REVEALED: Anti-DOGE protests at GOP legislators' townhalls were astroturfed

It has been revealed that protests staged at GOP legislators' townhalls across the country have been organized by leftwing activist groups, despite corporate media outlets giving them the appearance of grassroots efforts. Corporate news outlets have cited astroturfed, left-wing protests against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to cut back spending in the federal government with DOGE, according to the Washington Free Beacon with barely a mention of their organization.

The outlet reported that a protest scene of a town hall in Georgia with Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) was cited by a number of mainstream media outlets as showing bipartisan "backlash" over DOGE. A woman named Maggie Goldman was the organizer of the protest at McCormick's town hall. A clip of the town hall went viral on X earlier this week, with a woman claiming to McCormick that "tyranny is rising in the White House" with Trump and Musk. 

Goldman is a a constituent of McCormick's district, as reported by some of the mainstream outlet, but she has also described herself as a "Democrat & Political Activist" and organized the protest. Goldman volunteered for Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign, ran for her local county commission as a Democrat on a platform of inclusivity, and donated over $1,500 to Kamala Harris' presidential campaign. 

Similar protests happened across the country at Republican town halls as well as district offices. The protests were backed by George Soros-funded groups Indivisible and MoveOn, the outlet reported. The groups have launched efforts to target the "Trump-Musk agenda" around the country. MoveOn said that the organization's "members and allies will show up at congressional-led town halls and congressional offices around the country, targeting House Republicans whose votes will be crucial in opposing Trump and Musk's harmful policies."

In a toolkit released by Indivisible, the organization urged its members to "take the fight to Elon" in protest. Members from the groups went to the different GOP town halls, sparking news coverage of the protests around the country. Some other House members that were targeted in their town halls included David Schweikert (R-AZ) as well as Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI).

Although some local media outlets mentioned the activist groups' involvement, mainstream outlets failed to do so or were vague in mentioning the groups. The Urban Milwaukee, for example, reported that at Fitzgerald's town hall, brought in "about 100 people, largely organized by an organization called Indivisible, mostly members of the Washington/Ozaukee County Democratic Party."

The town hall with Fitzgerald was reported on by the New York Times as well as CBS News, but the corporate outlets failed to disclose the efforts made by Indivisible. The Washington Post, on the other hand, with McCormick's town hall in Georgia, reported, buried in the article, that "liberal groups encouraged their members to show up to town halls in deep-red territory."

CBS, in its coverage of McCormick's town hall, gave Goldman an opportunity to comment, claiming that she was a constituent of McCormick, and published her comment that claimed, "I think there were conservatives there. I think there were Republicans there that were also not happy. I think the person who asked the question about firing was basically saying he was conservative, and he's like, we do want to cut down where we need to, but you do that methodically." 

When the Beacon reached out to Indivisible and MoveOn to comment, neither responded.