Popular Democracy in Action

Popular Democracy in Action is known for its high-profile activism involving elected officials. The organization engaged in a protest outside of then-U.S. Senator Joe Manchin’s (D, later I-WV) yacht in September 2021 after Manchin refused to vote for a $3.5 trillion spending bill known as Build Back Better. ³ The organization also took part in a campaign with several left-of-center U.S. Representatives, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), to block traffic outside the Supreme Court on July 19, 2022, causing the congresswomen to get arrested. ⁴

Advocacy

Popular Democracy in Action advocates for left-wing policy positions. After a draft opinion of the Supreme Court’s decision Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health, the organization released a statement calling the draft opinion “a devastating blow to our freedoms and our bodily autonomy” that will “harm communities of color and poor people the most.”⁵ The organization called on Congress to add new seats to the Supreme Court to counteract the conservative majority, a process critics call “court-packing.” The organization also urged the Senate to abolish the filibuster.⁵

After a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, the organization released a statement claiming that the shooting showed “disposability of lives of color to our white leadership, who have ample opportunity to prevent these tragedies.”⁶ The organization blamed the free market and white supremacy for the shooting, stating that “we live in a country in which our elected leaders prioritize the money and influence of arms dealers over the lives of our kids. Our elected leaders cling to capitalism and accept white supremacy at the expense of us all.”⁷

In January 2020, the organization joined with People’s Action, Dream Defenders, the Sunrise Movement, Make the Road Action, Our Revolution, Democratic Socialists of America, Progressive Democrats of America, and Student Action to launch a voter mobilization effort on behalf of self-proclaimed socialist U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) who was running for president in the Democratic Party primary. The groups planned to turn out an additional 1.4 million Democratic primary voters in key early states on behalf of Sanders. The voter turnout effort operated independently of Sanders’s campaign. ⁸

In June 2020, the organization released a report calling for defunding police. The group called upon both federal and local governments to immediately end the funding of local law enforcement. The group encouraged governments to spend the money allocated to the police on social programs. In particular, the group called upon the U.S. Congress to end the COPS program which funded local police departments. ⁹

In July 2021, the organization issued a statement after a Texas federal judge ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) amnesty program was unconstitutional that called on Congress to pass legislation granting amnesty to illegal immigrants through the Senate’s reconciliation rule, which would avoid a Republican filibuster. ¹⁰

In July 2024, the organization joined with People’s Action and the Working Families Party to endorse then-Vice President Kamala Harris for president in the 2024 Presidential Election. The three groups set a goal of knocking on five million doors in key battleground states including Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Arizona. DaMareo Cooper and Analilia Mejia, co-executive directors of Center for Popular Democracy Action, wrote in a statement, “Vice President Kamala Harris is a strong candidate who will beat Donald Trump, preserve our democracy, and drive our country forward. The Biden administration put our country back on track, canceling student debt for close to a million Americans, rebuilding our economy post-Covid, and investing in our infrastructure. Now is the time to rally behind Vice President Harris to build upon those achievements and take on the immense challenges ahead.” ¹¹

In August 2024, the organization wrote a coalition letter to then-President Joe Biden under its House Every One! campaign. The letter praised Biden’s plans for nationwide rent control, plans to use U.S. government-owned land to build affordable housing, provide grants to build “deeply affordable” homes, and requiring a 30-day notice for rent increases and lease expirations. The letter demanded that the administration create an Office of Social Housing under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which would facilitate the development of more government-owned housing. The letter also demanded that tenants get the right to form a union and collectively bargain with landlords, and that the U.S. government spend $1 trillion over a decade to create 12 million new homes and $230 billion to repair and make existing public housing environmentalist-friendly. They hosted a series of town hall meetings to push their demands on housing which included, “crack down on corporate landlords, cap rents, and invest in tenant-owned, permanently affordable green social housing.” The letter was, in part, a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson ruling which allowed cities to enforce anti-public camping laws. ¹²

Before then-President Joe Biden left office, the group called on Biden to pardon and commute the sentences of all 10,000 pending clemency requests. The group also called on Biden to prioritize the release of Michelle West and Leonard Peltier, who murdered an FBI agent. The letter also called on President Biden to immediately commute the sentences of all inmates on federal death row and to encourage states to end the death penalty. ¹³

