The system is trying to silence us and to censor us
In a single evening in New York City, a prominent left-wing streamer declined to appear at a politically charged panel citing personal safety threats, while simultaneously broadcasting mockery of an assassination attempt on a former president — a contradiction that distills something larger about the current American moment. The episode places the tension between protected speech and civic responsibility into sharp relief, raising enduring questions about how those with large platforms shape the emotional temperature of a fractured public. When the same voice that claims vulnerability also amplifies contempt for political violence against others, the moral architecture of that position invites serious examination.
- Hasan Piker skipped a Manhattan panel he was headlined to appear at, citing threats tied to the aftermath of the Trump assassination attempt — yet spent six hours that same night livestreaming mockery of that very incident.
- At the venue, a Columbia University student told the crowd that 'the system is trying to silence us,' framing Piker's absence as political suppression while NYPD officers stood guard outside.
- Piker's stream amplified conspiracy theories that the assassination attempt was fabricated and celebrated a late-night joke imagining Melania Trump as a widow, drawing sharp criticism from across the political spectrum.
- A liberal commentator publicly named a 'rising miasma of conspiratorial thinking and dehumanizing language on the American left,' pointing directly at online personalities who profit from inflammatory rhetoric.
- Congressional committees are now investigating the People's Forum — the nonprofit that hosted the event — over alleged foreign influence operations tied to $22.4 million in funding connected to a Shanghai-based promoter of Chinese Communist Party propaganda.
Hasan Piker, a self-described Marxist and prominent Twitch streamer, was scheduled to headline a Manhattan panel titled 'Columbia & Palestine: A Test of Democracy,' hosted by the People's Forum nonprofit. He never showed. Instead, he spent six hours livestreaming from elsewhere in New York City, reading articles about himself, amplifying conspiracy theories that the Trump assassination attempt had been staged, and laughing at a Jimmy Kimmel joke imagining Melania Trump as 'an expectant widow.'
At the venue on West 37th Street, organizers explained his absence as a response to threats and targeting that had intensified since the assassination attempt. Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi took the microphone to tell the crowd that 'the system is trying to silence us' — a framing the audience embraced, even as NYPD officers stood watch outside.
The contradiction was not lost on observers. Piker claimed safety concerns kept him from the event while simultaneously mocking political violence against a former president from the comfort of his stream. Writer Peter Hamby, publishing in the liberal outlet Puck News, described 'a rising miasma of conspiratorial thinking, dangerous fact-denying, and dehumanizing language' taking hold on the American left, naming online personalities who chase attention through provocation.
Piker's record of inflammatory statements is extensive — including a call for the murder of Senator Rick Scott, dismissal of sexual violence reports following the October 7 Hamas attack, and expressed comfort with the chant 'Globalize the intifada.'
The People's Forum, meanwhile, faces its own reckoning. Congressional investigators are examining the organization as a potential node in a foreign influence operation. A Fox News Digital investigation found it received $22.4 million from Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based tech entrepreneur linked to Chinese Communist Party propaganda efforts. As scrutiny of both the nonprofit and left-wing online personalities intensifies, the question of where inflammatory rhetoric ends and incitement begins remains unresolved.
Hasan Piker did not show up to the event he was supposed to headline. The Twitch streamer had been scheduled to appear at a Manhattan panel called "Columbia & Palestine: A Test of Democracy," hosted by the People's Forum, a nonprofit organization. Instead, on Tuesday night, he was somewhere else in New York City, streaming to his audience for six hours straight, reading articles about himself and mocking the assassination attempt on President Trump that had occurred the previous Saturday.
Piker is a self-described Marxist with a large following on Twitch. The People's Forum organizers said he withdrew because of threats and attacks he'd been receiving—pressure that intensified after the Trump incident. When Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student who had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement the year before, took the microphone at the panel to explain Piker's absence, he framed it as part of a broader effort to silence voices speaking out for Palestine. "The system is trying to silence us," Mahdawi told the crowd, which cheered in response. Outside the venue on West 37th Street, NYPD officers stood watch.
