Defying Donald Trump, Portland frog leaps into action in inflatable protests outside ICE building
But the scenes on the field do not seem violent at all. Actually… they’re kind of funny?
In addition to twerking in their suits, performers reportedly staged ukulele orchestras and dance battles.
Welcome to the strategic, peaceful demonstration in America in 2025.
A protester dressed in a chicken costume and an American flag with a heart instead of a star watch as law enforcement officers try to disperse protesters near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland.Credit: access point
Seth Todd, one of the frogged demonstrators, explained his game plan to the French newspaper Le Monde.
“This is a strategy to cut through the rhetoric of the Trump administration that says we are extremely violent,” the 25-year-old actor said. “No, we protest, but with humour.”
Todd was the “frog” in a viral video earlier this week that showed an ICE agent spraying pepper spray into a vent in his suit.
That didn’t diminish his determination or his sense of humor: “I’ve definitely had spicier tamales,” he told the Portland newspaper. Oregonian.
The newspaper reported that the number of “frogs” increased exponentially following this incident, and has since claimed that Todd was the one who started the frog movement.
“Here ICE and [The Department of Homeland Security] “We treat our immigrants,” Todd told the paper.
“Whether they’re here legally or not, they should be treated like humans because that’s who they are.”
Small protests outside Portland’s immigration processing facility have occurred every night since January, when Trump’s second term began.
This imprint reported in June that protests against ICE raids were small compared to Black Lives Matter rallies in 2020. In late September, DHS reported that “two million illegal aliens have been deported or deported since January 20.”
“We shouldn’t treat other people unfairly just because we have the power to do so,” Todd said. “If you have this power, you should be even more careful.”
Todd has yet to explain what made him choose the frog costume over other options.
Left-wing Australian activist Van Badham told ABC Statewide Drive Victoria that standing up to Trump’s pressure to send troops to the region was a “great tactic”.
“If there is violence or the perception of violence [then] “Trump has the political justification he needs to declare martial law and mobilize hostile force against American citizens,” he said.
Floyd Sawyer, a farmer who drove for hours to see the protests, said: Oregonian: “To me, this is a peaceful protest.”
“Who would have thought that the battle in Portland was just a twerking contest?!” one user wrote loudly on Instagram. he wondered.
Ironically, Trump used a frog during his first presidential run in 2016. Pepe the Froga meme that has finally been added to the Anti-Defamation League’s list of hate symbols.
The Trump administration also deployed or attempted to deploy National Guard troops to Memphis, Chicago and Washington, setting off a chain reaction of court battles and wars of words with Chicago’s mayor and governor.
With Reuters, AP and KATU
