What's at stake?
About 200 people from across the state protested in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in downtown Fresno on Thursday night following the death of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old woman who was fatally shot in the head by an ICE agent earlier this week in Minneapolis.
Fresno was among a handful of cities across the country on Thursday that protested against President Donald Trump’s administration, and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement following the agency’s fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis earlier this week.
Fresno’s protest was organized by a coalition of leftist organizations, among them the United States Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Central Valley chapter, who, undeterred by the sub-50-degree weather, amassed about 200 protesters from across the state for a candle light vigil in front of the ICE offices downtown.
“We will not take these murderous raids anymore. ICE is not welcome here, immigrants are,” said 30-year-old Princess Rios, community organizer for the socialist party, who was among the many speakers at Thursday night’s protest.
The vigil was for 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, who died after being shot in the head by ICE agents in Minneapolis on Wednesday in an incident that has brought renewed scrutiny to the tactics used by the agency on behalf of the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation efforts, which have been ongoing since the president took office less than a year ago — particularly in Democrat-run cities.
Rios told Fresnoland that residents from across the state, including people from Ventura County and the Bay Area were present Thursday night. Gloria La Riva, a 71-year-old activist and member of the United States’ Peace And Freedom political party, said she came to speak at Fresno’s protest following her participation at a similar demonstration Wednesday night in San Francisco.
“We’re not going to change things by us running in the election…we’re not naive enough to think that,” said La Riva, who has been a candidate for U.S. president in multiple elections. “But we know that people want to know about socialism. People want to know about liberation. We need liberation. And you don’t have to be socialists…you’re all here!”
The vigil-turned-rally saw a wide variety of people that effectively shut down a small stretch of L street to oncoming traffic between Inyo Street and Cesar Chavez Boulevard. Some observers held real and fake candles to honor Good, others wore anti-facism iconography, and even more brought signage condemning the Trump administration.
The crowd broke into a march that saw the protestors stop traffic as they winded through the city’s downtown district, eventually coiling around Fresno’s Courthouse Park. The Fresno Police Department’s traffic division stopped cars on Thursday night to allow the protestors relatively safe passage across downtown.
During the impromptu march, a photojournalist for CBS’s local affiliate YourCentralValley was struck by a car. The Fresno Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for further information on the accident. YourCentralValley said the photojournalist suffered minor injuries.
Thursday’s nearly two-hour protest ended in front of the Fresno County Superior Court on Mariposa Street. Brothers Alfred and Noah Aldrete told the remaining crowd that simply showing up for the protest that night was important.
“It lets the rest of the community know here in Fresno that people care,” Alfred said.
Rios told Fresnoland that Thursday’s demonstrations are “not the end, it’s the beginning,” adding that the protest was a success.
“It’s a win, one-hundred percent,” Rios said. “What we’re able to do, not just with the timeframe, but to be able to connect people like this. It’s so, so important. I feel like tonight was a win.”
Rios said the group’s ultimate goal is to have local elected officials no longer cooperate with ICE, and to have Fresno’s leaders “stand up” and “protect” residents by getting the agency “out of Fresno.”
Local law enforcement is barred from cooperating with ICE due to California’s sanctuary state laws. However, local law enforcement has flirted with opening up that channel of communication.
Protests similar to Fresno’s Thursday night have sprouted across the country following Good’s death in Minneapolis. The protests have largely criticized ICE’s aggressive and violent behavior that has harmed both immigrants and citizens.
Two other people were shot and wounded by ICE agents in Portland, Oregon, just hours after the shooting in Minneapolis. Thirty-two people died in ICE custody last year.
Good’s death may have been the catalyst for many of these demonstrations, but nearly all protests have taken the opportunity to more widely denounce Trump and his actions overall, especially following his administration’s decision to label the Minneapolis resident as a domestic terrorist.
Thursday’s peaceful protest in Fresno, saw the burning of an American flag on the intersection of Inyo street and L street.
The speakers at Fresno’s protest even levied criticism toward Trump’s recent military operation against Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan leader who was extracted by the American armed forces last week in a military operation that has had its legality seriously questioned by many experts, domestic and international.
The president was recently asked during a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times what checks on his power currently exist.
“Yeah, there’s one thing, my own morality,” Trump said. “My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
