People's Conference for Palestine , organised by a dozen pro-Palestinian groups in Detroit, is in the headlines, especially after a few speakers who drew criticism for their anti-Israel rhetoric . One panellist in particular, Sachin Peddada , a PhD student in economics and research coordinator at Progressive International, faced backlash after he called the United States "an evil country" and expressed a need to "destroy the idea of America in Americans' heads."
Sachin, who was speaking on a panel titled "No Weapons for Genocide: The People Demand an Arms Embargo," repeatedly said that United States is an "empire" motivated by greed.
Who is Sachin Peddada ?
According to Laura Loomer, American far-right political activist, who shared a clip of Sachin's speech from the event, he is pursuing a PhD in economics and works as a research coordinator at Progressive International. While not a household name, he is known in academic and activist circles for his outspoken criticism of US foreign policy. At the conference, he spoke about the long-running war between Israel and Hamas.
What did he say?
During the panel discussion, Peddada, in response to how Americans can get more involved, quoted deceased Palestinian author Bassel al-Araj, "And, therefore, the thing to do is to destroy the idea of America in Americans' heads so that they can see the humanity of everybody outside the warping of American exceptionalism and imperialism and all these evil things."
The comments from him drew loud applause from the audience.
He continued, saying, "We have to dismantle this idea of American exceptionalism, of supremacy, of being beyond reproach."
"I think it's very important that we normalise criticism as a healthy process and learn from our experiments in the world to push the boundaries of what is possible, to continue to fight for more and more and to see how the empire responds to us, to continue to push farther and harder," he added.
Peddada, during his speech, declared, "We live in an evil country."
Talking about the October 7, 2023 attack, he said, "We can say with certainty that the US has been the most complicit country — complicit is not even the right word to use — but the most responsible country for what is happening not only in Gaza but also the West Bank and also all over the global south."
He added that US is a country that has "functionally for decades been the sole superpower of the world" and has "an agenda that is driven primarily by the accumulation of profit at the expense of human lives."
"To obfuscate that point or beat around the bush there does not serve us; we live in an evil country, that's just what's happening," he said.
"That doesn't mean we're all evil," he added. "But it does mean we have a unique responsibility. We have a unique position here in the heart of the empire to act in solidarity with all of our siblings in Gaza and in the West Bank, all around the world."
Why are his remarks controversial?
For critics, Peddada's language — especially phrases like “destroy the idea of America” and labelling the US an “evil country” — struck a nerve.
One X user wrote: "As an American, I find this galling… My culture and history have already been relentlessly attacked. Now we have conference speakers openly talking about ‘destroying the idea of America."
"Calling America ‘evil’ while enjoying its freedoms isn’t activism, it’s subversion. The line between free speech and open hostility to the nation is crossed here. Time to treat this for what it is: a security threat, not a debate club," another said.
The People's Conference for Palestine, organised from August 29 to August 31, drew a lot of criticism even before it started for featuring speakers with extremist views. It included two former prisoners of Israel released in a deal with Hamas, alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich), a prominent anti-Israel congresswoman.
Sachin, who was speaking on a panel titled "No Weapons for Genocide: The People Demand an Arms Embargo," repeatedly said that United States is an "empire" motivated by greed.
Who is Sachin Peddada ?
According to Laura Loomer, American far-right political activist, who shared a clip of Sachin's speech from the event, he is pursuing a PhD in economics and works as a research coordinator at Progressive International. While not a household name, he is known in academic and activist circles for his outspoken criticism of US foreign policy. At the conference, he spoke about the long-running war between Israel and Hamas.
At the People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit, Michigan last weekend, Sachin Peddada, a PhD student and organizer with “Progressive International”, declared the U.S. “an evil country” and urged activists to “destroy the idea of America in Americans’ heads.”
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) September 6, 2025
This kind of… pic.twitter.com/264iI4n6yz
What did he say?
During the panel discussion, Peddada, in response to how Americans can get more involved, quoted deceased Palestinian author Bassel al-Araj, "And, therefore, the thing to do is to destroy the idea of America in Americans' heads so that they can see the humanity of everybody outside the warping of American exceptionalism and imperialism and all these evil things."
The comments from him drew loud applause from the audience.
Sachin Peddada: “Destroy the Idea of America in Americans’ Heads”
— Stu Smith (@thestustustudio) August 29, 2025
At the People’s Conference for Palestine, Sachin Peddada — Research Coordinator at the Progressive International and a PhD student in Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst — quoted Palestinian… pic.twitter.com/saJ19VsZyf
He continued, saying, "We have to dismantle this idea of American exceptionalism, of supremacy, of being beyond reproach."
"I think it's very important that we normalise criticism as a healthy process and learn from our experiments in the world to push the boundaries of what is possible, to continue to fight for more and more and to see how the empire responds to us, to continue to push farther and harder," he added.
Sachin Peddada: “We Live in an Evil Country”
— Stu Smith (@thestustustudio) August 29, 2025
At the People’s Conference for Palestine, Sachin Peddada — Research Coordinator for Progressive International and a PhD student at UMass Amherst — painted the United States not just as flawed, but as fundamentally wicked:
“We live in… pic.twitter.com/6pstG5APls
Peddada, during his speech, declared, "We live in an evil country."
Talking about the October 7, 2023 attack, he said, "We can say with certainty that the US has been the most complicit country — complicit is not even the right word to use — but the most responsible country for what is happening not only in Gaza but also the West Bank and also all over the global south."
He added that US is a country that has "functionally for decades been the sole superpower of the world" and has "an agenda that is driven primarily by the accumulation of profit at the expense of human lives."
"To obfuscate that point or beat around the bush there does not serve us; we live in an evil country, that's just what's happening," he said.
"That doesn't mean we're all evil," he added. "But it does mean we have a unique responsibility. We have a unique position here in the heart of the empire to act in solidarity with all of our siblings in Gaza and in the West Bank, all around the world."
Why are his remarks controversial?
For critics, Peddada's language — especially phrases like “destroy the idea of America” and labelling the US an “evil country” — struck a nerve.
One X user wrote: "As an American, I find this galling… My culture and history have already been relentlessly attacked. Now we have conference speakers openly talking about ‘destroying the idea of America."
"Calling America ‘evil’ while enjoying its freedoms isn’t activism, it’s subversion. The line between free speech and open hostility to the nation is crossed here. Time to treat this for what it is: a security threat, not a debate club," another said.
The People's Conference for Palestine, organised from August 29 to August 31, drew a lot of criticism even before it started for featuring speakers with extremist views. It included two former prisoners of Israel released in a deal with Hamas, alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich), a prominent anti-Israel congresswoman.
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