OLYMPIA — A protest at the Capitol Saturday called for the removal of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “everywhere.” With more than 1,500 attending, the rally joined similar nationwide protests after the recent ICE-involved killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Evergreen Resistance organized the protest. The group is Olympia’s branch of the nationwide organization 50-50-1 (50 states, 50 protests, one movement).
“We’re a group that does not want our nation to become more authoritarian,” Amy Rehwaldt, Evergreen Resistance organizer, said. “We’re nonpartisan. We’re not endorsing certain political parties or candidates. We want everybody to feel like they can come and work on their issues as long as they align with that basic thing of we believe in our Constitution, and our Constitution protects everybody’s basic rights.”
The protest followed Friday’s general strike, also organized by 50-50-1, where millions across the United States walked out of work and school and avoided shopping to “shut down” the economy and push the federal government to stop ICE’s presence. General strikes historically require 3.5% participation (12 million people in the U.S.) to effectively halt the economy.
While the federal administration has increased the number of people working for ICE to meet its goal of deporting those who are in the U.S. illegally, protesters say ICE is violating constitutional rights.
Border czar Tom Homan told CBS that he is working on a “drawdown” of ICE in Minnesota but “not surrendering the president's mission in immigration enforcement.” He did not comment on the deaths of Good or Pretti.
Republican and Democratic legislators have called for an investigation into Pretti’s death.
At the Olympia rally, Rehwaldt said, “We want to invite people into protecting our constitutional rights, and invite people into resisting the cruelty that’s happening.”
She called the movement one of “love and respect” where people know their neighbors and care about their rights.
At the center of the hundreds of signs and estimated 1,500 plus people lining Capitol Way South, a group played the drums. Some have been a part of “Bada Boom” for over 25 years, David Moseley, lead drummer, said.
“We’re just playing what we know how to do, support other people showing up,” he said.
Another group of musicians joined later, playing jazz. Across the Capitol lawn, circles of people sang “We Shall Overcome,” dogs ran for sticks, kids chanted “ICE out now,” and cars honked.
A protester in attendance, Anna Schlecht, said the “fine American tradition” of protesting goes back to the Boston Tea Party.
“We care passionately about our U.S. government following the rule of law,” she said. “Retired people like me, young folks with kids, people who are standing up for liberty and freedom in the United States.”
The protest did not have specific demands for the state legislature. More events organized by Evergreen Resistance are scheduled in Olympia for Feb. 7 and March 28.
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