FBI and IRS Team Up to Investigate Funding Behind the LA Riots — Fact vs. Fiction

Verdict: Partly True — But Heavily Distorted

The claim circulating online — that the FBI and IRS are jointly targeting the ‘billionaire-funded puppet masters’ behind the ‘Los Angeles riots’ — is based on a real investigation. However, the original framing is saturated with unverified claims, inflammatory exaggerations, and misleading context. Here is what the evidence actually shows.

What Actually Happened: The Real Story of the June 2025 LA Protests

How the Protests Started

The events in question were not spontaneous riots born of criminal conspiracy. On June 6, 2025, protests erupted in Los Angeles after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a series of immigration sweeps across Southern California. The raids — part of President Trump’s second-term mass deportation agenda — targeted multiple locations, including a Home Depot in Paramount, a heavily Latino suburb of Los Angeles. Viral footage of federal agents pursuing workers in parking lots sparked immediate outrage.

What followed was a complex mix of genuine civic protest and criminal opportunism. The vast majority of demonstrations remained peaceful. But in certain flashpoints — especially around the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown LA and in Paramount and Compton — clashes broke out between protesters and law enforcement. Some individuals threw rocks, bottles, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police. Vehicles were set on fire. Graffiti appeared on the LAPD headquarters and federal courthouse. A small number of looters struck downtown stores.

The Scale of Unrest — Separating Fact from Hyperbole

The original viral claim frames the events as a city-wide inferno of terrorism. Reality was more limited. According to the NBC Los Angeles timeline, the curfew Mayor Karen Bass imposed covered roughly one square mile of downtown in a city spanning about 500 square miles. Most demonstrations were, as multiple journalists on the ground confirmed, peaceful marches. By June 12, over 850 people had been arrested on charges ranging from failure to disperse to looting and arson. The damage was estimated at $20–30 million — significant, but not the apocalyptic scale the viral framing suggested.

Critically, a federal judge later found the administration’s own rationale for military deployment unconvincing. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled in September 2025 that there had been ‘no rebellion’ and that civilian law enforcement was capable of handling the situation. Trump’s deployment of the National Guard — the first time a president overrode a governor’s wishes since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 — was ruled a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.

The Real FBI and IRS Investigation: What Federal Agencies Actually Said

The Joint Federal Warning — What Was Actually Announced

This is where the core of the viral claim is TRUE, but the framing is misleading. On June 17, 2025, the FBI’s Los Angeles office posted a video on X featuring three senior officials: U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis, and IRS Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher. Together, they issued a formal warning about the financial networks behind the riots.

Key statements from the joint announcement included:

• IRS Special Agent Hatcher: “We are currently tracing money to determine who is providing funding for these riots.” He added that his office “will identify and disrupt financial networks supporting these criminal activities.”
• S. Attorney Essayli: “Think before you act. The legal consequences for financing or aiding and abetting these crimes are harsh. They include imprisonment and fines.”
• FBI Director Kash Patel (statement to ‘Just the News’): “The FBI is investigating any and all monetary connections responsible for these riots.”

Importantly, Essayli also emphasized: “The right to assemble and protest peacefully is protected by the law.” The investigation targets those who funded or organized violence — not peaceful protest itself.

First Arrest Linked to Funding: The Alejandro Orellana Case

The first arrest directly tied to logistical support of the riots was that of Alejandro Theodoro Orellana, who was charged with conspiracy to commit and aiding and abetting civil disorders. The allegation: he distributed face shields to rioters. This case became the centerpiece of federal officials’ early messaging about holding financiers and suppliers accountable. It is a real arrest — not fabricated — but also not the smoking-gun billionaire conspiracy described in the viral post.

