Hundreds of people took to the streets of Washington, D.C., Thursday night to protest the killing of Americans by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The protests began at the busy and increasingly queer intersection of 14th Street and U Street in Northwest. There, hundreds of people held signs, shouted and headed to the White House to voice their opposition to the Trump-Vance administration’s choice to increase law enforcement presence across the country.
The protests occurred simultaneously in cities large and small across the country in response to the death of Minneapolis resident Len Nicole Good at the hands of ICE officer Jonathan Ross. Good leaves behind two children and his wife, Rebecca Good.
Records obtained Associated Press It turns out Ross is an Iraq War veteran whose career with the U.S. Border Patrol and ICE spanned nearly 20 years.
Good was shot just blocks from where George Floyd was killed by police in 2020, sparking weeks of nationwide protests. Minnesota officials say A BBC article aired on Friday said the FBI had cut off access to the investigation into the fatal shooting.
In the nation’s capital, protesters marched from the intersection of 14th and U Streets to Lafayette Square, just outside the White House. Multiple D.C. organizations led the protests. Free DC, It is a nonprofit organization that works to ensure the right of “self-determination” for District residents, as many local laws can be reviewed, amended, or overturned by Congress. Free DC has organized multiple protests since the Trump-Vance administration took office.
The Washington Blade spoke to multiple protesters near the end of the protest about why they left.
Franco Molinari, a native of Woodbridge, Virginia, crossed the Potomac River to participate in his first protest.
“I don’t appreciate the almost militarized use of ICE and federal agents against the United States,” Molinari said while holding up a “Justice for Renee” sign. “Seeing the video of Renee being executed cartel-style in her car was enough to make me want to go out and at least do something.”
Molinari, like many others the Blade spoke to, learned about the protests on Instagram.
“My friend Sarah was there… she had sent a link to the group chat about the protests. I saw it in the morning and thought, ‘I’m going to leave after work.'”
He also talked about why the protests at the White House are important.
“We’ve already seen the president’s response to Renee’s murder, and it was largely very hostile,” Molinari said.
President Donald Trump and his federal leaders claimed that Goode “violently, intentionally and viciously ran over an ICE officer.” The president’s claims have been widely challenged through multiple videos of the incident showing Good attempting to leave the scene rather than attack the officers.
“I hope that anyone can watch it and see the reaction and see for themselves that it’s not right,” Molinari said.
The Blade also spoke with Dave the Viking, a left-wing influencer with more than 52,000 followers on TikTok who posts anti-fascist and anti-Trump videos.
“We’re here to make sure this administration can’t rewrite history in real time, because we all know what we saw…We’re not going to allow them to run a narrative like this.” [ICE agents] “We’ve all seen the video footage that proves otherwise that poor woman stuck in the snow tried to use her car as a weapon. We’re not going to allow this administration, the media, and right-wing influencers to try to rewrite history in real time and make us all believe we didn’t see what we know we saw,” he told the Blade.
Dave the Viking went on to say that he believes the perceived authority of ICE and other law enforcement agencies to often act in deadly and unjust ways is a product of the Trump-Vance administration.
“There’s a line between fascism and anti-fascism. These bastards are trying to push that line and label an ideology as a terrorist organization, and as of yesterday they’ve crossed that line to a hardcore degree. You look at history, you look at 1989, 2003. We’re at a point where we’re plundering resources. Where’s this fucking 1930s Germany? We’re going to go in there and start reclaiming it.” Yeah, no, we proved that yesterday. ”
On Thursday afternoon, two people were injured in separate shootings involving federal Border Patrol agents in Portland, Oregon.
KC Lynch, who lives near American University, also talked about choosing to protest in a group.
“I’m coming out today because everything ICE has done is absolutely unacceptable, including the fact that they not only killed this one woman, but they are imprisoning people in places that are literally documented by international organizations to be human rights violations. It’s incredibly evil.”
Lynch also echoed Dave’s sentiments about the similarities between the Trump-Vance administration and the rise of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.
“This is literally what happened before the Holocaust. We should all be scared. We should all be angry. I’m so angry about that… even talking about it — I’m sorry,” she said before choking.
Lynch stressed that despite people protesting together, the sense of community is strong and strong.
“Even if it doesn’t result in policy changes, I feel it’s important for people to know that we’re angry. I think it’s very good to be loud and angry about it, because I think we’ve all probably felt that way. It’s nice to be around like-minded people who like to have a sense of community.”
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
