(NewsNation) — President Trump alleged Friday that Democrats are paying protesters to fight his Washington, D.C., crime policies. But how do paid protests actually work?
NewsNation spoke with Adam Swart, the CEO of Crowds on Demand, about his company that provides services “for impactful advocacy campaigns, demonstrations, PR stunts, crowds for hire and corporate events,” according to its website.
“All of our protesters are sincere advocates for the cause at hand. We’ve been in business 13 years, so we have a large roster of people we know and have networks of others we can call upon to be compensated for expressing their sincere points of view,” Swart said.
Swart said compensation for protests is typically in the low hundreds of dollars, depending on the assignment. He said organizing a protest “is like buying an ad.”
He said his company receives requests for both conservative and liberal causes.
“We have been clear that we work with both liberals and conservatives on causes that align with common-sense values. Democrats are hiring our company, and so are Republicans,” he said.
He did not disclose what protests his company has been asked to be a part of.
Swart previously told NewsNation that he turned down $20 million to provide protesters for “Good Trouble Lives On” protests in July.
“I’m rejecting it not because I don’t want to take the business, but because frankly, this is going to be ineffective; it’s going to make us all look bad,” Swart said of the anti-Trump protests at the time.
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