The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a radical-left socialist political party based in San Francisco, California. In addition to running presidential candidates in the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 elections, PSL operates Liberation News, an online newspaper; Breaking the Chains, a print magazine; and Liberation School, an educational website promoting radical-left ideology. PSL has publicly supported Communist dictators such as Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong and has been active in anti-police protests since 2020. ¹

History and Background

The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) was founded in 2004 by an anonymous group of socialists. ¹ It has run a candidate in every presidential election since 2008, with Gloria la Riva being the party’s nominee in 2008, ² 2016, ³ and 2020. ⁴ The PSL nominee in 2012 was Peta Lindsay. ⁵

Other socialist groups have accused PSL of hypocrisy, including sabotaging other socialist candidates in the 2012 election. ⁶

On May 21, 2025, Elias Rodriquez, whom was previously listed as being allegedly affiliated with the PSL, ^{7 8} was accused of killing two staff members with the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C outside an event at the DC Jewish Museum hosted by the American Jewish Committe (AJC). While in custody, Rodriquez allegedly shouted “free, free Palestine.” ⁹ The PSL later released a post on its X (formerly Twitter) account claiming Rodriquez was not a member of the party, but rather he “had a brief association with one branch of the PSL that ended in 2017.” ¹⁰

In June 2025, PSL was named in a letter from U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, as part of an inquiry into organizations allegedly connected to protests and civil unrest in Los Angeles. The letter accused the organization of potentially providing financial or logistical support to individuals participating in demonstrations related to immigration enforcement policies. Senator Hawley’s letter requested the preservation of a broad range of records dating back to November 5, 2024, including internal communications, financial documents, contracts, travel arrangements, and donor information. The letter emphasized that facilitating or funding disruptive or unlawful protest activity could be considered aiding criminal conduct and warned of possible further legal consequences if the organization failed to comply. ¹¹

Positions

The Party for Socialism and Liberation advocates for the complete abolition of capitalism and its replacement with socialism, as well as openly supporting Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. ¹ IT has also praised Mao Zedong’s Chinese Revolution, ¹² which was responsible for between 40 and 80 million deaths over a 28-year period. ¹³ PSL has also published articles denying the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre ¹⁴ and calling for the abolition of the police. ¹⁵

Activism

Party for Socialism and Liberation activists have participated in numerous protests against police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as for other left-wing political goals. In the summer of 2020, PSL activists led a march in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake. ¹⁶

Two PSL members, Lillian House and Joel Northam, were among the six protestors arrested on charges including inciting a riot and attempted kidnapping in Aurora, Colorado, in July of 2020. ¹⁷ They had been leading demonstrations throughout June and July in protest of the death of Elijah McClain. On July 3, 600 protestors, including House and Northam, surrounded a local police precinct for seven hours, allegedly blocking all doors and adjacent roads. House and Northam were also charged with stealing signs from counter protesters and inciting a riot in which a protester fired at a Jeep attempting to drive through a blocked road. In March of 2021, a county judge dismissed the felony kidnapping charges against House and Northam. ¹⁸ The other charges were dropped later that year. ^{19 20}

On August 27, 2025, the Party for Socialism & Liberation organized a “Free Palestine Flag & Banner Waving” demonstration at Kent Station in Kent, Washington. The event was part of a series of pro-Palestinian protests scheduled across U.S. cities. ²¹