In January 2025, Popular Democracy in Action helped organize the People’s March to protest the Inauguration of President Donald Trump. The march promoted numerous left-of-center causes from gender issues to D.C. statehood. “As Trump assumes the presidency in January, we are gathering to mobilize our collective power and stand against his efforts to roll back our rights and freedoms,” said Analilia Mejia, co-executive director of Popular Democracy in Action, in a statement. “This is the first step in a long, renewed fight for a more perfect union, and we need you to show up, for each other and for ourselves. We need to make it clear in our numbers that we will resist MAGA’s extremism for as long as it exists. We hope to see you at the People’s March.” ¹⁴

In March 2025, the group led a rally in Washington, D.C. to oppose what it called the Trump administration’s proposed $880 billion cuts to Medicaid that featured several Democratic members of Congress. The rally kicked off an activist push to contact members of Congress to oppose Medicaid cuts. ¹⁵

In March 2025, the group retweeted the Declaration for American Democracy’s post in opposition to the SAVE Act, which would bar non-citizens from voting in federal elections. The post called the bill a “terrible voter suppression bill would disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.”  ¹⁶

Financials

According to Popular Democracy in Action’s 2023 tax return, the group had $1,919,211 in revenue, $2,160,788 in expenses, and $2,686,934 in net assets. The group gave $135,000 to Vamos-Concertacion Ciudadana in Puerto Rico, $30,000 each to New York Communities for Change and Churches United for Fair Housing, $17,193 to Step Up For Action, and $20,000 for the Ohio Organizing Campaign. ¹⁷

In June 2024, the Capital Research Center reported that the group had received “six- and seven-figure grants” from the Berger Action Fund, which is left-of-center lobbying and advocacy arm of the Wyss Foundation, a grantmaking organization established by Swiss businessman Hansjorg Wyss. ¹⁸

Leadership

As of 2024, DaMareo Cooper and Analilia Mejia were listed as co-executive directors of Popular Democracy in Action. ¹⁹

As of 2022, Ana Maria Archila and Jennifer Epps-Addison were former co-executive directors and Transition Advisors.²⁰

As of 2024, the organization’s board of directors was comprised of board chair Christina Livingston, board vice chair Rob Solano, board secretary Debbie Soto, board treasurer Maurice Mitchell, Renya Lopez, Brianna Brown, Theo Oshiro, Branden Snyder, Gustavo Torres, and chief operation officer Jennifer Freedman. ¹⁹

Controversies

Protest at Joe Manchin’s Houseboat

In September 2021, activists from Popular Democracy in Action, then called CPD Action, and several other left-wing activist organizations engaged in a protest outside of then-U.S. Senator Joe Manchin’s (D, later I-WV) houseboat in Washington, D.C., after Manchin declined to support then-President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending proposal known as Build Back Better. ²¹ Protestors kayaked to Manchin’s houseboat and shouted several slogans about climate change and economic policy. Manchin later agreed to meet with the protestors. ³

Facilitation of Congressional Members’ Arrest

Popular Democracy in Action, then called CPD Action, was involved in a protest outside the Supreme Court on July 19, 2022, at which several U.S. Representatives, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), were arrested. In an Instagram post, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said that organizers and activists had asked her and other Members of Congress to “submit themselves for arrest in front of the Supreme Court” to continue to draw media attention to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health. ²² The group later claimed that its leaders were among the 18 non-congressional members that had been arrested.²³ CPD Action said the incident showed “SCOTUS and lawmakers that #WeWontBackDown until ALL pregnancy-abled people are treated as full human beings with the autonomy to make decisions about OUR OWN bodies.”²⁴

The incident drew widespread attention after Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s critics accused her of pretending to be handcuffed to create a media attention.²³ Ocasio-Cortez said she was engaging in “a best practice when under arrest.”²⁵

Arrests At U.S. Capitol

In May 2023, activists with Popular Democracy in Action, then called CPD in Action, were arrested inside the U.S. Capitol while demanding Democratic leaders not give into Republican demands during a debate over raising the debt ceiling. The activists planned to occupy several Congressional offices, including those of three moderate Democratic lawmakers. The activists marched with a sign that said, “Our lives are not negotiable.” The group demanded that Congress avoid a default without cuts to programs that benefit low-income families. ²⁶

Threatening Heritage Foundation Staffers

In February 2025, activists from Stop The Coup 2025 protested outside the offices of the conservative Heritage Foundation in opposition to Project 2025. Popular Democracy in Action is a member of the “Stop The Coup 2025” coalition. During the protest, activists allegedly threatened to harass Heritage staffers at their homes and churches. ²⁷