What began as a May Day rally in Minneapolis quickly took on a far more radical edge, with communist and socialist groups openly calling for a “revolution” and using the annual workers’ march to push demands that went well beyond wages and labour conditions. The event, which drew well over 1,000 people, became a loud showcase for far-left activism, with chants, banners and speeches aimed squarely at capitalism, immigration enforcement and what organisers described as billionaire rule.
For a rally traditionally associated with workers’ rights, the tone was striking. Some participants were not just calling for reform, but for the seizure of private property and the means of production, language that would usually sit far outside mainstream labour politics. That shift was impossible to miss on the streets of Minneapolis, where red flags, socialist symbols and anti-capitalist messaging were woven into a march that had originally been promoted as an immigrant rights demonstration.
Protesters carried signs reading “F— ICE,” “Abolish ICE,” “Fight Trump’s Agenda,” “No Kings” and “Stop the War”, while others waved banners stamped with the hammer and sickle. Groups on the ground included the Communist Party USA, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), the Revolutionary Communists of America (RCA), the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). The mix of organisations gave the march a distinctly ideological feel, even as labour and immigrant-rights themes remained central to the crowd’s messaging.
The rally was organised under the slogan “Immigrants Rise! Workers Unite!” by groups including the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC). Speakers led chants of “No one is illegal” and “All power to the people”, with large sections of the crowd joining in as the march moved through the city. Far-left groups initially gathered toward the back before falling in behind the immigrant-rights organisers, underscoring how the event brought together overlapping political causes rather than a single unified message.
Members of Communist Party USA were seen handing out newspapers and leaflets, including a publication called The Communist carrying the headline “Down with Trump’s War!” The presence of organised communist branding at a major public march is likely to raise eyebrows well beyond Minnesota, especially as similar slogans and imagery have become increasingly visible at protests across the US. As we’ve seen in other demonstrations, the line between labour activism, immigration protest and revolutionary rhetoric is getting thinner.
How the May Day rally in Minneapolis became a stage for far-left politics
One of the most eye-catching signs of that shift was the openly radical language from protesters interviewed at the scene. Andy Koch, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, told Fox News Digital that the US is effectively “run by billionaires” and should instead be run by working people. He also said he would welcome funding from a wealthy donor if it helped advance pro-worker politics, adding that if one billionaire wanted to support the cause, “that’s great.”
Koch was also asked about socialist systems abroad and pointed to China, saying “China’s doing pretty good right now”, while praising the former Soviet Union for having “done a lot for its people.” That kind of framing reflects a growing confidence among some far-left organisers who are no longer shy about defending hardline socialist models in public.
Another protester, affiliated with the Revolutionary Communists of America, said she had been “radicalized” in 2020 after the death of George Floyd. She told reporters: “We’re calling for down with Trump and down with the Democrats.” That line was a reminder that for some in the movement, the target is not just Republicans or immigration enforcement, but the broader political establishment itself.
The RCA’s demands were unusually explicit. Owen Phernetton, another member of the group, said the organisation is “building a party of class fighters” and believes “we need a revolution … on a socialist basis.” He said the group supports taking over factories, mines and office spaces and placing them under working-class ownership. He also called for cutting the workweek to 20 hours without pay loss and argued that billionaire wealth should be “expropriated and put in use for the working class.”
Those are not marginal talking points. They are a direct challenge to private ownership and market economics, and they show how boldly some activists are now talking in public spaces. In practical terms, the march served as a live demonstration of how far-left groups are using May Day to normalise revolutionary language under the umbrella of worker solidarity.
The political overlap was also visible inside local government. Several Minneapolis City Council members, most affiliated with the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), attended and read a non-binding resolution recognising May 1 as International Workers Day. Jason Chavez read parts of the resolution alongside Elliott Payne, Aurin Chowdhury, Soren Stevenson and Jamal Osman, while Robin Wonsley was also present. During the remarks, a speaker told the crowd, “We must abolish ICE,” linking labour politics directly to immigration policy.
Not everyone on the sidelines was on board with the message. Sedonia Meyers, watching from the sidewalk, described herself as “a very centrist individual” and said immigration should follow a legal process. She added that the US must vet arrivals properly to ensure public safety. Two elderly women nearby were more sympathetic to the broad coalition, saying the rally was a “big tent” with “room for everyone,” even though they did not support abolishing ICE.
Flags across the march reflected that wide ideological spread, including Palestinian flags, LGBTQ pride imagery and socialist and communist banners. High-visibility marshals directed the route and blocked side streets, with little visible police presence along much of the march. The procession ultimately wound through the city in relatively calm conditions, with a marching band providing upbeat music while speakers delivered much sharper political messages.
Earlier in the day, smaller gatherings had drawn limited turnout, including a union-led rally at Government Plaza. The union leader there described it as a separate gathering with “no connection to broader protests.” But the main march made clear that the larger political energy around May Day in Minneapolis is increasingly being shaped by groups with an explicitly revolutionary worldview.
Our sources indicate that the rally ended without major disruption, but the ideological message was unmistakable. What was once a day for labour solidarity has become, at least in Minneapolis, a platform where anti-capitalist politics, immigration activism and socialist organising are converging in public view. For organisers, that may be the point. For everyone else watching, it was a sharp reminder that the politics of the streets are shifting fast.