Artist Tim Clewell of Arcata said he created his original "Crush Ice" sign Saturday night after hearing about Sunday's planned Emergency Protest at the county courthouse in Eureka. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. Its stated mission is to conduct criminal investigations, enforce immigration laws, preserve national security, and protect public safety. ICE was created as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 following the September 11 attacks. Credit: Photo by Mark Larson
More than 100 students and community members showed up near the Cal Poly Humboldt campus at the David Josiah Lawson mural at the D Street Community Center for a student-led walkout protest on Jan. 23 in solidarity with Free America walkouts across the country. Participants brought signs or picked one up from a donated stack, shared handouts with the words to chants and passed out masks. 50501 organizer AJ and Rick Toledo of CPH’s Students for a Democratic Society were among organizers. The group marched to the Arcata Plaza, where they gathered to hear several speakers, before returning to the starting point.
The Emergency Protest in front of the county courthouse in Eureka on Sunday had enthusastic but far fewer musicians and singers providing the soundtrack for the event compared to prior protests at the same location. Credit: Photo by Mark Larson
Among those speaking to the crowd, Brenda Perez, executive director of Centro del Pueblo, warned that it’s “when, and not if, ICE comes to Humboldt County,” and led the walkout protestors in chanting the Centro del Pueblo hotline number (707) 200-8091 to call in case of an ICE presence. Perez encouraged everyone to report suspected sightings to the hotline number first and not to post on social media until it’s confirmed by the call and the Humboldt Rapid Response Network to avoid raising fears and spreading rumors.
Artist Yasmine Serraf of Cutten said she was motivated Saturday night to paint her protest sign after hearing about plans for Sunday’s Emergency Protest in front of the county courthouse in Eureka. Many protest signs at Sunday’s Emergency Protest at the county courthouse in Eureka made reference to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its recent actions in Minnesota. ICE is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. Its stated mission is to conduct criminal investigations, enforce immigration laws, preserve national security, and protect public safety. ICE was created as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 following the September 11 attacks. Credit: Photo by Mark Larson
Two days later, an estimated 1,500 protestors rallied at the Humboldt County Courthouse in Eureka in response to the fatal shooting of Veterans Affairs intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis a day earlier. Many of the protest signs referred to the killing of Pretti and Renee Good, a mother of three, who was shot to death by an ICE agent on Jan. 7. Both Pretti and Good were 37. Others expressed opposition to a range of the Trump administration’s policies and actions, from ICE deployment and anti-immigrant policies to the Epstein files and beyond. See more photos at northcoastjournal.com.
Mark Larson (he/him) is a retired Cal Poly Humboldt journalism professor and active freelance photographer who likes to walk.
About 100 Cal Poly Humboldt students and several supporting older community members began Friday’s walkout protest march from near the campus at the David Josiah Lawson mural (avoiding the need to comply with CPH Time, Place & Manner restrictions that way) at 14th Street and L.K. Wood Blvd. They marched to the Arcata plaza with their signs and chanting protest lyrics in opposition to the Trump administration policies and actions around the world and listened to several speakers before marching back to the protest starting point near campus. Credit: Photo by Mark Larson50501 event organizer AJ joined Rick Toledo, member of the Students for a Democratic Society, and other speakers on the plaza protesting Trump administration policies and actions around the world, including the recent killing of Renee Good in Minnesota by ICE personnel. Credit: Photo by Mark LarsonAlicia of Blue Lake said she was upset by the current state of affairs and wanted to remind others at the Emergency Protest of this verse in the Bible, Exodus 22:21, that commands God’s people to refuse exploitation or oppression of others and to treat foreigners with kindness and respect. Credit: Photo by Mark Larson
