Code Pink

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Code Pink: Women for Peace is a pacifist, anti-war organization registered in the United States as a 501(c)(3) organization. It focuses on issues such as drone strikes, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, Palestinian statehood, the Iran nuclear deal, human rights in Saudi Arabia, and peace on the Korean Peninsula. The organization has regional offices in Los Angeles, California, and Washington, D.C., and several chapters in the U.S. and abroad.

Country: United States
Headquarters: Marina del Rey
Inception: November 17, 2002
Website: http://www.codepink.org/

Jodie Evansfounder of Medea Benjaminfounder of Gael Murphyfounder of Campaign to Stop Killer Robotsmember of New Economy Coalitionmember of United Statescountry

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Code Pink: Women for Peace (often stylized as CODEPINK) is a pacifist, anti-war organization registered in the United States as a 501(c)(3) organization. It focuses on issues such as drone strikes, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, Palestinian statehood, the Iran nuclear deal, human rights in Saudi Arabia, and peace on the Korean Peninsula. The organization has regional offices in Los Angeles, California, and Washington, D.C., and several chapters in the U.S. and abroad.

With members wearing the group's signature pink color, Code Pink has conducted marches, protests, and other activist action in order to promote its goals. The organization describes itself as female-initiated, but it encourages men to participate in its activities. The organization's political positions, especially those regarding China and Venezuela, and funding have created controversy and drawn congressional scrutiny. Since 2017, roughly 25% of the organization's funding has come from groups connected to Neville Roy Singham, the husband of Code Pink's co-founder Jodie Evans.

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Country: United States
Headquarters: Marina del Rey
Inception: November 17, 2002
Website: http://www.codepink.org/

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The group opposed the United States invasion of Iraq. In early 2003, members of Code Pink protested what they called the "naked aggression" of U.S. President George W. Bush by spelling out the word "PEACE" using their naked bodies at demonstrations in California and New York. Code Pink participated in vigils at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to shed light on the plight of injured soldiers. Code Pink said that the purpose of the vigils was to highlight the lack of care for veterans and that the vigils have helped achieve improvements in that care.

In the summer of 2009, Code Pink began their "Ground the Drones" campaign. This campaign was a response to the Obama administration's continued and increased use of drones in the war on terror, specifically in regions surrounding Pakistan and Afghanistan. Code Pink said that many of the drone strikes intended to target terrorist leaders and strongholds often miss their targets, causing the unnecessary deaths of innocent civilians.

"Ground the Drones" was fashioned as a form of non-violent, civil disobedience, similar to protests earlier that spring, by groups such as Voices for Creative Non Violence. Code Pink targeted Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada, claiming it was the "epicenter" for controlling drone activity. The goal of the protest was "halting unmanned aircraft strikes controlled via satellite links from Creech and other bases". The group continued protesting at Creech AFB through November and December 2009. Code Pink returned to Creech AFB in October 2011, along with other protest groups, to mark the 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan. Protesters dubbed it the "largest anti-war demonstration ever at Creech Air Force Base. Code Pink members attended a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in 2015 and called for Henry Kissinger's arrest for war crimes. John McCain, who was chairing the hearing, called for the Sergeant at Arms and the Capital Hill Police to escort Code Pink out of the building and called after them "Get out of here you lowlife scum!"

Code Pink member Desiree Fairooz was arrested for laughing after a description of Senator Jeff Sessions by Alabama U.S. Senator Richard Shelby of the nominee, that his history "treating all Americans equally under the law is clear and well-documented", during the January 2017 confirmation hearing as United States Attorney General. After she had been convicted at trial, that verdict was reversed by the chief District Court Judge Robert Morin. The judge said Fairooz should not have been tried for laughing, only for speaking out as she was being removed, and called a mistrial. Instead of dismissing the case, Morin set her retrial for September. Fairooz faced up to a year in prison and $2,000 in fines for disruptive and disorderly conduct and obstructing and impeding passage on US Capitol grounds. On November 6, 2017, District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu filed a notice of nolle prosequi in the case against Desiree Fairooz. Upon the decision, Code Pink released a statement calling the three trials a waste of time and tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars, adding, "These sentences are designed to discourage dissent and prevent activists from engaging in the daily protests that are taking place during a tumultuous time."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Code Pink campaigned in favor of the United States suspending its imposition of sanctions in order to alleviate the pandemic's impact on the populations of sanctioned countries. On World Press Freedom Day 2023, members of Code Pink interrupted a talk between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Washington Post columnist David Ignatius to call for the release of Julian Assange.

