A US multi-millionaire and pro-Palestinian activist, who until recently resided in Ireland, has been arrested in Spain after a request for his extradition by the United States, which accuses him of funding Palestinian militant group Hamas.James “Fergie” Chambers, a self-described “professional revolutionary” and the heir of one of the richest families in the US, lived in Dublin in the past year. He was arrested on the island of Ibiza, following a request from the United States, according to the Audiencia Nacional, Spain’s high court. Chambers left the US in 2023, briefly moving to Tunisia, where he funded a football team, before settling in Dublin with his family. His movements and activism in the past three years are the subject of a documentary directed by an Irish film-maker that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January.He also became a prominent donor to pro-Palestinian causes, paying the legal fees of Palestine Action in the UK, and donating $1 million (€874,000) to humanitarian organisations in Gaza in February. His partner, Stella Madrid Schnabel, the daughter of a well-known New York artist and filmmaker, Julian Schnable, responded to the arrest by accusing the US government of “political persecution”. In a statement, she said: “Fergie is being jailed because he uses his wealth to support Palestine and those suffering genocide in Gaza.”Chambers appeared last Saturday in front of Spanish National Court judge Antonio Piña, who ordered his detention without bail pending the outcome of his extradition case. Fergie Chambers is the subject of a documentary by Irish director Sinéad O’Shea that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Photograph: Chedly Ben Ibrahim/NurPhoto/Getty “From now on, there is a 40-day period for the United States to present the formal extradition paperwork,” the Spanish court said in a statement to The Irish Times.“If the person requested authorises the extradition, he is sent to the United States quickly. If he does not agree, a hearing is held to decide whether he will be extradited or not.” The final decision will then be put before Spanish government’s council of ministers, led by prime minister Pedro Sánchez.A number of Spanish politicians have published statements in recent days calling on the government in Madrid not to honour the extradition request.The case was raised in the Dáil on Thursday by People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy who said it was evidence of the “long reach” of US foreign policy and an attempt to crack down on pro-Palestine solidarity.In response, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was not familiar with the case but had no doubt the Spanish government would adopt a “fair and honourable” approach to the matter.Chambers inherited a large fortune from the Cox family, who made billions developing telecommunications in the US. He cut off ties from the family and the family-owned Cox Enterprise, which was valued at $23 billion in 2025. Selling his stake, Chambers made $250 million, which he said he would use to fund a variety of left-wing causes. The American heir regularly made extreme comments on his social media, apparently condoning the Hamas attacks on Israel when he posted “No faction of the Palestinian resistance, Hamas or other, has done *anything* wrong,” on Twitter in October 2023.On the Fourth of July this year, the 250th US Independence Day, a post on his personal Instagram showed a picture of a burning US flag with the caption “250 years of unmitigated horror ... Death to Amerikkka, to hell with any of those celebrating.” According to the Open Collective, a website tracking charity donations, Chambers’s foundation, The Babochki Collective, transferred $750,000 in funds in 2023 – $350,000 to the Atlanta Community Press Collective, an “abolitionist, not-for-profit media collective” in October of that year and $400,000 to an anonymous beneficiary in December.While in Ireland, Chambers continued to fund Palestinian causes through The Babochki Collective, which claims to have donated a further $1 million to humanitarian aid organisations in February of this year.[ Palestine Action: UK government’s ban is lawful, court of appeal rulesOpens in new window ]This included $300,000 to the Sameer Project, an initiative, led by Palestinians, to supply emergency shelter and aid to displaced families in Gaza, $400,000 to Meca for Peace, an organisation working for the “rights and wellbeing of children in the Middle East”, specifically Palestine and Lebanon, and $300,00 to PHM global, a campaign to rebuild Palestine’s health infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank. His “revolutionary” persona is the subject of a documentary by Irish director Sinéad O’Shea that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and aired at the Galway Film Fleadh last weekend. Titled All about the Money, it portrays Chambers during his time moving between America, Tunisia and Ireland and offers a psychological insight into the controversial figure and his radical, and often contradictory, views.