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James “Fergie” Chambers, a wealthy US activist and Cox Enterprises heir, appeared before Spain’s high court on Friday for a two-hour hearing regarding a US extradition request. The case marks the first known instance of the US seeking to extradite a citizen over alleged support for Hamas.
The Extradition Hearing Details
During the session, Chambers’s defense spent the majority of the time questioning him and highlighting irregularities in the US extradition request, alongside Spanish legal arguments that could lead the three-panel judges to reject the bid. Meanwhile, the prosecutor moved quickly through his case without asking Chambers any questions.
Neither the judges nor the prosecutor asked Chambers about the extradition request’s insinuation that he had supported Hamas, an accusation seemingly linked to an international money laundering charge and donations to organizations assisting Palestinians in Gaza. The defense queries allowed Chambers to address events following his July 10 arrest in Ibiza, including 2023 protests against Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as well as 2024 transfers of $7.2m to Tunisia.
Chambers described himself as a communist and anti-imperialist who sold stock back to his family’s business, Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises, for about $250m in mid-2023. He subsequently established a foundation that, alongside a three-member board, funds progressive and humanitarian projects while ensuring no recipients are under US sanctions. According to his partner, actor and activist Stella Schnabel, the foundation has supported roughly 100 projects across 20 countries, including medical treatment, clean water, and transport initiatives in Gaza.
Charges and Financial Transfers
Two of the three charges in the extradition request involve riot and conspiracy to riot relating to late-2023 protests against Elbit. Chambers described his participation as locking himself to a door, marching in the street, standing in a road, speaking to media, and paying bail for four protesters who served 30 days in jail after being convicted of misdemeanor charges.
Regarding the $7.2m, Chambers’s defense and financial expert Albert Deulofeu Schilt explained that ten bank transfers from the US to Tunisia primarily sponsored the Club Africain football club and a sporting business Chambers launched while residing in Tunisia. When defense attorney Aitor Martínez asked if there was any indication the money supported terrorist activities, Deulofeu Schilt replied, “None.”
Prosecutor Juan Hernández Villalba presented a contrasting view during a 15-minute statement, characterizing Chambers as backing an organized structure aimed at repeatedly committing illegal acts alongside funds destined for terrorist organizations. He argued that the defense presented facts in a fragmented way and asserted that the extradition petition focuses on actions Chambers organized and financed that caused material damage, rather than ideology or political statements.
Reactions and Final Statements
Irish filmmaker Sinéad O’Shea, whose documentary All About the Money covers the period cited in the FBI affidavit, followed the hearing online. O’Shea stated that the extradition case constructs a false narrative beginning with a minor protest and described the situation as a politically motivated case.
Chambers’s prior political views, including posts on X following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, have been widely profiled in US media. Given the final word during the hearing, Chambers expressed confusion over his imprisonment since July for emotional speech and minor public disturbance offenses, denying any contact with or financing of terrorist organizations.
The court is scheduled to make a decision next week on whether to extradite Chambers. If the court rules in favor of extradition, Spain’s council of ministers has the authority to reverse the decision before national elections on November 29.
