Portland ICE Protests

Donald Trump spoke of Portland as if it were enemy territory. He called the city "under siege," "a beehive of anarchists," and "a disgusting mess." He said its leaders were "weak," that protesters were "terrorists," and that "if the governor and the mayor won't do their job, we'll go in and clean it up ourselves." At rallies and press briefings, he warned that "we're sending in law enforcement," promising to "dominate the streets" and "put down the left-wing mobs." His words were meant to turn a city known for creativity and dissent into a symbol of collapse...and to rally fear as policy.

When those words didn't bring submission, he raised the threat of invoking the Insurrection Act, boasting that he could "deploy the military into any city that refuses to stop the violence." He praised federal agents who fired pepper balls and tear gas at crowds, claiming they were "doing a fantastic job" against "thugs" and "anarchists." Each new phrase from the White House escalated the tension, blurring propaganda into preparation. By the time the National Guard and ICE troops appeared at the city's gates, the violence had been scripted...and Portland, through art, music, and defiance, refused to play the part he wrote.

In October 2025, Portlanders turned the tables on Trump, and in courtrooms and online, the city decisively defeated Trump's push to militarize our city.

Federal Judge Karin Immergut issued a sweeping order blocking deployment of both Oregon and California National Guard units, ruling the administration lacked legal justification. At the same time, social media exploded with expose threads, viral memes, and documentary-style videos exposing Trump's false claims of "anarchy" in our streets. Portland has won every battle with Trump: the courts, the public narrative, and the digital arena have all affirmed that his threats against our city are hollow.

Trump's end begins with Portland.

Through the narrow slats of a fortified gate, the silhouettes of federal agents wait in tense silence. Their eyes are fixed ahead. This is the moment before they emerge, before the smoke and flash-bangs. Outside, the protesters are peaceful, singing, dressed in costumes and colors. Inside, these faces are filled with doubt: their faces show they are scared, confused, wishing this was not their mission.

But still, they are doing the evil will of the Trump administration. This video shows a comedian and American citizen, who just arrived, being detained by ICE. The man was protesting peacefully.

In Portland, hobbies are a form of culture, and resistance. Among the gardeners, cyclists, musicians, and muralists, the city's knitters showed up in force during the ICE protests. Many wore handmade hats and scarves, their craft turned into armor against intimidation and cold rain.

Inflatable cartoon demonstrators standing shoulder to shoulder, including the iconic inflatable unicorn and anglerfish. Among this spectacle is a reminder that peaceful protest often leads to federal overreach and violence. In one widely documented incident, officers targeted a protester wearing a frog costume, spraying pepper spray directly into his intake valve at close range. The act was gratuitous and cruel, a direct attack on peaceful expression. It illustrates why Portlanders have resisted federal intervention so fiercely...because there is no justification, not legal or moral, for deploying militarized force against citizens who choose costumes and music over violence. This incident did not turn out well for President Trump, as the Portland Frog, and this incident, have sent shockwaves around the world. The Portland Frog, when asked about the attack, replied: "I've definitely had spicier tamales."

Youtube Video

This photo captures the frightening imbalance that has come to define Portland's ICE standoffs. Here, federal agents in military-style gear aim pepper-ball rifles at unarmed, peaceful protesters, their posture one of combat, not policing.

Just days earlier, the same militarized stance was shown toward emergency medical personnel. In one incident, an ambulance crew arrived to treat a protester with what appeared to be a severe shoulder injury. After loading the patient aboard, they were prevented from leaving the ICE facility. Federal agents blocked the exits and insisted on accompanying the ambulance, demands the medics refused. When the vehicle moved slightly while parking, an officer leaned into the driver's window and screamed threats:

"DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN, I WILL SHOOT YOU, I WILL ARREST YOU RIGHT NOW."

As officers crowded the cab and shouted, the crew felt trapped and menaced. After about 20 minutes, the ambulance was allowed to depart under escort to the hospital. What should have been a medical evacuation turned into a standoff, a vivid example of how escalated tactics have transformed protest response into confrontation, and hint at the probability that these confrontations are being orchestrated from the White House.

