Hasan Piker lashes out at Treasury subpoena over Cuba trip, says it’s ‘BS’

Marxist political influencer Hasan Piker is lashing out at a federal investigation into his recent trip to communist Cuba, calling it an “intimidation tactic” motivated by his hardline stance toward Israel and the United States.

Piker’s response – echoed by other Democratic Socialists of America and pro-communist and anti-Israel leaders – illustrates how quickly the Cuban “solidarity” movement, pro-communist influencers and anti-Israel activist networks converged online to present the federal investigation not as an investigation into sanctions or foreign influence, but as a political crackdown targeting anti-capitalist, anti-Western and broader anti-Israeli.

Piker told his followers during a Twitch livestream Sunday afternoon that he was being targeted for being a “loudmouth” and an “agitator,” criticizing Israel and the “fascist” United States.

Fox News Digital reported Saturday that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sent administrative subpoenas to Piker and CodePink’s left-wing co-founder, Medea Benjamin, seeking documents on the financial, logistical and communications details of their March trips to Cuba, in possible violation of laws and regulations on doing business with the Cuban government.

“It’s not great,” Piker told his followers in the first minutes of his livestream Sunday afternoon. “The news isn’t great, okay? Um, I mean, it’s bulls—. But still not great… I mean, it’s bulls— but it’s still not great that they’re going after your boy. They’re right up there with me–.”

Piker did not respond to requests for comment, although he acknowledged receiving the requests while speaking to his followers during his live stream. He said he had obtained authorization for his trip from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, saying: “Everything we did was authorized by Treasury.”

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control did not respond to a request for comment.

At the end of his segment on the federal investigation, Piker pivoted from the investigation into Cuba sanctions to assert that the review was actually motivated by backlash over his comments about Israel.

“By the way, a lot of this still has a lot to do with Israel,” he said, accusing his critics “don’t like that I talk about Israel” and “don’t like that I’m a loudmouth, an agitator.”

He said the investigation was not “just about Cuba,” but also about its role in promoting anti-Israeli voters and candidates.

“They recognize that Democrats and young people are against Israel” and see it “campaigning with anti-Israel candidates, and they win their elections,” he said.

Federal Government Subpoena HASAN PIKER and MEDEA BENJAMIN FOR TRAVEL TO CUBA

Marxist political influencer Hasan Piker stands outside his home in West Hollywood, California on May 12, 2026, silently pointing to his dog Kaya to direct her towards his house. (MB/Splash for Fox News Digital)

Piker’s response followed a pattern that has become common among influential online activists under scrutiny: reframing a legal or regulatory investigation as political persecution while expanding the issue into a full-scale ideological struggle. Rather than focusing solely on sanctions issues surrounding the Cuba trip, Piker repeatedly portrayed himself as the victim of a coordinated campaign by “Israel First” Democrats, pro-Israel activists, mainstream media figures, and the “fascist” Trump administration.

He frequently steered the conversation away from the details of the Treasury investigation and toward a broader narrative in which the federal government allegedly criminalizes anti-Israel activism, anti-capitalist policy, and opposition to U.S. foreign policy. He sought to present the investigation as evidence that powerful political and media institutions are targeting dissenting voices that challenge establishment positions on Israel, Cuba and U.S. foreign policy.

At one point, Piker said he created a mini-documentary about life in Cuba during his trip in March, claiming he was a journalist. At other times, he described the mission as a “humanitarian” effort, describing his trip as “humanitarian aid” to the Cuban people.

Piker also characterized the controversy using language increasingly emerging from socialist, communist and anti-capitalist movements online, where activists have used the phrase “Epstein class” as shorthand for wealthy elites and the supposed moral corruption of American capitalism. The rhetoric echoes propaganda from U.S. adversaries, including Cuba, China, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia.

He read a comment from a fan who wrote: “We’re going to free you, bro.”

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Hasan Piker, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, and Jodie Evans, co-founder of CodePink, meet in Havana, Cuba, as part of a “United Front” supporting the communist regime. (CodePink via Storyful)

Piker responded: “I’m apparently going to become an example of…in America’s gallop toward fascism.”

He dispelled suspicions that Elon Musk called on the boss to subpoena Piker after yesterday interviewing Ashley St. Clair, the mother of a baby with Musk. The two men are fighting over custody of the children.

“I haven’t received anything yet,” Piker said.

“Yes, I’m going to get a lawyer,” he said in response to a follower.

He said he needed a lawyer with expertise on the First Amendment and “knowledgeable about OFAC.”

“Nothing has happened to me yet,” he said. “And it’s unlike anything I’ve ever done.”

On Saturday evening, Piker posted on

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Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, arrives at her home in Washington, DC, on May 11, 2026, with her partner TIghe Barry. (LG for Fox News Digital)

At 10:51 p.m., Benjamin from CodePink posted: “Bringing medical supplies to pediatric hospitals in Cuba is now a crime? Is saving babies’ lives a crime? The administration is beyond grotesque. »

Benjamin reiterated that the movement viewed trips to Cuba as “humanitarian” missions, even though organizers and participants repeatedly paired aid campaigns with overt political rhetoric condemning the Trump administration, U.S. sanctions policy, and what activists described as “imperialism” and “settler colonialism” in Cuba and Latin America.

Piker’s uncle, far-left commentator Cenk Ugyur, co-founder of Justice Democrats, a socialist organization that helped elect Ilhan Omar, Rashida Talib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Congress in 2018, defended him online Saturday night.

“The government apparently sent a subpoena to Hasan,” Ugyur wrote. “They’re tightening the grip on speech. Remember, they’ll always have an excuse or a technicality. It’s not like they’re going to tell you, ‘We did it because we don’t like what you said.'”

Uighurs later linked the investigation to broader left-wing claims about suppressing pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli speech, arguing that the government was using legal and procedural mechanisms to target political dissent rather than directly censoring viewpoints.

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Piker called CodePink co-founder Jodie Evans a “wonderful person.” He took a photo in Havana with Evans, which she shared on her Instagram account from Cuba.

A little after 3 p.m., an hour and 12 minutes into his live stream, Piker admitted, “I would much rather not have to deal with this.”

A half-hour later, he insisted he was being targeted because of his strong opposition to the existence of the state of Israel, playing a clip of Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., as they spoke about the growing wave of anti-Semitism, including from Piker.

At one point, Piker scoffed as the two lawmakers discussed increasing reports of anti-Semitism in the United States.

Piker then transitioned to a segment supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran in its talks with the United States and Israel to end the war in Iran, mocking the Israeli delegation’s “tweets,” criticizing U.S. foreign policy for allegedly letting “Israel take control of our entire Middle East policy” and shifting the focus of his monologue to criticism of the “Zionist” state of Israel and the “rogue” United States.

Sophia Compton of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.

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