Former top Letitia James aide helps funnel money for anti-ICE trainings via lefty philanthropic group

WASHINGTON — A former top aide to New York Attorney General Letitia James runs a liberal nonprofit that is helping fund anti-ICE trainings, some of which have urged demonstrators to disrupt federal immigration enforcement — and use encrypted channels to avoid sharing “incriminating” information.Anna Brower, James’ chief of staff until this past September, serves as president of the Hopewell Fund, one of several members of a so-called “dark money” network of left-wing philanthropies administered until 2024 by Arabella Advisors.Hopewell doled out more than $91 million in grants that year for causes related to civil rights, social action and advocacy, per its latest tax filings, and serves as the fiscal sponsor of an organization called States at the Core.More than 12,000 people have been trained through States at the Core’s ICE Watch seminars since President Trump’s second inauguration, according to the nonprofit, though it’s unclear how much funding Hopewell has been helping it manage since it was founded in November 2024, the New York Times reported.“Upholding human dignity and safety is central to our mission, and we actively discourage individuals from disrupting or interfering with law enforcement activity,” Brower told The Post in a statement.Conservative watchdog organizations have disputed this, with Americans for Public Trust (APT) executive director Caitlin Sutherland saying the seminars “deliberately” told protesters to obstruct enofrcement operations— in apparent violation of federal law.“The IRS has made clear that nonprofits cannot fund illegal acts, and that specifically includes deliberately blocking traffic and disrupting government work,” Sutherland said.States at the Core has urged protesters to form local rapid response groups that swiftly report — but have been seen at times to hamper — federal immigration arrests, which often characterized as “kidnappings” or “abductions,” training materials reviewed ...