Former Representative Cori Bush, a Missouri Democrat who lost her seat in Congress last year, is mounting a comeback bid while appearing alongside a radical activist whose online rhetoric has included defending Hamas and Hezbollah, calling for the destruction of the United States, and endorsing political violence. The activist, Christopher Winston, who operates under the pseudonym “BlackRedGuard,” has built a significant online presence across multiple platforms promoting Maoist ideology and attacking leftists who refuse to support designated terrorist organizations.
In a recent social media post, Bush was seen standing next to Winston at a campaign event in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District. Fox News Digital reviewed numerous videos and posts from Winston’s accounts, revealing a pattern of extremist statements. In one video, Winston asked, “What’s wrong with throwing molotovs at a police station?” and later argued that if the goal is a communist revolution, activists must “teach people what communism is” because “people are not going to pick up a gun and fight” for something they do not understand.
Winston’s social media posts also included explicit support for Hamas and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant groups designated as terrorist organizations by the United States and many other countries. “If you say sh-- like ‘I don’t support Hezbollah/Hamas’ and call yourself a leftist you lame. All power to all the resistance. Peace through the sword,” Winston wrote in one post. In another, he called to “unmake” America, stating, “Do not fix America. Unmake it.” He also applauded the burning of the American flag, describing it as “a symbol of the slavery and genocide which built America” that “should always be desecrated.”
Fox News Digital asked Bush’s campaign whether Winston holds any formal or informal role with her campaign, whether she knows him personally, and whether he was invited to the event. The campaign did not answer those questions. Instead, a representative sent a link to a Fox News article about Joy Behar, co-host of “The View,” defending democratic socialism, noting it “should clear up any questions you have about DSA.” The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a left-wing political organization with which Winston is affiliated.
Winston, a St. Louis-area activist, has been a member of the DSA while openly identifying as a Maoist. In a 2024 YouTube video titled “Debating Commie Gobbledegook (Ft. Black Red Guard),” he explained his presence in the DSA by saying, “Well, it’s obvious why I’m a Maoist in the DSA. There’s a lot of naive young white people to brainwash.” Fox News Digital reached out to Winston and the DSA for comment but did not receive a response.
Winston’s association with Bush is not an isolated incident. Her political career has repeatedly drawn scrutiny over ties to radical activists and anti-Israel figures. Earlier this year, Fox News Digital reported that Bush’s comeback campaign paid more than $20,000 to “Unbought Power,” a consulting firm publicly linked to far-left activist Rasha Mubarak. Mubarak has close ties to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2009 Holy Land Foundation terror-financing trial, according to the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy. Mubarak has also called to “abolish the police,” supported defund-the-police efforts, and repeatedly accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and “apartheid.”
Mubarak has been a speaker at events held by the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), an organization that promotes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. In September 2023, she served as the press contact for the Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ), a non-profit that was investigated for ties to Samidoun, an anti-Israel advocacy group banned in Germany, Canada, and Israel and classified as a terrorist entity in the United States for financing the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
During her previous campaigns for Congress, Bush also received support from other radical anti-Israel activists, including Linda Sarsour and Marc Lamont Hill. Bush lost her seat in the 2024 Democratic primary after facing heavy opposition from pro-Israel groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which spent millions to defeat her. Despite this, Winston has continued to praise Bush, calling her “the best congressperson right now” in a 2023 post and urging support for her campaign.
Bush’s comeback bid has already raised questions about campaign spending and alliances, with critics arguing that the same activist network that helped her previous campaigns is now powering her effort to return to Washington. The DSA, which endorsed Bush in her previous races, has also endorsed her current campaign. Winston, in a May post, said, “Cori Bush is the best of STL, and DSA. Cori Bush is running for Congress again. STL-DSA voted to endorse her overwhelmingly. Help beat the AIPAC money that stole her seat here.”
The controversy surrounding Bush’s ties to Winston and other radical activists highlights the ongoing divisions within the Democratic Party over issues of foreign policy, political violence, and the role of far-left groups in electoral politics. As Bush seeks to reclaim her seat, her association with figures who openly endorse violence and support for terrorist organizations is likely to remain a focal point of criticism from opponents and watchdogs.