In Portland, protest is an act of performance as much as resistance. This protester carries a hand-painted sign that reads "ICE is Not Nice," a phrase that began as satire but has come to feel painfully literal. Portlanders used humor, music, and costume to make their point, transforming anger into art—but the federal response has proven that the cruelty behind the slogan wasn't just a punchline.

On October 2, 2025, Frank Miranda, a U.S. citizen born in California, was detained outside his workplace in Portland by masked, plainclothes federal agents who accused him of being an "overstay." When he questioned them and began recording, one agent reportedly threatened to "get the dog." Miranda was handcuffed, transported to the ICE building in South Portland, and held for hours before being released without explanation. His attorney, Michael Fuller, has filed a claim seeking records and accountability, and Rep. Janelle Bynum has called for an investigation into the detention. The episode shows how easily federal power can strip a citizen of dignity and due process.

For a more complete description of the Frank Miranda incident, read my Trump-incited Violence page.

Wrapped in pink fleece and rainbows, this Portland protester stood outside the ICE building armed with nothing but a flute, a scarf, and courage.

The Portland Chicken, AKA 26-year old Jack Dickinson, became the unlikely spark of a global moment. When Trump threatened to send the National Guard and ICE into Portland, the city responded with satire and solidarity, and at the front of it all was a protester in a yellow chicken suit. The Portland Chicken's image spread across the world, symbolizing how absurdity can expose authoritarianism.

In an interview with Willamette Week, Jack Dickinson, who has a degree in Game Theory, explains how the approach he and others have taken has elevated the protest against the Trump Administration. He says, "What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we're actually not that afraid. It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as "war-torn," it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [Secretary] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it's, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit."

Hundreds march toward Portland's ICE building, carrying a massive banner that reads "ABOLISH ICE." Behind it, homemade signs demand justice: Revoke the ICE Permit, No Feds in PDX, Border Fees for ICE. The crowd moves with focus and unity. While Trump has spread chaos across the country, he finally met his match in Portland, a city too smart for his lies, too steadfast in its defense of the Constitution, and too rooted in justice and tolerance to be intimidated. Here, Portland showed America what resilience looks like.

This Portland protester beams beneath gray skies. In a moment meant to intimidate the city, Portlanders turned out in costume and color instead, showing that humor, solidarity, tolerance and creatitiviy are stronger than fear.

In classic Portland style, protesters turned the gray rain into theater. Outside the ICE building, three demonstrators stand their ground: one in a fuzzy blue onesie, another wearing a cartoon cone mask, and a third under an umbrella that read "It's Raining Fascists."

At the Portland ICE protests, music became both defiance and unity. A brass band, complete with a trombonist in a green squid hat, filled the air with sound instead of rage. But the tone turned darker when ICE agents stormed the scene and arrested a clarinetist who had been playing Ghostbusters. Video from multiple witnesses shows her standing on the sidewalk, instrument in hand, before agents tackled her to the ground.

She was held without bail at Clark County Jail in Vancouver, Washington, until October 15, reportedly on suspicion of assaulting a federal officer, a charge that appears increasingly implausible given the footage. She is now free pending a court date. To many Portlanders, her arrest has come to symbolize the absurdity and overreach of federal power in a city that meets militarization with music.

The videographer for Jordan Klepper and the Daily Show filmed the incident. She is one of dozens who filmed the clarinetist playing music peacefully.

Leilani Payne, age 19, on the right, shares contact info with a protestor directly in front of the ICE building. Leilani was pepper sprayed at close range in the face by a federal ICE officer while peacefully protesting and has become one of the symbols of Portland's fight against Trump and ICE.

There are many Youtube videos showing this moment.

A Portland protester carries the Straw Hat Pirates flag, the emblem of the rebel crew from the Japanese manga One Piece. Around the world, from Nepal to Indonesia, this flag has been adopted by young activists as a symbol of resistance against authoritarianism and corruption.

Outside Portland's ICE building, serious protest met whimsical resistance. A woman in sunglasses and a yellow flower hat holds a stark "Abolish ICE" sign while, behind her, costumed marchers in inflatable parrot and shark suits bring levity to the gray day.

In the rain and tear gas, Portland still found joy. This woman, dressed as a banana and waving a flag amid bubbles, became a symbol of the city's playful defiance during the ICE protests.