{"id":2631463,"date":"2026-07-18T05:46:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T09:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/intel-agency-assessed-china-planned-to-encourage-violent-blm-riots-to-hurt-trump-in-2020\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T05:51:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T09:51:36","slug":"intel-agency-assessed-china-planned-to-encourage-violent-blm-riots-to-hurt-trump-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/intel-agency-assessed-china-planned-to-encourage-violent-blm-riots-to-hurt-trump-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Intel Agency: China Planned To &#8216;Encourage&#8217; Riots To Hurt Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fintel-agency-assessed-china-planned-to-encourage-violent-blm-riots-to-hurt-trump-in-2020%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2631463&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-goes-motionless-at-swanky-fundraiser-and-gets-led-offstage-by-obama-white-house-responds\/\" title=\"Biden Becomes Unresponsive at High-End Fundraiser, Escorted Offstage by Obama - ... Issues Statement\">article discusses allegations<\/a> that China aimed too influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election by encouraging social unrest and racial tensions, notably through the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Declassified documents from the White House reveal that Chinese intelligence sought to stoke violent protests and exploit societal divisions, using mainstream and social media platforms to spread pro-riot narratives and exacerbate conflicts between police and activists. The documents suggest that the corporate media may have unknowingly or knowingly promoted Chinese propaganda, contributing to the unrest and political destabilization. Some commentators, including the Heritage Foundation, highlighted Chinese funding behind BLM protests and urged investigations into Chinese influence. The article also criticizes media outlets like Axios for dismissing narratives linking BLM to Chinese efforts, despite evidence suggesting Chinese involvement. the piece raises concerns about foreign interference in American domestic politics and the role of media in shaping public perception.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:A_man_stands_on_a_burned_out_car_on_Thursday_morning_as_fires_burn_behind_him_in_the_Lake_St_area_of_Minneapolis,_Minnesota_(49945886467).jpg\">\t\tLorie Shaull \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC0 By 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/18\/intel-agency-assessed-china-planned-to-encourage-violent-blm-riots-to-hurt-trump-in-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Intel Agency Assessed China Planned To \u2018Encourage\u2019 Violent BLM Riots To Hurt Trump In 2020&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/18\/intel-agency-assessed-china-planned-to-encourage-violent-blm-riots-to-hurt-trump-in-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Intel Agency Assessed China Planned To \u2018Encourage\u2019 Violent BLM Riots To Hurt Trump In 2020&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/18\/intel-agency-assessed-china-planned-to-encourage-violent-blm-riots-to-hurt-trump-in-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/18\/intel-agency-assessed-china-planned-to-encourage-violent-blm-riots-to-hurt-trump-in-2020\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Intel Agency Assessed China Planned To \u2018Encourage\u2019 Violent BLM Riots To Hurt Trump In 2020&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/18\/intel-agency-assessed-china-planned-to-encourage-violent-blm-riots-to-hurt-trump-in-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\">                     <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); pfTrackEvent(&#039;Intel Agency Assessed China Planned To \u2018Encourage\u2019 Violent BLM Riots To Hurt Trump In 2020&#039;); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\">                     <span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span>                     <\/a>                 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"pf-content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Chinese planned to stoke Black Lives Matter riots and other social unrest in 2020, using the corporate media to launder the narrative in order to tank the election for President Donald Trump, according to documents released by the White House on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Intelligence summaries from 2020, which were apparently hidden from the president at the time, show that the Chinese planned on \u201cencouraging violent demonstrations and looting to increase the appearance of social unrest\u201d ahead of the election, and to \u201cexploit U.S. societal fissures and vulnerabilities,\u201d in part by \u201calleging that White people hate Black people.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-229526111\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Chinese were interested in \u201cinciting demonstrations and marches as evidence of racial divides; increasing the level of conflict between police and anti-racism activists; and feeding any sense that U.S. law enforcement resents USG and people of color,\u201d according to one intelligence summary from a \u201csensitive government agency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The document stated that \u201cChina had developed capabilities to project themes on these topics into social media (Tiktok, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others), as well as mainstream media through a variety of overt and hidden influencers and media contributors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other words, the documents highlight the potential that the corporate media fueling race riots and unrest in 2020 were either knowingly pushing Chinese propaganda to alter the election, or were too dense to realize it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The media encouraged demands for a \u201cracial reckoning,\u201d corporate capitulation to the BLM mob, billions in damages from burning American cities to the ground, and the degradation of institutions in order to unevenly apply the law on racial grounds, apparently in line with the wishes of the Chinese government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some in the media, however, appeared to not only advance Chinese propaganda, but also to orchestrate cover for the Chinese once people started to catch wind.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In September 2020, The Heritage Foundation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/china\/commentary\/beijing-funding-riots-america-its-time-investigate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">highlighted<\/a> the possibility of Chinese influence in the BLM riots. Heritage noted that 95 percent of the riots were linked to BLM and pointed out evidence that Chinese activist groups were funding them, stating, \u201cThe U.S. government should connect the dots and investigate the extent of the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s support for the Black Lives Matter organization and the riots.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One month later, when the argument started gaining steam \u2014 and only a few weeks out from Election Day \u2014 Axios dutifully ran the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2020\/10\/20\/right-wing-media-falsely-ties-black-lives-matter-movement-to-beijing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">headline<\/a> \u201cRight-wing media falsely ties Black Lives Matter movement to Beijing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Axios explicitly supported the BLM riots. CEO Jim VandeHei <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/axios-protests-black-lives-matter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">encouraged<\/a> his staff to join them and said the company would pay for bail if they were arrested and medical bills if they were injured.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe proudly support and encourage you to exercise your rights to free speech, press, and protest. If you\u2019re arrested or meet harm while exercising these rights, Axios will stand behind you and use the Family Fund to cover your bail or assist with medical bills,\u201d he said in an email to staff.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Breccan F. Thies<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreccanFThies\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@BreccanFThies<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/breccan-thies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags no-print bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2020-2\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2020<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2020-riots\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2020 riots<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/axios\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Axios<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/black-lives-matter\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Black Lives Matter<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/blm\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">BLM<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ccp\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">CCP<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/china\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">China<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/chinese-communist-party\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Chinese Communist Party<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/corporate-media\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">corporate media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/heritage-foundation\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Heritage Foundation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/intelligence-community\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">intelligence community<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/jim-vandehei\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Jim VandeHei<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/propaganda\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">propaganda<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/social-media\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">social media<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>China aimed to incite 2020 BLM riots via media influence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2631464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1280px-A_man_stands_on_a_burned_out_car_on_Thursday_morning_as_fires_burn_behind_him_in_the_Lake_St_area_of_Minneapolis_Minnesota_49945886467.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4501,12646,4786,3970,3634],"class_list":["post-2631463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-china","tag-espionage","tag-intelligence","tag-protests","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1280px-A_man_stands_on_a_burned_out_car_on_Thursday_morning_as_fires_burn_behind_him_in_the_Lake_St_area_of_Minneapolis_Minnesota_49945886467.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2631463"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2631467,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631463\/revisions\/2631467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2631464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2631463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2631463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2631463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}