Separating Fact from Fiction: Claims That Are Unverified or False

Claim-by-Claim Breakdown

Claim	Verdict	Reality
FBI and IRS are jointly investigating riot funding	TRUE	Confirmed by official statements from FBI, IRS, and DOJ in June 2025.
“Paid agitators bused in” to cause violence	UNVERIFIED	Trump claimed ‘paid troublemakers’ but no evidence of organized busing has been publicly confirmed by investigators.
“Funded pallets of bricks placed at protest sites”	FALSE / No Evidence	This was a widely shared claim during 2020 protests too. No evidence presented in 2025 LA case.
Billionaire Neville Roy Singham is being investigated	UNDER INVESTIGATION	FBI and House Oversight have named Singham; no charges filed as of the article’s writing.
CHIRLA received $34M in government grants	TRUE	IRS 990 filings confirm this. However, no direct link to riot funding has been proven.
“Laundered money through fake nonprofits”	ALLEGED, NOT PROVEN	Federal agencies are investigating this theory; no convictions or confirmed findings published.
Street rioters got only ‘slaps on the wrist’	MISLEADING	Over 850 arrests were made. Several rioters faced serious felony charges including arson and assault.
The violence was equivalent to ‘domestic terrorism’	CONTESTED	Federal courts found the military deployment unjustified. No domestic terrorism charges filed.

Organizations Under Scrutiny: What the Evidence Shows

CHIRLA — Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles

CHIRLA is a legitimate, long-established immigration rights nonprofit. IRS Form 990 records confirm it received over $34 million in government grants by mid-2023, primarily from California state funds. It also received approximately $450,000 in DHS grants between 2021 and 2024 for immigrant education programs — grants the Trump administration rescinded in early 2025, clawing back around $101,000.

Senator Josh Hawley and the House Judiciary Committee launched formal inquiries into whether CHIRLA used any funds to support the protest activity. CHIRLA responded publicly, stating it had not “participated, coordinated, or been part of the protests” beyond holding a press conference and rally. As of the most recent reporting, no evidence of direct riot financing by CHIRLA has been established through due legal process.

Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL)

The PSL was identified in reporting by Fox News and Just the News as a group involved in organizing protest activity. The group has reported ties to various far-left networks. FBI Director Kash Patel acknowledged the PSL is among the organizations being reviewed. However, organizing a protest — even a loud, confrontational one — is constitutionally protected. What investigators are looking for is evidence of funding or directing violence specifically.

Neville Roy Singham — The Billionaire in the Crosshairs

NewsNation and House Oversight Committee members publicly named Neville Roy Singham, an American tech billionaire currently residing in Shanghai, as a person of interest. Singham reportedly sold his company in 2017 for close to $1 billion and has since funded organizations including the People’s Forum. Congressional sources said Singham would be called to testify about his ties and the funding of groups connected to the protests. No charges had been filed against him as of this report.

SEIU — Service Employees International Union

One of the most concrete early arrests involving an organized entity was that of David Huerta, 58, leader of SEIU California. He was federally charged with felony conspiracy to impede an officer following his arrest during an immigration enforcement operation. This is a real, documented arrest — though it concerns an individual’s actions, not evidence that the union as an institution funded rioting.

What Courts Found: The Government’s Own Case Was Weaker Than Claimed

A crucial part of the story the viral post omits: the Trump administration’s legal narrative around the LA unrest repeatedly failed in court.

• In July 2025, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong found the administration likely violated immigrants’ constitutional rights, ruling that the ICE operations appeared to target residents based on race, language, and place of work.
• In September 2025, Judge Charles Breyer ruled the National Guard deployment illegal under the Posse Comitatus Act, writing that “there was no rebellion, nor was civilian law enforcement unable to respond.”
• Prosecutors failed to secure grand jury indictments for the majority of protesters charged. Several cases were dropped after DHS agents were found to have made false statements.
• On December 31, 2025, Trump ended the National Guard deployment in Los Angeles following continued court losses.

These outcomes directly contradict the framing that the government had an airtight case of orchestrated domestic terrorism. The legal record paints a far more complicated picture.

The Context the Viral Post Leaves Out

Why People Protested: The Human Context of the ICE Raids

The viral post frames all protest activity as manufactured chaos paid for by puppet masters. But the evidence shows organic, community-driven fear as the primary driver. Los Angeles is home to one of the largest immigrant communities in the United States. When footage spread of ICE agents pursuing workers outside a Home Depot — a common gathering spot for day laborers — it tapped into deep community anxiety that had been building since January 2025, when Trump escalated his deportation agenda immediately upon returning to office.

The reaction was not limited to activist organizations. LA Galaxy and LAFC soccer fans held silent protests. Community members from churches, schools, and neighborhood associations joined marches. Thousands of unaffiliated individuals took to the streets because they feared for their neighbors, family members, and coworkers.

