Colorado Springs protesters rally in solidarity with national ICE demonstration
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Protests over immigration enforcement continue to spread across the country, and now, demonstrators in Colorado Springs are making their voices heard.
This weekend in Los Angeles, protests turned violent, with some demonstrators burning driverless taxis and throwing fireworks and other objects at police and sheriff’s deputies. In response, President Donald Trump has deployed an additional 2,000 National Guard members to California, along with 700 U.S. Marines.
While southern Colorado has not seen the same level of unrest, smaller demonstrations have taken place in both Colorado Springs and Denver. Many protesters say they’re unhappy with the White House’s current immigration policies.
On Monday evening, around 50 people gathered outside the Colorado Springs city administration building for a peaceful rally. Protesters called for an end to what they described as police brutality toward immigrant communities.
Chants of “Fight back, fight back” rang through downtown streets as demonstrators held signs, waved flags, and shared their personal reasons for protesting.
"We’re protesting ICE and police brutality against immigrants and deportation without due process," said Brooke Green, one of the protesters. "Really just the mistreatment of people, whether they’re immigrants and whether the immigrant status is legal or not legal."
Some, like military veteran Bear Wilson, said they felt compelled to stand up based on their service and belief in the Constitution.
"I did not serve all those years in the military for some jerk to come along and screw over the Constitution and take advantage of people," Wilson said. "This is not what it was meant to be."
Not everyone in attendance agreed with the protesters’ stance. Colorado Springs resident Jon Smith told KRDO13 he supports ICE actions that follow legal guidelines.
"It’s good when they’re finding people who aren’t supposed to be here, who didn’t necessarily go through the right channels," Smith said.
Despite differing views, protesters and counter-protesters alike appeared to agree on one thing – that violence has no place in the movement. As tensions remain high across the country, the Colorado Springs rally remained peaceful from start to finish.
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