Meanwhile, Piker's livestream continued. He laughed at a joke from late-night host Jimmy Kimmel about First Lady Melania Trump having "the glow of an expectant widow," calling it excellent material. He spent much of the evening complaining about what he called "threats" and "smears" directed at him, while also amplifying conspiracy theories that the assassination attempt had been fabricated. He griped about becoming "the poster boy of the left" and suffering from what he termed "Hasan Derangement Syndrome."
This moment—a streamer skipping an in-person event while simultaneously mocking a violent attack on a political figure—has drawn intense scrutiny from critics who see it as emblematic of a larger problem. Writer Peter Hamby, publishing in the liberal outlet Puck News, acknowledged that "there is a rising miasma of conspiratorial thinking, dangerous fact-denying, and dehumanizing language that has taken hold on the American left," singling out online personalities who chase attention through inflammatory rhetoric.
Piker's history of provocative statements has been well documented. Last year, he called for the murder of Senator Rick Scott over Medicare and Medicaid fraud, saying, "If you cared about Medicare fraud or Medicaid fraud, you would kill Rick Scott." After the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, he dismissed reports of sexual violence, saying it didn't change his perspective on the conflict. In an interview with Piers Morgan in April 2024, he expressed comfort with the chant "Globalize the intifada," which critics argue calls for violence against Jews and Israel.
The People's Forum itself has become a focus of congressional attention. Lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee and House Oversight Committee are investigating the organization for allegedly stoking chaos and hate as part of what they describe as a foreign influence operation. A Fox News Digital investigation found that the nonprofit received $22.4 million from Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based American tech entrepreneur who has promoted Chinese Communist Party propaganda. Singham's wife, Jodie Evans, co-founded CodePink, another pro-communist nonprofit in the same funding network. The People's Forum has been visible in organizing participants at far-left protests across the country.
The contradiction at the heart of Tuesday's events—safety concerns cited as the reason for Piker's absence, while he simultaneously mocked an assassination attempt from his separate livestream—underscores the volatile moment in American politics. As congressional investigations into the People's Forum continue and scrutiny of left-wing online personalities intensifies, the question of how inflammatory rhetoric influences political violence remains urgent and unresolved.
Notable Quotes
The system is trying to silence us and to censor us from speaking up for Palestine and from sharing our truth.— Mohsen Mahdawi, Columbia University student, at the People's Forum panel
There is a rising miasma of conspiratorial thinking, dangerous fact-denying, and dehumanizing language that has taken hold on the American left.— Peter Hamby, writer at Puck News
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Piker skip the event if he was going to stream anyway? Wasn't he still in New York?
He was in the city, yes. The organizers said he withdrew because of the attacks and targeting he'd been receiving—especially after the assassination attempt. But the timing is strange. He went live instead of showing up in person.
So he was afraid of something at the venue itself?
That's what the organizers claimed. But what he did on the livestream—mocking the assassination attempt, amplifying conspiracy theories about it—that's what's drawing the real criticism now. The fear narrative doesn't quite hold up against what he was actually doing.
What's the People's Forum, exactly? Why does it matter that he was supposed to be there?
It's a nonprofit in Manhattan that hosts panels and organizes protests. But it's being investigated by Congress for allegedly stoking chaos as part of a foreign influence operation. It's received millions from a Shanghai-based American tech entrepreneur who promotes Chinese Communist Party propaganda.
So Piker's rhetoric is being examined in that context—as part of something larger?
Exactly. He's not just a streamer with controversial opinions. He's embedded in a network that lawmakers are scrutinizing. His past statements calling for violence against politicians, his dismissal of sexual violence, his support for rhetoric critics say targets Jews—all of it is being looked at now.
What does the crowd at the People's Forum think about all this?
They cheered when Mahdawi framed Piker's absence as censorship, as the system trying to silence Palestinian voices. They see him as a victim of attacks from the right and the left. That's the narrative inside the room.
And outside the room?
NYPD officers standing watch. Pro-Trump supporters at the door. A very different picture of what's actually happening.