.S. constitution in 1791.
These amendments have served America well. Until now.
Comparable to the years before and during the War Between the States, our society is deeply divided, politically and socially.
Astroturf protests do nothing to help heal our divisions. In fact, they make them worse.
That said, our constitution allows for carefully scripted astroturf paid protest performances, even if the protesters are making a mockery of true grassroots protest principles.
Accordingly, the public, elected officials, and the national media must continuously exercise due diligence in evaluating the motivation and commitment of paid astroturf protesters performing in nothing more than political stunts.
At the same time, we must listen to and respect the grievances of legitimate volunteer grassroots protesters, even if we may disagree fully or partially with those grievances or how to address them.
David Reel is a public affairs and public relations consultant In Easton.
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Does any one still think that Trump cares about anything but revenge and greed in filling his pockets with money? Congress, the Supreme Court and MD and DE senators don’t care. I wrote multiple letters to all of them. And, I met John Roberts thru a mutual friend at his home.
While the author begins by applauding the positive outcomes of past protests to address America’s fight for independence, woman’s right to vote and civil right protests he then slyly suggests that protests of Trumps troop deployments in DC are conducted by paid protestors. I watched the Crowds on Demand interview and no where does the CEO claim that his firm was hired specifically for these protests. Rather he states he is hired by both right and left wing organizations and claims business is good.
However when I check on the authors resume, I find he is mostly a paid consultant and strategist for Republican causes. Does anyone else get tired of half truths and innuendo or is the truth just a malleable substance to work to your advantage?
A few things warrant comment concerning this essay.
First, Andy Harris and his supporters have claimed multiple times that protests on the Eastern Shore are by paid actors. Over 1,000 people attended a protest of Andy Harris in Cambridge and he dismissed the entire event by saying actors were bussed in from outside his District. There is no evidence whatsoever that happened. He’s repeated that false claim after a few fundraisers. I’m sure he tells his sycophant audiences that every protest on the Shore is an “astroturf” protest to use Mr Reels term for it. That is a lie that Harris keeps repeating as if he was the government in the book 1984. In that book, The Big Lie, is repeated over and over again so people believe it. There is absolutely nothing in this essay to give us in Talbot County an iota of doubt concerning attendees at protests against Harris and fascist-like ICE agents.
But what about Washington, DC? Are those protests all by paid actors? I know people who have protested in Washington DC against Trump and they are as grass roots as it gets. They are out there protesting because they believe Trump is creating a dictatorship based on lies. I talked to a few before writing this and none had even heard of Crowds on Demand. These are honest people.
I recommend people check out the website for Crowds on Demand.. Their customers are large businesses and corporations. They brag they helped one business destroy another business, that they helped a business introduce a new vodka, that they helped businesses suppress unions, they organized a campaign to support the entrenched leaders of the United Nations. Nowhere do they mention supporting progressive causes. Also, they look expensive. That would be in keeping with their targeted audience of large businesses.
Despite Mr. Reel’s hypothesis concerning hoards of Crowds on Demand actors protesting Trump in DC, I’d throw the cow-droppings flag. The odds of Crouds on Demand being hired by Trump protesters pales in comparison of the odds of them working for right-wing causes. In what world would Trump protesters hire a union busing company? Mr. Reel provides no empiracal evidence of his claims that protesters in DC are actors. And it is clear he’s completely misread Crowds in Demand website.
Astoturf protesters ranks right up there with clean coal, TV-interfering wind turbines, and tariffs that aren’t passed down the shoppers. It’s all part of the gifts cows leave
All I can say is many many of my personal friends in DC have attended numerous protests. They have high paying, regular jobs and are simply exercising their constitutional rights. Agree or not that is why we had a Revolution which we will celebrating the 250th birthday next year.
Sadly, there is not much in David Reel’s letter with which I can agree, and after finishing his diatribe, would be surprised if he ever attended a real protest in his life. I do agree, however, that there is an element of what he refers to as “astroturf” protesters in the current political climate. What he doesn’t say is that Trump and what is left of the Republican Party are overwhelmingly responsible for this type of shameful political activity, not the progressives movement.
I have been protesting for social justice almost my entire life, since 1971 to be exact, soon after I returned from combat in Vietnam. I have protested against almost every military engagement this country has been engaged in over the decades including Iraq and Afghanistan. I proudly protested against the Nixon government for making it a crime to burn an American flag and I was at the Woman’s March in Washington before Trump’s first inauguration. Just before Covid, my wife and I joined a small group of Talbot patriotic citizens who after two years were successful in removing the Confederate monument from the courthouse grounds. Currently, my wife and I have been protesting on Rt. 50 in support of Pastor Espinal’s return from an illegal ICE kidnapping.
Never once have I heard about anyone being paid at these protests. Let be be clear, it is possible that there were paid protesters at some of these events, but I would be surprised if there numbers approached even one-half of one percent.
Mr, Reel’s comments suggest both sides are guilty of this practice. I say hogwash and gobbledygook!