The ‘Pallets of Bricks’ Claim — A Recycled Conspiracy Theory

The claim about “funded pallets of bricks mysteriously placed at protest sites” is a direct recycling of a debunked 2020 conspiracy theory. That claim spread virally during the George Floyd protests and was investigated multiple times — by local police departments, journalists, and independent researchers. In virtually every case, the bricks turned out to be construction materials legitimately placed at ongoing work sites near protest routes. No credible evidence was produced in 2020, and none has been verified in the 2025 LA context either.

Legitimate Accountability: What the Investigation Could Rightfully Pursue

Despite the exaggerations, the FBI/IRS investigation into riot financing has a legitimate legal basis. Federal law does prohibit the financing of civil disorders. If any individual or organization provided material support — money, equipment, or logistics — specifically intended to facilitate violence, they can face serious criminal charges. The legal framework includes:

• 18 U.S.C. § 231 — Civil Disorders: Prohibits teaching or demonstrating the use of firearms, explosives, or incendiary devices for use in civil disorders, and prohibits transporting items to be used in civil disorders.
• Conspiracy statutes: Coordinated planning to commit crimes — including funding those crimes — exposes individuals to conspiracy charges even if they were not physically present.
• IRS fraud and money laundering statutes: If nonprofits misrepresented their use of tax-exempt funds to support illegal activity, they face serious tax and fraud exposure.

These are real laws. Investigating whether they were violated is entirely appropriate. The concern raised by civil liberties organizations — including the ACLU, which filed a federal lawsuit over the ICE raids themselves in July 2025 — is that the investigation not be used to chill constitutionally protected protest activity.

Key Takeaways: The Five Things You Need to Know

• The FBI/IRS joint investigation is REAL. Federal agencies formally announced they are tracing financial networks behind the June 2025 LA riots. This is confirmed and documented.
• The protests were not simply manufactured riots. They were primarily driven by genuine community fear over aggressive ICE raids in Latino neighborhoods. Most demonstrations were peaceful.
• Claims about ‘pallets of bricks’ and ‘paid agitators bused in’ remain unverified. These mirror debunked 2020 claims and have not been confirmed by federal investigators.
• Federal courts repeatedly ruled against the administration’s characterization of the unrest. Military deployment was found illegal, ICE arrests were found to likely violate constitutional rights, and most protest-related charges were dropped.
• As of this writing, no charges for ‘riot financing’ have resulted in convictions. Investigations of CHIRLA, Singham, and PSL are ongoing. Presumption of innocence applies.

Conclusion: Real Investigation, Distorted Framing

The core news event — the FBI and IRS investigating riot funding — is real and significant. Federal law enforcement has every right, and arguably the responsibility, to follow the money when violence is organized or materially supported. If donors or organizations funded violence, they should face legal consequences.

But the viral framing of this story is a case study in how real news gets weaponized. It strips away the legitimate grievances of a community, treats all protest as criminal, recycles debunked conspiracy theories, presents allegations as proven facts, and ignores the federal courts’ own findings that the government overreached.

Good journalism — and good citizenship — demands both things at once: holding riot funders accountable AND protecting the right of communities to protest government action without being smeared as terrorists. The truth is always more complicated than a viral post.

Sources & Further Reading

• FBI Los Angeles (@FBILosAngeles), official X post, June 17, 2025
• Washington Times — ‘Police attackers, looters charged in Los Angeles anti-ICE riots; IRS probes protest funding,’ June 18, 2025
• The National Desk — ‘FBI to investigate funding anti-ICE protests; organizations involved,’ June 11, 2025
• NewsNation — ‘Is American billionaire funding LA, pro-Palestine campus protests?’ June 13, 2025
• Wikipedia — ‘June 2025 Los Angeles protests against mass deportation’ (continuously updated through March 2026)
• NPR — ‘4 things to know about the immigration raid protests that roiled LA this weekend,’ June 9, 2025
• CBS News — ‘What to know about the Los Angeles immigration protests over ICE operations,’ June 12, 2025
• ABC News — ‘LA protests timeline: How ICE raids sparked demonstrations,’ June 13, 2025
• House Judiciary Committee Republicans — Letter to CHIRLA, June 24, 2025
• Fox News — ‘Anti-ICE riot funding investigated,’ June 12, 2025

This article is a journalistic fact-check. All individuals and organizations named are presumed innocent unless established through due legal process. The investigation described is ongoing.