Calla Walsh

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Calla Walsh
Walsh in October 2023
Born (2004-06-09) June 9, 2004 (age 21)[1]
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Education
Alma materMcGill University
OccupationPolitical activist
Organizations
Political partyDemocratic Party (until circa 2022)

Calla Walsh (born June 9, 2004) is an American communist political activist. Previously a member of, and activist in, the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, Walsh abandoned electoral politics in 2022 following disagreements with Ed Markey over policy on Israel and Palestine. Following this, Walsh became involved in direct action campaigns and faced felony charges in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Early life

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Calla Mairead Walsh was born on June 9, 2004 and was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[2][1] Her father, Chris Walsh, is an English professor and serves as director of Boston University’s college writing program.[3] Walsh is the second oldest of four siblings and grew up with her younger brothers and sisters in a family home not far from Harvard Square.[1]

Walsh began her political activism in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the age of 14 or 15. In 2019, she helped organise the Boston Youth Climate Strike. Walsh attended Shady Hill School, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School,[4] and the private, all-girls college preparatory day school Winsor School, then enrolled as an undergraduate at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, later dropping out.[1][5]

Democratic Party activism

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In 2020, Walsh volunteered for the Elizabeth Warren 2020 presidential campaign before working for progressive Jordan Meehan's state representative primary challenge against Kevin Honan in Allston-Brighton and Senator Ed Markey’s re‑election campaign that same year. According to the New York Times, Walsh helped drive the youth vote and manage digital outreach. In August 2020, the Joseph P. Kennedy III campaign referred to Walsh directly as a contributor to a toxic online atmosphere surrounding Kennedy's primary challenge against Markey.[3] The New York Times noted that Walsh was personally responsible for digging through old Twitter posts to find material to attack Democratic candidates she found insufficiently left-wing.[3]

From late 2020 to September 2021, Walsh served as regional organiser and strategist for Act on Mass, a watchdog and advocacy group. She spent time volunteering for Mayor of Boston Michelle Wu's 2021 campaign, then briefly served as digital director for Boston City Council member Julia Mejia.[1]

In August 2021, Walsh was elected the youngest delegate at the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) national convention. That same month, Walsh wrote an article for Teen Vogue in which she advocated for the mobilisation of Gen Z within the DSA to build a socialist future, inspired by figures such as Bernie Sanders and Angela Davis, whose activism she claimed shaped her political outlook. Walsh argued that capitalism was the root cause of economic injustice and ecological collapse.[6] However, by December 2021, Walsh had quit the DSA over their support for Jamaal Bowman, whom Walsh denounced as a "Zionist".[6] That same month, Walsh wrote an article in Mondoweiss which criticized Markey’s response to the Sheikh Jarrah controversy, highlighting his framing of the Israel-Palestine conflict as a “both-sides” issue rather than as a settlers vs colonials issue. Walsh argued that the youth-driven "stan politics" supporting Markey during his 2020 campaign hindered accountability and limited pressure for policy changes.[7] Walsh argued that Markey "owed" her for her support and pressured him to take a harder stance on Israel. In response, Markey issued a sterner statement on Israel, but Walsh was not pleased and declared she was giving up on electoral politics.[8]

Circa late 2022, Walsh was co-chair of the National Network on Cuba,[9] which she described as "a coalition of organizations across the United States described as fighting to end the U.S. war on Cuba".[10]

She also joined the board of Massachusetts Peace Action and served as office manager and social media contributor in the group’s campaigns, particularly its international solidarity efforts.[11]

Direct action activism

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In 2022 and 2023, Walsh travelled to Cuba as part of solidarity brigades, praising the island’s “people's democracy” in essays and public writings authored afterwards.[10]

In 2022, Walsh promoted the "Boston Mapping Project" on Twitter, a website tracking Boston-area institutions that it accused of involvement in “colonization of Palestine” and related harms like policing and US imperialism. The anonymous organisers said their aim was to “dismantle” and “disrupt” these targets. The list included police stations, media outlets, universities and schools, defence firms, and several Jewish nonprofits, such as the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts and Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Local Jewish organisers in Boston stated that while no attacks were linked to the project, the organisation was "continuing to be bad actors and promoting violent action." In April 2024, Walsh stated she was “not part of the Mapping Project” but reaffirmed her support, describing it as a "research map of zionist/imperialist institutions", not a "Jew hit list".[8]

Following the October 7 attacks and subsequent Gaza war, Walsh co-founded the US wing of Palestine Action, later rebranded as Unity of Fields.[8]