It is common knowledge that Trump’s rallies include paid protesters usually found behind the speaker’s platform, but the writer would be hard pressed to convince me that the Democrats are equally guilty of this undemocratic practice.
His remarks do nothing but instill further distrust in legitimate protests, real grassroots protests as I recently witnessed on the side of Rt.50. I invite Mr. Reel to attend one of these grassroots rallies and challenge him to find evidence of anyone being paid.
Jim, thank you and your wife for your continued protests! My husband, daughter and I have attended
rallies in Chestertown and WDC. We always connect with those around us. These are fellow protesters who
are no different than we am: concerned, mad as hell and
ready to voice opposition to fascism.
To imply they are paid is insulting and pathetic.
With regard to recent real grassroots protests on the side of Route 50 I wrote: “A hallmark of grassroots protests are groups of volunteers who are energized and mobilized by a shared commitment to addressing a grievance of deep concern to them. Their goals are to educate the public and generate public support for ideas on how to address that grievance. A perfect example of grassroots protests done right were recent protests organized and executed by a group of Mid-Shore volunteers. Their peaceful protests helped secure the release of Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal from detention by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
What is needed is SUSTAINED, grassroots protests if not rolling general strikes to hit the administration/regime in Washington where it hurts….the wallets of the big donors.
Many of us enjoy reading articles that.express different viewpoints and offer conclusions based on fact-based considerations. It is disappointing at best to read an article such as this one that makes such an absurd statement that DC protesters are only paid actors without even the slightest evidence to support this contention. I suspect most readers of the Spy expect a higher standard than this from authors who write for the Spy.
Obviously Mr. Reel has not been out amongst the protestors. If he saw friends, neighbors, colleagues waving their “No Kings” or “Free Pastor Daniel” signs, he would know that we were not paid to stand up for our First Amendment rights. We are there to protect the Constitution. The price we will pay if we don’t protest, write, call, and vote is the loss of our FREEDOM.
Yes, our Founding Fathers may not have anticipated the development of paid protests and hence the lack of mention in the Constitution. However, they did anticipate the rise of “factions” – their name for political parties and hence Washington’s warning against them. Our Constitution also is silent on the topic of money in politics and foresaw the evils of money in our political process with the development of partisan politics in which one fed the other. While the Constitution is clear about freedom of speech, I suspect that our Founding Fathers would be appaled by the Supreme Court Decision in Common Cause v the FEC in which money in politics was determined to be a protected form of speech. That being the case, is it any surprise the both parties may seek to add (paid) fuel to the fire? In this environment it is easy to accuse one party’s actions of crossing the line without having to provide actual proof of the deed.
I suspect you are right, Bob. Paying people to protest is akin, though not as grievous, as paying people to vote. This practice would gain no traction if the news media would investigate and report on it. Unfortunately,what mention the media makes of it is without hard evidence. It doesn’t go unnoticed that many “protesters” when interviewed on the street, haven’t a clue about the subject they are protesting. That’s anecdotal evidence, not conclusive but not without merit. It would be easy to manipulate those street interviews to show only what the biased media wanted to show.
It is SO hard to suss out the truth these days. Be skeptical of everything until enough evidence is presented to form an opinion.
Trump spoke out again in a Tweet on paid Democratic Party agitators/protestors. Thus, his parrots now work on the process of repeating the lies and exaggerations.
Note in Mr. Reel’s article, there was no specific reference to which group hired protestors. Vague generalities abound among these propagandists who don’t want you to dwell on the high likelihood that Mr. Trump is both on Epstein’s list and is a child molester like his good friend Jeffrey. They also want to make it possible that the American public will become inured to the “paid agitators” theme so that after the Republicans get swallowed up in the 2026 elections, it will sound familiar that the public will have heard about fake agitators/protestors and won’t bother to question why Trump announced a national emergency and disqualified the election results. The handy presence of National Guard troops will make it easier for Trump to assert military control to support his masked Gestapo squads. This is how fascists maintain power when they lose elections.
The saddest aspect of this is how so many deluded Americans still believe this White House shyster when he claims the 2020 election was rigged. I believe Mr. Reel is hard at work manipulating public opinion, not in arriving at the truth about protestors against the Trump Regime.
Mickey, beautifully said! Gosh, I am still appalled how anyone could have voted for this slippery man in 2016!!! Look how far our nation has devolved since then. It is like The Twilight Zone, except scarier.
Dave, I am sorry that your article elicits such venemous attacks as it has. This is a topic that people should be aware of and that should be discussed rationally and civilly. I noted that you suggested that the DC protesters were often paid actors, but didn’t produce any corroborating facts. Likewise, many of the ensuing comments spew or intimate evil doings or intent without corroborating facts. If we are to discuss this topic of paid protesters, it should be done in a rational civil manner that we can all learn from. Bashing others because they have different beliefs or perspectives doesn’t add to the conversation. It puts an end to any meaningful discourse.
Thanks again for bringing up this important topic.