The founder and chief executive of publicity firm Crowds on Demand, Adam Swart, said in a televised interview that he turned down an offer worth roughly $20 million to recruit demonstrators for the “Good Trouble Lives On” anti-Trump protests planned for 17 July. Swart, whose company has previously provided paid participants for political events, did not identify the potential client but said he declined because he doubted the effectiveness of large-scale paid mobilisations. His remarks follow a wave of unverified social-media videos in which self-described influencers claim they were offered about $200 a day by a group called “No Kings” to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other Trump administration policies. Some of the posts allege that organisers promised legal-fee coverage and even pallets of bricks for use during demonstrations, allegations that have not been corroborated by law-enforcement agencies or the organisations named. The funding claims have intensified scrutiny of the protest movement that began with the 14 June “No Kings” rallies—estimated by the American Civil Liberties Union to have drawn more than five million participants at 2,100 locations—and is expected to continue with thousands of “Good Trouble Lives On” events nationwide next week. Neither the coalition behind the upcoming protests nor “No Kings” organisers have addressed the latest payment allegations, and the source of any proposed financing remains unclear.