1. Party for Socialism and Liberation. “15 Years of Building the Party, Growing, and Learning.” Liberation News. June 21, 2019. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://www.liberationnews.org/15-years-of-building-the-party-growing-and-learning/
2. U.S. Federal Election Commission. Federal Elections 2008: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Federal Election Commission. July 2009. https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/federalelections2008.pdf
3. U.S. Federal Election Commission. Federal Elections 2016: Election Results For the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Federal Election Commission. July 2017. https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/federalelections2016.pdf
4. U.S. Federal Election Commission. Official 2020 Presidential General Election Results. Federal Election Commission. July 2021.
5. U.S. Federal Election Commission. Federal Elections 2012: Election Results For the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Federal Election Commission. July 2013. https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/tables2012.pdf
6. Meghan Cornish, “Leaked recording reveals how Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) cut socialist candidates from the California ballot.” Freedom Socialist Party. December 2013. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://socialism.com/fs-article/leaked-recording-reveals-how-party-for-socialism-and-liberation-psl-cut-socialist-candidates-from-the-california-ballot/
7. Aufzien, Shoshana (@ShoshanaAufzien). “BREAKING: Elias Rodriguez, the prime suspect in Wednesday’s shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., is affiliated with @pslnational, a group that participated in the encampment and subsequent protests @Columbia. That’s not coincidental—it’s telling. When universities condone antisemitism, they embolden extremists. Apathy is lethal.” X, May 22, 2025. https://x.com/shoshanaaufzien/status/1925463986759192978?s=19.
8. End Wokeness (@EndWokeness). “The DC Jewish Museum attacker is a far-left activist in Chicago who belongs to Party for Socialism and Liberation. Shocker.” X, May 22, 2025. https://x.com/endwokeness/status/1925411483975897442?s=46
9. Svirnovskiy, Gregory. “Two Israeli Embassy staffers killed in shooting outside Capital Jewish Museum.” Politico, May 22, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/22/israeli-embassy-staffers-shooting-capital-jewish-museum-00364688
10. Party for Socialism and Liberation (@PSLNational). “We reject any attempt to associate the PSL with the DC shooting. Elias Rodriguez is not a member of the PSL. He had a brief association with one branch of the PSL that ended in 2017. We know of no contact with him in over 7 years. We have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it.” X, May 22, 2025. https://x.com/pslnational/status/1925468146024034305?s=46&t=jI5pta-LqWTQoagVEw7hsA
11. “Hawley Launches Investigation into Organizations Bankrolling La Riots.” Josh Hawley, June 11, 2025. https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-launches-investigation-into-organizations-bankrolling-la-riots/.
12. Liberation Staff. “PSL commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution.” Liberation News. October 1, 2009. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://www.liberationnews.org/09-10-01-psl-commemorates-60th-anniversar-html/
13. Valerie Strauss and Daniel Southerl, “How Many Died? New Evidence Suggests Far Higher Numbers for the Victims of Mao Zedong’s Era.” The Washington Post. July 17, 1994. Accessed September 12, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/07/17/how-many-died-new-evidence-suggests-far-higher-numbers-for-the-victims-of-mao-zedongs-era/01044df5-03dd-49f4-a453-a033c5287bce/
14. Brian Becker, “The Massacre That Wasn’t.” Liberation School. June 13, 2014. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://www.liberationschool.org/tiananmen-the-massacre-that-wasnt/
15. Party for Socialism and Liberation, “How Will the Police Be Abolished? A Marxist Perspective.” Liberation School. July 11, 2020. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://www.liberationschool.org/marxist-perspective-on-police-abolition/
16. Quinn Clark, “Party for Socialism and Liberation Leads March Demanding Justice for Jacob Blake.” Shepherd Express: Milwaukee’s Alternative News Source. September 1, 2020. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://shepherdexpress.com/news/features/party-for-socialism-and-liberation-leads-march-demanding-jus/
17. Elise Schmeltzer, “Protesters, demonstration leaders arrested in connection to rallies in Aurora.” The Denver Post. September 17, 2020. Accessed September 22, 2022. https://www.denverpost.com/2020/09/17/aurora-denver-police-protesters-arrested-riot/
18. Tiney Ricciardi, “Judge throws out attempted-kidnapping charges against Aurora protest leaders”. The Denver Post. March 25, 2021. Accessed September 23, 2022. https://www.denverpost.com/2021/03/25/aurora-protest-elijah-mcclain-kidnapping-dismissed/
19. Kaplan, Noah. “With Two Court Wins, PSL Leaders Keep Fighting for Elijah Mcclain.” Westword. Westword, April 13, 2021. https://www.westword.com/news/elijah-mcclain-protest-leaders-psl-aurora-justice-court-arrest-11942775.
20. Tabachnik, Sam. “Remaining Charges Dropped against Aurora Protest Leaders.” The Denver Post. The Denver Post, September 14, 2021. https://www.denverpost.com/2021/09/13/charges-dropped-aurora-protest-leaders/
21. “Wave of Pro-Palestinian, Pro-Hamas Protests Planned.” Atlanta Jewish Times, August 28, 2025. https://www.atlantajewishtimes.com/wave-of-pro-palestinian-protests-planned/.