SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Protesters Gather for Shutdown Demonstration
On Friday, a large group of protesters, many of whom were high school students who had walked out of class, gathered in Travis Park, San Antonio. They voiced their dissent against ICE, Border Patrol, President Trump, Israel, and even the Democratic mayor of the city, marching through the streets close to the Alamo.
The turnout was impressive, with a mix of individuals sporting Palestinian-style keffiyeh scarves, colorful hair, costumes, body piercings, and provocative signs. They listened to speeches that criticized various figures, including billionaires and local mayors.
The protest grew as hundreds of students joined to hear speakers denounce ICE for family separations, comparing the arrest of undocumented immigrants to kidnapping. They accused the Trump administration of detaining individuals in inhumane conditions.
While most speakers focused on immigration enforcement, one stood out by directing attention toward the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and suggesting that the U.S. military-industrial complex was complicit in violence in Gaza.
One speaker took aim at Democratic San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, asserting that instead of training, ICE should be abolished altogether. This sentiment was met with enthusiastic support from the audience. The speakers captured the crowd’s attention with stories about individuals like Rene Good and Alex Preti, labeling their deaths as murders before leading the group in a march through downtown.
Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott responded to the student protests occurring in Austin, stating that he has instructed the Board of Education to look into the matter. He emphasized that public schools should focus on state-required subjects, not facilitate student protests.
Interestingly, one protester took the irony a step further by covering his face and holding a sign that read “Unmask ICE.” Another proudly displayed a sign that encouraged ending ICE violence, which paradoxically called for violence against the U.S. president.
Some demonstrators got creative with their expressions of anger, including one in vampire makeup and another adorned in mariachi attire, waving a Mexican flag. However, the protest lacked the number of inflatable costumes that had been common in previous events, with only one individual donning an inflatable frog outfit this time.
Members of the Socialism and Liberation Party praised the students who had left their schools to attend and recognized various organizations from the Democratic Socialists of America to the Palestinian Youth Movement for their roles in the event.
Throughout the protest, San Antonio park police were on hand to manage traffic and monitor the crowd, with the event remaining peaceful according to observations from Breitbart Texas.
