Fergie Chambers, the American activist and heir to the Cox family fortune who has financed prominent pro-Palestinian groups, has been arrested in Spain on a US extradition request alleging money laundering and other offences.
Chambers was arrested on Friday morning on the island of Ibiza. Later that day, he appeared before a judge, who denied him bail pending extradition proceedings.
Over the past decade, Chambers has emerged as one of the most prominent private financiers of pro-Palestinian direct action in the United States and the UK, using part of his inherited fortune to support activist groups, legal defence funds and campaigns, including Palestine Action.
His associates have described the arrest as “politically motivated”.
Chambers’ arrest unfolded at around 10.45am in Ibiza’s secluded Morna Valley. An eyewitness told Middle East Eye that, as Chambers pulled into a driveway, a black vehicle blocked his path.
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Two other vehicles then came into view. Seven Spanish law enforcement officers – two women and five men – identified themselves by showing their badges before handcuffing Chambers. They informed him that he was being detained under an international arrest warrant.
According to the US indictment, prosecutors allege that Chambers conspired to carry out a campaign of direct action against Elbit Systems of America between October 2023 and April 2025 with the express intention of disrupting the company’s operations because of its role in supplying Israel’s military.
‘Politically motivated’
Prosecutors have charged Chambers with international money laundering, riot and conspiracy to riot.
They allege he transferred approximately $7.5m out of the United States after leaving the country in 2023 in order to seek opportunities to provide material support to Hamas. The indictment also identifies him as the founder and principal financial supporter of Unity of Fields, formerly known as Palestine Action US.
Unity of Fields is not on the US State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations, nor is it a designated Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity.
If extradited and convicted on the lead count of international money laundering, Chambers faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.
‘This extradition is part of a much broader campaign to suppress global movements for emancipation and liberation’
– Fergie Chambers’ supporters
Prosecutors further allege that Chambers’ credit card was used to purchase 18 coloured smoke bombs, along with U-locks, chains and cables, before one of the Elbit actions. They also allege he paid for paint and other equipment used during the protest.
Prosecutors cite a YouTube interview posted on 23 October 2023 in which Chambers said: “We are going to disrupt business and we’re going to disrupt business constantly and we’re going to use any means that we need to get that point across…
“I’m very hopeful that we can mount a successful campaign to start shutting down Elbit centres in all of the different states where they’re located.”
His associates have denounced the arrest as “politically motivated”, describing it as “an overt act of political repression by the Trump administration against a supporter of Palestinian human rights”.
“This extradition is part of a much broader campaign to suppress global movements for emancipation and liberation, particularly those expressing solidarity with people in the formerly colonised world,” they said.
“Fergie has dedicated significant resources to humanitarian causes, human rights, justice and dignity, and this prosecution is another manifestation of that wider effort to intimidate and silence political activism.”
Chambers has described himself as supporting “anti-colonial resistance and the self-determination of all peoples”, telling the French newspaper Le Monde that these principles underpin his political activism.
He previously provided financial support to Palestine Action activists involved in direct action against the Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems, including covering legal fees and bail for protesters who had been arrested.
Direct action
In a controversial move, the Labour government proscribed Palestine Action as a “terrorist organisation” in July 2025, placing it alongside groups such as the so-called Islamic State under UK law.
The decision has drawn widespread criticism from human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, which has argued that it amounts to the criminalisation of peaceful protest.
Since the ban came into force, more than 3,300 people have been arrested for expressing support for the group, in what campaigners describe as one of the largest sustained acts of civil disobedience in modern British history.
The use of terrorism law against the group has extended beyond proscription. In June, four Palestine Action activists were sentenced to between four years and eight months and seven years and eight months in prison after a judge ruled that damage to an Elbit Systems factory had a “terrorist connection”.
A self-described Marxist-Leninist, Chambers has also been active in a number of domestic protest movements.
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After learning that his family’s company had donated to Atlanta’s controversial Public Safety Training Centre – known to opponents as “Cop City” – Chambers instead used his wealth to help fund protesters’ legal defence and bail.
Chambers has also participated in the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and in the Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2017.
According to people close to Chambers, he remains in custody on the island of Ibiza. One person who has been in contact with him since his arrest said the conditions were difficult.
“He’s in jail. It’s very hot. There’s no fan, no books and he has no spare clothes,” the person said, adding that he is sharing a cell with another inmate.
The case is being handled by Spain’s Audiencia Nacional, which hears international extradition requests. The court has been contacted for comment regarding the proceedings, including the outcome of the latest hearing and the date of any future hearings.
A request for comment has also been submitted to the US Department of Justice.