Israel and Palestine

Code Pink has organized more than seven delegations to Gaza, some of them at the invitation of the United Nations. Code Pink was criticized by Joshua Block, president and CEO of the Israel Project, for arranging a peace delegation to Iran in January 2019.

Prior to the Gaza Freedom March, Code Pink endorsed the "Cairo Declaration to End Israeli Apartheid", which calls for comprehensive boycott of Israel. During the march, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin coordinated the organization's stay with Hamas. Members resided in the Commodore, a Hamas-owned hotel in Gaza City. Hamas security officials accompanied activists as they visited Palestinian homes and Gaza-based NGOs. Prior to the march, Benjamin said the Hamas government had "pledged to ensure our safety". However, Code Pink leaders claimed Hamas had hijacked the initiative from the onset after imposing prohibitions on the organization's movements around Gaza. Amira Hass referred to the event as "an opportunity for Hamas cabinet ministers to get decent media coverage in the company of Western demonstrators".

Code Pink helped to organize an International Women's Day Delegation to Gaza in March 2014. Upon arrival at the Cairo airport on March 3, 2014, Benjamin was detained and assaulted by Egyptian authorities. She was deported to Turkey after the authorities had dislocated her shoulder. Other members of the international delegation, including American, French, Belgian, and British citizens, who arrived the next day were also deported. Some members made it into Cairo, although no one from the delegation made it to Gaza. Code Pink opposed Israel's operation in Gaza following the October 7 attacks. It repeatedly disrupted Secretary of State Antony Blinken's October 31, 2023 testimony to a Senate hearing on Israel aid from the United States, with protesters calling for a ceasefire during the hearing. Several peace activists were arrested, including David Barrows and retired colonel and diplomat, Ann Wright.

China

Jodie Evans was once critical of China's authoritarian government. In 2015 she wrote: "We demand China stop brutal repression of their women's human rights defenders". In 2021, Evans described the Uyghurs as terrorists and defended China's mass internment of them. In August 2023, The New York Times wrote that Evans is now a strong supporter of China and she regards it as a defender of the oppressed and a model for economic growth without slavery or war.

In 2020, Code Pink started its "China Is Not Our Enemy" campaign. New Lines Magazine reported in April 2022 that Code Pink's website linked to a video featuring Evans and British academic John Ross, who characterized the Uyghur genocide allegation as "farcical" and a "total lie".

In a February 2023 Washington Examiner editorial, Michael Rubin criticized Code Pink for what he called denials of the Uyghur genocide and thereby "amplify[ing] Chinese government propaganda".

In February 2023, two Code Pink protesters attempted to disrupt the inaugural hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, by holding up a sign stating, "China is not our enemy", and shouting. According to Code Pink's statement on the protest, "Our common enemy is the climate crisis – we need cooperation, not competition, to address climate change and the challenges we face together as humanity." In June 2023, Code Pink activists visited the offices of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party where, according to an aide of House member Seth Moulton, they denied accusations of forced labor in Xinjiang and suggested Moulton visit Xinjiang.

Following the August 2023 New York Times report, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio asked the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into Code Pink and other entities related to Singham for potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). In November 2023, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources announced an investigation into Code Pink due to the organization's "potential ties to the Chinese Communist Party". In 2025, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley urged the Department of Justice to investigate whether the organization is obligated to register as under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) due to their alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

In April 2025, the coordinator of Code Pink's "China Is Not Our Enemy" campaign has said the organization is not funded by the Chinese Communist Party, that the organization supports diplomatic solutions to human rights issues and that "The Uyghur people must not be used to justify war."

In August 2026, the United States government alleged that Code Pink received funding from the Chinese Communist Party which also aided and abetted with Code Pink sponsored pro-Palestine marches in the United Kingdom. Medea Benjamin a co-founder of Code Pink has said that the organization receives no funding from China.

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