PORTLAND, Ore. — A small group of federal agents in camouflage and face masks watched from atop the immigration processing center Thursday night as a unicorn, peacock, dinosaur and raccoon danced to Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time.”
Across the street, the self-proclaimed frog brigade — three adults in inflatable amphibian costumes — posed for photos and bounced around in unison. A small group of counterprotesters nearby shouted, “We love you, ICE!”
Similar scenes outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building south of downtown Portland have been playing out for weeks as people protest President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts and the deployment of more than 200 National Guard troops to Oregon’s largest city to protect federal property.
The absurdity of adults dancing in inflatable costumes during anti-ICE demonstrations is meant to display community joy, protesters say, and helps to dispel the Trump administration’s narrative that Portland is a crime-ridden “war zone,” a characterization local and state leaders say is false.
Plus, the costumes provide protection from gas and other toxins deployed by federal agents, protesters say.
“If you’re going to make it silly and say that we’re evil, we’re going to make it silly by showing how evil you are,” said Brooks Brown, of Vancouver, Washington, who passed out 30 inflatable costumes Thursday night to anyone who wanted to get it on “Operation Inflation.”
Not without its civic challenges, the greater Portland area has some 7,000 homeless residents, and simple assaults have increased 8% from the time last year, but homicides have dropped 50% and aggravated assaults 4% in the same period, according to police and city data, and overall crime has held steady.
Protester Jack Dickinson, known locally as the Chicken Man, first donned his chicken costume in June during Trump’s military parade in Washington. He said he wanted to counter the show of force with farce.
As immigration raids accelerated across the country and the administration appeared to fixate on Portland’s protests, the chicken costume took on new meaning, he said.
“This is an unacceptable betrayal of the American democracy,” Dickinson said, referring to federalized forces deployed in Democratic-led cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. “ICE is kind of the perfect example of the cruelty with which they are implementing their agenda, and it’s just not something we can sit by and let happen.”
The costume strategy appears to be working. Demonstrators have attracted attention from international media outlets in France, Australia and England.
California Gov. Gavin Newson, a Democrat and a frequent target of Trump’s verbal and online jabs, seized on the movement to mock the administration on social media.
“Portland is war ravaged! SEND IN THE CALIFORNIA (???) NATIONAL GUARD!” he posted this week on X with a video of a unicorn, raccoon and dinosaur dancing outside the immigration building.
Despite the costumed antics, the Trump administration stuck to its depiction of the protesters on Thursday during a federal appeals court hearing challenging a judge’s order barring the Guard from being sent to Portland. The panel has not made a decision yet.
Department of Justice attorney Eric McArthur called protesters “violent people” who hurled rocks at federal agents, lit fires on the street and blocked cars.
“The president is entitled to say enough is enough and bring in the National Guard to reinforce the regular forces,” he added.
Federal officials pointed to the three-week closing of the ICE building from mid-June to early July because of damage to windows, security cameras and other parts of the building, allegedly caused by protesters.
Protesters have blamed the ongoing federal presence for civil unrest, saying the toxins being used against them are causing health concerns in the residential neighborhood.
Speaking before a panel of federal judges Thursday, Senior Assistant Oregon Attorney General Stacy Chaffin said the administration’s portrayal of Portland was “untethered from reality.”
As lingering toxins from tear gas lobbed by federal officers caused people to clear their throats and wipe their stinging eyes Thursday night outside the ICE building, protesters said they were skeptical the Trump administration would follow a court order that was not in its favor.
Brown and other demonstrators pulled a cart filled with 30 inflatable costumes and began passing them out to protesters, turning the gathering into a kind of night circus as a raccoon, polar bear and axolotl bounded toward the ICE building.
Brown said he created an Operation Inflation website in one night this week after seeing federal police confront protester Seth Todd, otherwise known as “Toad” because of the costume he wears. Brown said he immediately began selling inflatable costumes from the site, adding that the operation is not funded or backed by any outside organization.
Brown said he grew up learning about the deadly Kent State shooting in 1970, when four unarmed students were killed and another nine wounded by members of the Ohio National Guard. Operation Inflation is his attempt to de-escalate tensions between protesters and federal officers.
“People should be able to protest. They should have their voices heard,” he said between coughs from the tainted air.
Dressed as Tigger from “Winnie the Pooh,” Portland resident Joy Wilson marveled at the masked agents staring down at her. She said she usually reads a book during demonstrations to highlight the peace and calm of Portland’s resistance movement, and Thursday night marked her first time attending a protest in costume.
But after witnessing federal agents pepper spray Todd in the respiratory hole of his inflatable suit on Oct. 4 in an act that was caught on video and posted to social media, Wilson said she decided to show solidarity because the frog has become a symbol of nonviolent protest.
“People sometimes wonder, ‘What can I do’” to protest, Wilson said. “This makes it so accessible.”
Wilson’s husband, Kevin, who was wearing regular clothes, stood nearby, carefully picking out more costumes to order online for demonstrators. Their teenage daughter and her friends passed out pizza slices to the demonstrators.
“Should I go with the unicorn?” he mused before selecting a range of animals, including a lobster, a shark and a bear.
“I already ordered a squirrel,” Wilson confessed with a grin.
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