Media reports portrayed a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Austin, Texas, as a gathering that quickly formed after an ICE agent shot a Venezuelan illegal alien.
A Fox News Digital investigation found that socialist and communist organizations rapidly organized, promoted, and amplified the demonstration.
The shooting occurred Sunday at about 12:56 p.m. Central Time near Anderson Square and Research Boulevard.
Authorities said an ICE officer shot Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national, during a traffic stop.
Pérez was taken to a local trauma center in serious but stable condition and later placed in federal custody.
Local officials said Austin police were not involved in the shooting, which federal authorities are investigating with assistance from the FBI.
Roughly four hours after the shooting, socialist and communist activists were at the scene.
1/ BREAKING — Who is behind the “spontaneous” anti-ICE protests in Austin, Texas?
A coordinated network of socialist and communist groups are organizing and promoting Austin’s “spontaneous” anti-ICE protest, according to new reporting from @M_Dorgan and me at @FoxNews… pic.twitter.com/Ls9N9ndGV3
— Asra Nomani (@AsraNomani) September 22, 2026
They waved Mexican flags, circulated the incident through national and Texas social media networks, and broadcast footage of the expanding crowd and confrontations with Austin police.
The organizing network included the Democratic Socialists of America, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
The latter works closely with nonprofit groups funded by Neville Roy Singham, an American-born communist technology tycoon living in Shanghai.
Congressional lawmakers are investigating the Singham network for allegedly helping create an image of “chaos” in the United States, including through protests against ICE in Minneapolis and at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey.
BreakThrough News, a communist media platform operated by BreakThrough BT Media, published a Sunday evening report from Texas with the headline, “Austin erupts in protest…” BreakThrough BT Media is a nonprofit funded by Singham.
At about 4:19 p.m., the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s national X account announced the shooting and called on Austin residents to protest.
BREAKING: An ICE agent just shot a man in north Austin. The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment. His identity and condition are unknown at this time.
This is not an isolated incident: it’s part of a broader pattern of ICE violence and killings. We saw what ICE did… pic.twitter.com/EU1OOr5Z90
— Party for Socialism and Liberation (@pslnational) September 20, 2026
Its Austin chapter shared a “BREAKING” graphic with the national organization and chapters in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth and Waco.
By early Monday evening, about 24 hours later, that post had received 5,402 likes, 2,016 reposts and 2,391 shares or sends.
The coordinated distribution undercut the media narrative of an entirely unplanned neighborhood reaction.
At about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, the Austin chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America advertised an “Emergency Demonstration/Vigil” at 8121 Research Boulevard.
The announcement instructed supporters to attend from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“Join us at 8121 Research Blvd from 5-8 p.m. for a spontaneous protest and vigil against yet another instance of ICE and police violence,” the post said.
The group later published an updated location and said the demonstration would continue until 7 p.m.
The Freedom Road Socialist Organization and its Austin chapter also distributed material about the shooting.
One graphic declared, “ICE SHOOTS AN UNARMED CIVILIAN,” while another characterized the incident as part of wider “ICE violence and killings.”
Within 24 hours, the Freedom Road post had collected 620 likes, 214 reposts, and 156 shares or sends.
Videos published by the organization showed demonstrators chanting, holding signs, blocking the roadway near the shooting site and lighting fireworks.
Freedom Road openly states that it is building “a new, revolutionary, communist party” and seeking to replace capitalism through socialist revolution.
In July, the organization said it “salutes the Communist Party of China” on the 105th anniversary of its founding.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation similarly describes itself in its manifesto as a “revolutionary socialist” movement that “will open the way to communism and the end of class society.”
Its program portrays police and state institutions as instruments of capitalist rule.
The party works alongside Singham-funded organizations including the People’s Forum, BreakThrough News, CodePink and the ANSWER Coalition.
It also participates with Freedom Road in coalitions and international efforts involving Cuba and Venezuela, according to the communist publication Fight Back! News.
At 5:44 p.m., the party’s national account posted live video of the Austin crowd.
Its national and Austin Instagram accounts paired the video with Rage Against the Machine’s song, “We’ve Got to Take the Power Back.”
At 8:27 p.m., the national account published a statement demanding Pérez’s release and the ICE agent’s arrest.
View this post on Instagram
An identical Instagram post distributed through Texas and national accounts had 10,600 likes, 3,616 reposts and 2,343 shares or sends by early Monday evening.
By about 5 p.m. Monday, organizers issued another call directing activists to Pearsal Detention Center, where local groups claimed ICE agents were holding Pérez.
The message demanded, “WE NEED YOU BOOTS ON THE GROUND…!!!”
Austin officials have requested transparency and an independent review, while federal authorities said the agent’s use of force remains under investigation.
The groups’ own posts, however, document how established socialist and communist networks swiftly turned the shooting into an organized political action.
