Defend Democracy Action Project (DDAP), also known as the Defend Democracy Project, is a political activist group ¹ that is a fiscally sponsored project of the North Fund, an umbrella group for left-of-center organizations created and administered by Arabella Advisors. ¹ It has received funding from Democracy Fund Voice, the advocacy and lobbying arm of eBay chairman and founder Pierre Omidyar’s Democracy Fund. ¹

Background

During the 2022 midterms election cycle, Defend Democracy Action Project (DDAP) launched a series of campaigns claiming that Republican candidates running for office that cycle were “threats to democracy.” ² One campaign in Michigan claimed that Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon, Attorney General candidate Matthew DePerno, and Secretary of State candidate Kristina Karamo were the “the top threats to democracy statewide.” ³

In 2022, DDAP also accused Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) of being an “authoritarian threat to our freedoms. ⁴

DDAP reportedly has former AFL-CIO political director Michael Podhorzer and former Democratic National Committee communications director and Obama administration staffer Brad Woodhouse as its co-chairs as of 2025. ^{5 6 7 8}

Olivia Troye, a former homeland security and counterterrorism adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence during the first Trump administration, was also listed as a DDAP member. ⁸

Between December 2023 and January 2024, DDAP produced a weekly “Defend Our Country Digest” with links to news stories and other content related to legal cases related to then-former president Donald Trump, his legal advisors, his advisors, and allied conservatives. The digest was meant to link them to participants in the January 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol as well as efforts to challenge the certification of the 2020 electoral results. ⁹

Activities

Not Above the Law Coalition

Defend Democracy Action Project (DDAP) is a member of the Not Above the Law Coalition, a group of left-of-center organizations that advocated for the criminal prosecution of President Donald Trump along with alleged participants in the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to challenge the certification of the 2020 election results. ^{10 11 12}

Other members of the coalition include American Oversight, Center for American Progress Action Fund, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Common Cause, Congressional Integrity Project, Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC), Institute for Policy Studies, Daily Kos, DemCast USA, End Citizens United, Let America Vote, Fix Democracy First, Free Speech For People, Greenpeace, Indivisible Project, J Street, League of Conservation Voters, MoveOn, NextGen America, Our Revolution, People For the American Way, People Power United, Public Citizen, Public Wise, Secure Elections Network, Sierra Club, Stand Up America, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, and the Workers Circle. ¹³

Anti-Tesla Activism

In March 2025, former Wall Street Journal investigative journalist Asra Nomani posted a list on her X (formerly Twitter) profile that contained a series of organizations and activist groups, which named the Defend Democracy Action Project (DDAP), as being involved with #TeslaTakedown, a series of national protests against electric car manufacturer Tesla over its CEO Elon Musk’s involvement with the second Trump administration. ¹⁴

Funding

As Defend Democracy Action Project is a fiscally sponsored organization, donations to the group can be reported as having been made to its fiscal sponsor, Arabella Advisors‘ North Fund. Like other nonprofit organizations, it is not required to disclose its donors. ¹

In 2022, Defend Democracy Action Project received a $350,000 donation from Democracy Fund Voice, the advocacy and lobbying arm of eBay chairman and founder Pierre Omidyar’s Democracy Fund. ¹  The grant disclosure said that the $350,000 donation was for six months of operations as a “a communications hub and coalition effort.” ¹⁵

1. “Defend Democracy Action Project.” Democracy Fund Voice, March 29, 2023. https://democracyfundvoice.org/defend-democracy-action-project/.
2. Gustafson, Anna. “U.S. at Risk of Becoming Authoritarian State after Jan. 6 Insurrection, Experts Say.” Michigan Advance, June 8, 2022. https://michiganadvance.com/2022/06/08/__trashed-8__trashed/.
3. King, Jon. “Report: Dixon, Deperno and Karamo Are ‘threats to Democracy’ for 2020 Election Conspiracies.” Michigan Advance, September 2, 2022. https://michiganadvance.com/2022/09/02/report-dixon-deperno-and-karamo-are-threats-to-democracy-for-2020-election-conspiracies/.
4. “‘Fact Sheet: Ron DeSantis: Authoritarian Threat to Our Freedoms.’” Defend Democracy Project, November 21, 2022. https://projectdefenddemocracy.com/fact-sheet-ron-desantis-authoritarian-threat-to-our-freedoms/.
5. “Brad Woodhouse.” Protect Our Care. Accessed April 14, 2025. https://www.protectourcare.org/brad-woodhouse/.
6. “Michael Podhorzer.” AFL-CIO. Accessed April 14, 2025. https://aflcio.org/author/michael-podhorzer.
7. Conniff, Ruth. “Wisconsin’s Starring Role in the Jan. 6 Insurrection.” Wisconsin Examiner, June 9, 2022. https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2022/06/09/wisconsins-starring-role-in-the-jan-6-insurrection/.
8. Shutt, Jennifer. “Worries Grow about Disinformation, False Claims and Even Violence as Election Nears.” Wisconsin Examiner, October 28, 2024. https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2024/10/28/worries-grow-about-disinformation-false-claims-and-even-violence-as-election-nears/.
9. “Defend Democracy Digests.” Defend Democracy Project. Accessed April 14, 2025. https://projectdefenddemocracy.com/defend-democracy-digests/.
10. “Working with the Not above the Law Coalition to Call for January 6th Justice.” Public Citizen. Accessed April 14, 2025. https://www.citizen.org/article/working-with-the-not-above-the-law-coalition-to-call-for-january-6th-justice/.
11. “Not above the Law Coalition Ahead of Jan. 6 Commission Vote: ‘Stand on the Right Side of History.’” Government Accountability Project, May 27, 2021. https://whistleblower.org/press-release/press-statement-not-above-the-law-coalition-ahead-of-jan-6-commission-vote-stand-on-the-right-side-of-history/.
12. “News Conference on Arraignment of Former President Trump.” C-SPAN, August 3, 2023. https://www.c-span.org/program/news-conference/news-conference-on-arraignment-of-former-president-trump/630773.
13. Not above the Law Coalition Reacts to Trump Indictment in Classified Documents Case.” The Workers Circle, August 9, 2023. https://www.circle.org/news/notabovethelawstatement.
14. Nomani, Asra. “‘Hello  @ElonMusk  and Friends…’” X, March 30, 2025. https://x.com/AsraNomani/status/1906281197430329459.
15. ^[1] “Defend Democracy Action Project.” Democracy Fund Voice, March 29, 2023. https://democracyfundvoice.org/defend-democracy-action-project/.