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Person

Afeni Evans

Nationality:

American
Organizations:

Fair Budget Coalition

Mass Liberation Project

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Arianna Afeni Evans, who goes by Afeni Evans, is a far-left activist based in Washington, D.C. 1  As of December 2025, Evans was working at the Fair Budget Coalition and the Mass Liberation Project, and has previously worked for McKayla Wilkes’s (D-MD) U.S. Congressional campaign and Jill Stein’s presidential campaign. 2 Evans has expressed radical-left views, including prison abolitionism, support for Hamas against Israel, and sympathy for political violence against right-of-center political figures. 3

Career and Activism

Afeni Evans graduated from South River High School in New Jersey in June 2015. Her LinkedIn account describes her as a veteran of the U.S. Army. 2

In 2021, Evans worked as a community organizer for the Working Families Party and then worked for almost one year as a field director on the unsuccessful U.S. Congressional campaign of McKayla Wilkes’s (D-MD), who was defeated in the Democratic primary. 2 Also in 2021, Evans was listed as a core member of Freedom Fighters DC, a Black-led “grassroots” organization that focuses on Black liberation, mutual aid, and political education. 4

In June 2021, Evans was a speaker at an event hosted by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association. 4

From March 2021 to January 2024, Evans worked as a direct-action lead at Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, a left-of-center Black advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. 2

From 2022 to 2024, Evans worked as a director of organizing at Life After Release, a support group for recently incarcerated individuals based in Prince George’s County, Maryland. 2

From September to March 2024, Evans was a regional field director for Jill Stein’s Green Party presidential campaign. 2

In mid-2025, Evans spoke at rallies protesting the deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C. by the second Trump administration. 5

As of December 2025, Evans was serving as a community organizer for the Fair Budget Coalition, a project of the Social Good Fund devoted to advocating for left-of-center tax policy in Washington D.C., as well as a regional trainer for the Mass Liberation Project, a project of Tides Advocacy that is devoted to far-left criminal justice advocacy based on “community liberation” for African-American families and racial minorities. 2 She is also a Movement for Black Lives Electoral Justice Table member. 6

Evans participated in the left-wing No Kings protests targeted at the second Trump administration and former administration advisor Elon Musk. In October 2025, Evans appeared onstage at a Washington, D.C. No Kings protest with U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT). 3

Arrests

In August 2025, a video of Afeni Evans went viral showing her being pepper-sprayed, manhandled, and detained by Washington, D.C. Metro Transit Police officers. Evans alleged that she only questioned the police about why they were questioning three Black men. The video showed her being questioned by the police on suspicion of fare evasion, to which Evans responded with curses and dismissals of the police. The video then cut to another perspective showing Evans being subdued by the police. The Instagram post of the videos described Washington, D.C. as “a fascist state” where “nobody is safe.” About 100 individuals attended Evans’s court hearing to protest in her favor. All charges were dropped. 1 7

In December 2020, Evans and a friend were allegedly walking back home after attending a counter-protest against supporters of President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. when they were attacked by a group of men. When police arrived soon after, they arrested one of the men and Evans for assault. Evans asserted that she acted in self-defense but spent a night in jail. 8

Beliefs

An online biography refers to Afeni Evans as a “Black queer activist.” 9 In a 2021 biography, Evans was described as a lesbian. 4 Another online biography described Evans as being “passionate about equity, anti-racism and transformative mutual aid.” 10

A news article described Evans as a prison abolitionist who claimed that the United States has a history of white supremacy. 8

Another news article described Evans as having “downplayed various acts of political violence,” including the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and the attempted assassination of then-former President Donald Trump. In an Instagram post, Evans described the United States as “the most fascistic country in the fucking world.” She has referred to the U.S. as “Amerikkka” in reference to the Ku Klux Klan. 3

Evans has frequently criticized Zionism and Israel, referring to it as “the imaginary state.” Evans defended Hamas’s October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks on Israel as a legitimate act of “resistance.” 3

In a TikTok video, Evans stated that she wanted American society to “go back to Indigenous ways of land stewardship and reciprocity” rooted in “communalism” and that are “outside of the capitalist system.” 11

References

  1. Collins, Sam P.K. “As Youth Return to School, Concerns About Federal Takeover Intensify.” The Washington Informer. August 19, 2025. Accessed December 2, 2025. https://www.washingtoninformer.com/dc-schools-law-enforcement-presence/.
  2. “Afeni Evans.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 2, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/afeni-evans-299666320/.
  3. Ross, Chuck. “Bernie Sanders, Chris Murphy To Headline ‘No Kings’ Rally With Activist Who Defended Hamas Attack, Cheered Trump Assassination Attempt.” Washington Free Beacon. October 17, 2025. Accessed December 2, 2025. https://freebeacon.com/democrats/bernie-sanders-chris-murphy-to-headline-no-kings-rally-with-activist-who-defended-hamas-attack-cheered-trump-assassination-attempt/.
  4. “2021 HDLC: Featured Speakers.” NLADA. Accessed December 2, 2025. https://www.nlada.org/node/37431.
  5. “WATCH: ‘Occupation is a crime,’ longtime activist Afeni Evans says at DC takeover protest.” YouTube. September 6, 2025. Accessed December 2, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDLMhyUckFA.
  6. “Afeni Evans.” Fair Budget Coalition. Accessed December 2, 2025. https://fairbudget.org/team/staff/afeni-evans/.
  7. “Harrietsdreams.” Instagram. August 16, 2025. Accessed December 2, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DNa4-TMR86r/?img_index=3.
  8. Silverman, Ellie; Weiner, Rachel. “They confronted Proud Boys but don’t celebrate the prison sentences.” Stars and Stripes. September 10, 2023. Accessed December 2, 2025. https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2023-09-10/they-confronted-the-proud-boys-11330718.html.
  9. “Afeni Evans.” Rolling Stones. Accessed December 2, 2025. https://www.rollingstone.com/author/afeni-evans/.
  10. “Afeni Evans.” Detroit Metro Times. Accessed December 2, 2025. https://www.metrotimes.com/author/afeni-evans/.
  11. “Stu Smith.” X. August 16, 2025. Accessed December 2, 2025. https://x.com/thestustustudio/status/1956740256541315241.
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