Free Republic

EXCLUSIVE — One day before anti-Israel protesters caused mayhem in Washington, D.C., burning an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he spoke to Congress, scrawling graffiti across federal property, and burning American flags, the National Park Service granted the organizing group a public gathering permit.... The NPS said in the permit documents that ANSWER “refused to provide specific locations for onsite contacts.” ANSWER is a project of a charity in San Francisco called Progress Unity Fund, according to tax records.... The NPS is already facing scrutiny for its handling of the Wednesday protest. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) sent...

A left-wing charity organization with unknown sources of money is providing the funding for protests around the country — some of which have turned into violent riots — that have threatened a divided nation’s ability to unify after a contentious presidential election. The Progress Unity Fund is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization — the same classification as the Red Cross. The group’s mission is to “provide a progressive alternative to mainstream charities,” according to its IRS filings. The fund provides the financial backing for Act Now To Stop War & End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition, a left-wing activist group that began organizing...