Local Trump critics stage anti-ICE protest along Muncie’s McGalliard Road
MUNCIE, IN — Local critics of President Donald Trump staged a protest Sunday (Jan. 11) targeting ICE agents’ efforts to capture illegal immigrants.
Sarah Vitale, leader of the Muncie Resists group that organized Sunday’s protest in front of Walmart North along West McGalliard Road, said the Muncie event was one of several “ICE out for Good” protests across the country over the weekend.
On the afternoon of Sunday, January 11, local residents took part in an “ICE out for Good” protest rally in front of Muncie’s Walmart North store along West McGalliard Road.
The protests follow the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good during a confrontation with ICE agents in the Minnesota city.
Members of the Trump administration have argued that the shooting of an ICE agent was justified and occurred after Good — who allegedly used his SUV to try to thwart ICE efforts in a Minneapolis neighborhood — tried to hit the agent with his vehicle.
The FBI is investigating the events leading up to the fatal shooting.
More: Latest ‘No Kings’ rally draws anti-Trump protesters to downtown Muncie bridge
“The message (of the weekend protests) is that we all need to be safe in our communities, and ICE is not protecting people,” Vitale said. “On the contrary, it is a danger.”
Vitale said events like Good’s shooting “cannot be acceptable.”
On the afternoon of Sunday, January 11, local residents took part in an “ICE out for Good” protest rally in front of Muncie’s Walmart North store along West McGalliard Road.
“This is not the America we believe in. The idea that an American citizen protesting, which we all do here, could be harmed by American law enforcement…” Vitale said she was troubled that Trump and members of his administration had called the shooting “completely justified before there was an investigation.”
Vitale said Muncie Resists members also want immigrants living in Muncie “to know that they are safe, that they are welcome, that we love them and that they are a valued part of our community.”
Roscoe Rogers, a Muncie resident, said he was participating in Sunday’s protest in support of the U.S. Constitution.
“If ICE followed the constitution, that would be wonderful,” said Rogers, a former New Castle resident.
On the afternoon of Sunday, January 11, local residents took part in an “ICE out for Good” protest rally in front of Muncie’s Walmart North store along West McGalliard Road.
A woman who declined to give her name said she was at Sunday’s rally “because of everything that’s happened over the past year.”
“Donald Trump is a travesty in this country,” she said. “Democracy is coming to an end. What’s not to like about it?”
Although most of Muncie’s previous anti-Trump protest rallies have taken place on the Fallen Heroes Bridge downtown, the bridge is closed due to a sewer project. So Sunday’s rally took place on a sidewalk along West Clara Lane, with a fence separating protesters from traffic on four-lane McGalliard Road.
Repeated chants at the event included: “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA.”
Douglas Walker is a journalist at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Trump critics stage anti-ICE protest along McGalliard Road in Muncie.
