WASHINGTON, D.C.— CodePink D.C.
Coordinator Olivia DiNucci last month posted a TikTok video of herself in a home supporting an issue far afield from her usual battles supporting the Communist Party of Cuba and the Islamic Republic of Iran.This time, she was backing a local ballot measure, "Initiative 86," introduced in early February in the D.C.City Council to ban foie gras, a fine-dining delicacy made from duck liver, and other products made from birds.
D.C.residents will vote on the measure on election day with early voting already started.The campaign presents itself as a grassroots effort to advance animal welfare, but public financial filings reveal a far more heavily funded operation.
A national animal-rights network has supplied hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial support, underwriting paid petition circulators, political consultants, staff salaries and advertising in a campaign that could reshape Washington’s restaurant industry.Far from a shoestring local initiative, the effort has reported nearly half a million dollars in contributions and expenditures, much of it backed by an organization that openly describes local ballot measures as stepping stones toward a broader "pro-animal future."WHO’S FUNDING AMERICA’S PROTEST UNREST? FOX NATION'S NEW 'RIOT INC.' FOLLOWS THE MONEY TO FIND OUTOlivia DiNucci, D.C.
coordinator at CodePink, marches at an anti-Israel protest in Washington, D.C., on Oct.10, 2026.
(Brooke Curto/Fox News Digital)A Fox News Digital investigation of campaign-finance records, nonprofit filings and the groups’ own organizing documents traces the people, money and long-term strategy behind Initiative 86 and raises questions about how a fight over one luxury menu item became part of a much larger political campaign over what Americans eat.A political sign aimed at directing D.C.voters to select "yes" to banning foie gras in the district.
(Brooke Curto/Fox News Digital)Pro-Animal Future, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit based in P...