Inflatable frogs and ice scrapers: nine innovative ways Americans protested against Trump in 2025 | Protest (US)

Ffederal agents in military fatigues carrying assault rifles in major cities. Huge cuts to health care, science and America’s largest anti-hunger program. Immigrants snatched from cars and courthouse hallways. Rise of authoritarianism, corruption and undemocratic behavior. These are just some of the reasons why resistance to the Trump administration is growing with each passing day.

While traditional marches such as the mass No Kings protests are an essential part of any resistance movement, sociologist Doug McAdam has shown how tactical innovation – the introduction of creative or novel methods of protest – was a key part of the success of the civil rights movement in the United States. Historically, when organizers established new tactics, movement activity reached its peak.

From coordinated boycotts and block parties to noisy disruptions and an advertising campaign encouraging non-cooperation from Ice agents, 2025 saw a torrent of new, innovative and highly effective protest tactics employed against Donald Trump and his administration. These nine forms of nonviolent protest – taking place in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, Memphis, Washington DC and beyond – have inspired countless ordinary Americans to exercise their First Amendment rights.

1 Ice Scraper Adhesion

Home Depot parking lots, where day laborers often congregate to look for work, have become “ground zero” for ICE. In an effort to pressure the home improvement retailer to “remove ICE from its stores,” Los Angeles organizers used a symbolic tactic to protest ongoing immigration actions: About 100 community activists associated with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network gathered in Monrovia last month for a “buy-in” event in which volunteers purchased a small ice scraper for $0.17 at Home Depot before waiting in line to return it, which caused enough chaos that the store closed at short notice. The effort follows the death of Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, a day laborer who was struck and killed while fleeing an immigration raid at the Monrovia store in August.

2 Inflatable Frogs

The Portland Frog Brigade, a group of activists who wear inflatable frog costumes while protesting government excesses in front of the city’s ICE facilities, may seem ridiculous, but that’s the problem. Its participants say the costumes help counter rhetoric from Donald Trump and other Republicans that protesters are violent extremists and “domestic terrorists.” The costumes may also help defuse tensions with the federal armed forces (although one agent pepper-sprayed Seth “Toad” Todd through an air vent in his frog suit) and prevent the Trump administration from using the images for propaganda purposes. The gimmicky inflatables are an approach known as “tactical frivolity,” a form of protest intended to highlight the ridiculousness of overreaction by police or other militarized forces.

3 No sleep for ICE

In June, when ICE descended on Los Angeles and began carrying out violent raids, protesters targeted several Los Angeles-area hotels where ICE and border agents were spending the night. Community members first gathered outside the AC Hotel in Pasadena and managed to chase away the federal agents after hours of noise. In Montebello, a group playing Mexican songs joined a nighttime protest at the Home2 Suites by Hilton. At an Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in nearby Downey, people held signs reading “Dehumanize ICE” and used bullhorns to make noise. Documents suggest the “No Sleep for ICE” campaign was successful in disrupting Trump’s immigration crackdown in Los Angeles, although it is still ongoing.

4 Tesla dismantling

Elon Musk once touted the evils of the fossil fuel industry, but his increased involvement in right-wing politics and Doge cuts and layoffs have turned the richest person on the planet into the supervillain of a coalition of climate activists, fired federal employees and anti-Trump advocates. Since February, the grassroots #TeslaTakedown movement has brought together thousands of protesters outside various showrooms across the United States, former fans selling their Teslas, dozens of “Anti-Elon Tesla Club” and “I Bought This Before I Knew Elon Was Crazy” bumper stickers, and others selling their stocks in an effort to materially affect Musk and challenge his political influence. At the end of May, Musk officially ended his role as a “special government employee”, last month and Tesla’s sales in the United States hit a new low.

5 Unsubscribe from Disney+

After Disney pulled Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC late-night show “indefinitely” on September 17, following encouragement from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr following the host’s comments regarding the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, backlash was swift. Activists and influencers showed people how to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions via video instructions and screenshots, leading to an estimated 3 million Americans canceling Disney+; Hulu had about 4.1 million cancellations. “Disney adults” were activated to speak out and cancel upcoming trips, which influenced ABC’s decision to reinstate Kimmel on September 23.

6 Plastic whistles

Since the Trump administration launched a crackdown on evictions in the Chicago area in early September, the high-pitched sound of a plastic whistle has become a popular citywide warning that ICE or other federal agents are nearby. The piercing noise is also a simple and effective way to alert U.S. citizens to record arrests and share legal information with detainees. The Little Village Community Council, a community group in one of Chicago’s largest Latino enclaves, began handing out whistles over the summer. Since then, denunciation evenings have taken place and whistles have appeared in the Little Free Libraries. Other places, including New York, New Orleans, and North Carolina, followed Chicago’s lead.

7 Banging on pots and pans

In response to aggressive tactics by federal law enforcement in Washington, D.C., Free DC organizers called on residents to go out and bang pots and pans for five minutes each evening at 7 p.m. The community-led organization, which advocates to give local leaders more control over DC, was inspired by cacerolazos – banging pots, pans and utensils in protest – a symbol of popular anti-fascist resistance in Latin America. Free DC plans to continue the coordinated action as long as federal forces are present in the District.

8 Pop-up neighborhood parties

Last month, a Memphis community advocacy group launched a series of block parties to ensure citizens’ voices are heard in the 2026 elections and to oppose the deployment of the National Guard to their city. The inaugural “Joy Rising: Block by Block” launch event was hosted by Free the 901 at a local church. Organizers said Black and brown communities have historically been targeted and over-policed ​​and are responding with collective power, unity and love. Attendees were invited to participate in voter registration efforts, know your rights training, music, food, arts and games.

9 Advertising campaign asking ICE agents to ‘to move away‘

A new ad campaign is fighting ICE by trying to convince agents to quit their jobs. In this one-minute spot, an ICE agent returns home to his young daughter after a long day that includes real-life footage of masked federal agents smashing car windows and terrorizing immigrants. “Dad, how was your day?” she asks. As he hugs her, text appears on the screen: “What will you say when she asks you about your day?” » Women’s March Win’s evocative ads encourage agents to “walk away before shame follows you home” and have run in Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina, where ICE has been deployed, as well as West Palm Beach, home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.