Michael Lachenmeyer is a 27-year-old from Springfield, Massachusetts, running for State House in the 12th Hampden District. While in college, he founded a chapter of the Indivisible Movement — the anti-Trump resistance network that organized mass protests after the 2016 election. After college, he moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he led a hub for the “revolutionary climate-focused” Sunrise Movement.
Lachenmeyer is an active member of River Valley Democratic Socialists of America.
Lachenmeyer’s Anti-ICE Activism
On January 9, 2026, Lachenmeyer called on the Massachusetts State Legislature to “urge our Congressional delegation to abolish ICE” at a vigil for Renee Good, a woman killed when she was shot by an ICE officer. He wrote on Facebook, “I call on the Massachusetts State Legislature to urge our Congressional delegation to abolish ICE….”
One week later, on January 16, Lachenmeyer visited The Sweet Boutique in East Longmeadow—a bakery that used cookies to protest ICE—and posted on Instagram: “The Sweet Boutique in East Longmeadow took a clear stand this week by using their cookies to protest the most violent ‘law enforcement’ agency in modern American history.”
River Valley DSA Ties to CCP-Linked Groups
River Valley DSA, his local DSA chapter, endorsed Lachenmeyer in August 2026. National DSA also endorsed him. In a March 6 Instagram post, River Valley DSA promoted a March 7 “Stop the War on Iran” rally in West Springfield. The event graphic listed River Valley DSA as an endorser alongside the ANSWER Coalition, the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s River Valley branch, and CODEPINK.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation is a Marxist-Leninist communist party that split from Workers World Party in 2004. PSL has defended North Korea’s government, Syria under Bashar al-Assad, and Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro. The ANSWER Coalition was founded in 2001 and shares overlapping leadership with PSL. CODEPINK is a radical anti-war feminist group founded in 2002 that has disrupted congressional hearings, defended Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, opposed sanctions on Iran, and sent delegations to meet with officials from adversarial regimes. CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin has praised Cuba’s government and met with Iranian officials.
In June 2025, Republican members of the House Oversight Committee opened an inquiry into reports concerning billionaire Neville Roy Singham’s funding of PSL and his connections to a wider activist network that the committee said included ANSWER and CODEPINK. The inquiry was a congressional investigation, not a finding that the organizations acted on behalf of the Chinese government.
A separate House committee cited nonprofit records indicating that, since 2017, more than $1.4 million, approximately one-quarter of CODEPINK’s donations, had come from two Singham-linked organizations. Singham resides in China and is married to CODEPINK co-founder Jodie Evans.
On April 30, 2024, River Valley DSA posted on Instagram that it “stands with Popular University for Gaza at UMass.” The chapter also posted an image showing a “Democratic Socialists” banner carried alongside a sign reading “Fund Sex Change Defund Israel.”
River Valley DSA said in July 2026 that it had reached 500 members across Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties. In November 2025, two chapter-endorsed candidates won local races: Jill Brevik secured a seat on the Amherst Town Council, while Tom Hendrickson won reelection to the Agawam City Council.
The Race and Who Endorsed Lachenmeyer
Lachenmeyer has been endorsed by National DSA, River Valley DSA, UAW Region 9A, Act on Mass, Progressive Massachusetts, Progressive Voters Network, Run for Something and CAIR Action. CAIR Action describes itself as a 501(c)(4) affiliate of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the alleged Muslim Brotherhood front group. CAIR Action allegedly illegally solicited funds tied to NYC DSA candidates
A September 1 victory would make Lachenmeyer the Democratic nominee for the 12th Hampden District. If he wins the November 3 general election, River Valley DSA would gain its first state legislator after electing two chapter members to local office in 2025.
His candidacy also places greater scrutiny on the chapter’s coalition activity, including its endorsement of a rally alongside PSL, ANSWER and CODEPINK, as well as Lachenmeyer’s backing from CAIR Action.