On 30 October 2023, Calla Walsh was arrested alongside activist Sophie Ross and 7 others during a protest at Elbit Systems’ Cambridge, Massachusetts "innovation centre".[12] The demonstration, part of a broader campaign by Palestine Action US, involved the use of smoke bombs and graffiti targeting the Israeli-owned defence firm. Related to the Cambridge actions, Walsh received three felony vandalism charges and one disorderly conduct charge, later dismissed in July 2025. On 20 November 2023, Walsh and others escalated the campaign by occupying the roof of Elbit’s Merrimack, New Hampshire facility.[13][14] During the action, protesters allegedly broke windows, spray-painted slogans including "Free Gaza", and lit smoke flares.[13] Law enforcement in Merrimack, responding to the damage and presence of incendiary devices, involved the FBI in the investigation. They were held in preventative detention for three days, then granted $20,000 cash bail on the condition of no contact with each other and stay-away orders from Elbit. Officials cited Walsh’s connections to Marxist-Leninist-Maoist activist Fergie Chambers, a known supporter of Palestine Action US who then fled to Tunisia, as one reason for federal involvement. Investigators also seized Walsh’s phone pending a search warrant, prompting constitutional concerns from her legal team. On February 23, 2024, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella announced that a grand jury had indicted Walsh, Ross, and fellow activist Bridget Shergalis on felony charges including riot, conspiracy to commit criminal mischief, burglary, and conspiracy to commit falsifying physical evidence.[15] Each charge carried a potential sentence of three and a half to seven years in prison. However, the case did not go to trial. The activists ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanours and received 60-day jail sentences in Valley Street Jail in Manchester, New Hampshire with two-year suspended sentences for three years. Walsh and Paige Belanger, another member of Palestine Action US, described the plea deal as a "huge victory", especially in light of the original charges.[16]

Appearance in Iran

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In July 2025, Walsh appeared at the 4-day "Condemnation of Terrorism Against Media" festival in Tehran, Iran, where she declared “Death to America”, "Death to Israel", and praised the "Axis of Resistance" in a public speech. The event was organized by the Iranian-state controlled Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting corporation, with Walsh's remarks being featured on the Festival's official X account and Walsh giving a speech on Iranian-state television.[17][5]

Views

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Walsh's political ideology has shifted over time. In the 2010s, she was a member and activist in the Democratic Party, as well as an environmental activist. In 2021, NPR described her as a "progressive organizer and activist based in Massachusetts".[18] Later in 2021, she identified as a Democratic Socialist and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. In 2023, she described herself as a Communist and anti-imperialist.[19][20]

Following the October 7 attacks, Walsh tweeted that "defending their homeland from illegal occupation and genocide isn’t 'ugly Palestinian retaliation'".[8] Later that day, Walsh posted a map of the attack sites with the message, "This is what decolonization looks like".[8] In April, Walsh added, “We will never forget who called Palestinian freedom fighters ‘terrorists’ after October 7 and then turned around and claimed to support Palestine". On October 12, Walsh tweeted that those living in the US have “an obligation to take direct action against murderous companies like Elbit".[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e McGrath, Tom (8 June 2021). "How Gen Z Is Taking over Boston Politics". Boston. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  2. ^ Fortier, Marc (20 November 2023). "3 arrested following pro-Palestine protest at Elbit Systems in NH". NBC News. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Barry, Ellen (19 May 2021). "An 'Army of 16-Year-Olds' Takes On the Democrats". New York Times. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  4. ^ Martin, Naomi (23 March 2022). "Cambridge high schooler's homework assignment to list 'positive effects of imperialism' goes viral". Boston Globe. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b Lips, Evan (22 July 2022). "From Boston to Tehran: Young Dem Leader Now Calls for 'Death to America'". NH Journal. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  6. ^ a b Calla Walsh (5 August 2021). "The Democratic Socialists of America Can Mobilize Gen Z'ers Like Me". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  7. ^ Calla Walsh (15 December 2021). "Stan Politics, Ed Markey, and Palestine". Mondoweiss. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Melchior, Jillian Kay (21 June 2024). "The Making of an American Radical". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 20 Apr 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  9. ^ Marques, Natalia (26 June 2023). "Organizers march on the White House to say: take Cuba off the list!2". Peoples Dispatch. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  10. ^ a b Calla Walsh (9 December 2022). "U.S. youth observe Cuba's elections – and learn about real democracy". Cambridge Today. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  11. ^ Harrison, Cole (12 April 2022). "2022-2024 Board Nominees".
  12. ^ "9 arrested after police assaulted during protest outside Israeli defense contractor in Cambridge". CBS News. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  13. ^ a b Shalhoup, Dean (22 November 2023). "Three charged with damaging Merrimack defense contractor facility free on bail". New Hampshire Union Leader. Archived from the original on 18 October 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Pro-Palestine group Unity of Fields calls for police officers to be set on fire". The Jerusalem Post. 15 May 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  15. ^ Peisner, David (24 March 2024). "Fergie Chambers Is Heir to One of America's Richest Families — and Determined to See the U.S. Fall". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  16. ^ Lennard, Natasha (30 October 2024). "They Got 60 Days in Jail for Protesting Israel's Largest Arms Maker — and Say That's a "Huge Victory"". The Intercept. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  17. ^ "US activists at Iranian state festival express solidarity with Tehran". Iran International. 2025-07-18. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  18. ^ Martin, Michel (13 June 2021). "How To Be A Citizen: Being Involved In Civic Life At A Young Age". NPR. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  19. ^ Fisher, Damien (27 May 2024). "FBI Investigating Group Behind Elbit Systems Attack in Merrimack". NH Journal. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  20. ^ Calla Walsh [@CallaWalsh] (July 24, 2023). "I'm not a "leftist" I'm a communist. And communism is the only force that can liberate LGBTQ+ people" (Tweet) – via Twitter.