During the riots of 2020, many of the agitators who burned down cities and assaulted cops were shadowy Antifa types and anti-social wackos, mostly male and in their 20s or early 30s.
But as anti-ICE protests ramp up across the country, we’re seeing a new archetype of trained instigators: regular moms and women of all ages, who are forming reckless resistance groups to disrupt and antagonize federal law enforcement.
The escalation of tactics resulted in the tragic shooting death of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent last week. The mother of three was reportedly an anti-ICE “warrior” trained to physically intervene in arrests.
She had been using her SUV to block ICE as her wife filmed the altercation, in the minutes before her death.
Mother of three Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent as she intervened in an ICE operation in Minneapolis.Facebook/ODU English Department
A decade ago, bored females were radicalized by Multi-Level Marketing scams, selling unsightly leggings from Lularoe or Rodan + Fields moisturizer.
Now many are finding their purpose and identity through aggressive activism: becoming anti-ICE social media influencers, undergoing training as “legal observers,” and creating physical chaos to obstruct federal law enforcement.
It’s as naive as it is dangerous.
Since Good’s death last week, there are videos of women punching ICE vehicles in Minneapolis, aggressively confronting agents. Some are acting out for the cameras, obviously hoping for social media cred or perhaps communion with other social justice types in their neighborhoods.
One mother, who brought her baby to a protest in Minneapolis, told a reporter she wanted her to “feel the energy.”
In Charlotte, North Carolina, people at an anti-ICE training role-play filming arrests.Protestia / X
Across the country, training on how to disrupt ICE operations is being staged in houses of worship and community centers. Last month, NY1 reported that over 1,300 attendees showed up to a Brooklyn church to become newly minted agitators.
The piece described them as “armed with whistles, know your rights cards and their training, these New Yorkers are now better prepared to respond to any ICE action.”
In a Charlotte, North Carolina, church, a video of one such session showed a group of mostly women role-playing ICE agents arresting someone as they recorded the mock altercation.
Renee Nicole Good was reportedly a part of a radical Minnesota Ice Watch group, which trained activists to physically intervene in ICE operations.Matt Whitlock / x
It was absurd.
“I’m here tonight to try to learn what I can do. I’ve never participated in this kind of direct action before,” said Charlotte resident Donna Lanclos.
Whether these women have been marching since the pink pussy hat days circa 2017 or are newbies like Lanclos, they have essentially been deputized — and duped. They’re manipulated by community organizers, deep-pocketed political organizations and politicians, appealing to their mama bear instinct to protect.
Politicians like US Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have called on residents to stay involved.
Cea Weaver, who was tapped by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to head his Office to Protect Tenants, was on a panel in October urging PTAs, public schools and tenant associations to become “sites of resistance” against ICE and the National Guard.
A tweet from Julia Salazar explicitly thanking citizens for putting their safety on the line to protest ICE.NYS Senator Julia Salazar / X
In late November, as protesters flooded Canal Street, throwing garbage cans at ICE agents, New York state Sen. Julia Salazar (D-Brooklyn) explicitly lauded the uncivil disobedience, noting its hazards.
“Grateful to all of the New Yorkers who quickly mobilized, put their safety on the line, and protected their immigrant neighbors against ICE’s expected raids,” she wrote on X.
No responsible leader should be calling for regular citizens to “put their safety on the line” for their chosen cause. People like Salazar are only feeding delusion.
But their constituents, convinced that fascism has descended, are heeding the call.
Or maybe ones who can make a quick buck.
Angie Vargas, a self-professed “soccer mom” in California who makes videos of her trailing ICE vehicles in her car, has more than 226,000 TikTok followers and a fawning profile in The Nation. She set up a GoFundMe that’s raised over $123K.
California influencer Angie Vargas films herself chasing ICE vehicles and has made more than $123,000 on a GoFundMe to support her “activism.”Angie Vargas/ TikTok
“All donations will be used by me personally and responsibly to sustain this ongoing advocacy,” she wrote.
In another video making the rounds, a woman argues with law enforcement on an active police scene as they tell her to leave for her safety. She insists on videoing the interaction. The kicker? She had her 6-year-old son in the car.
There is a foolish sense that being a woman, or specifically a white woman, will shield them from consequences. In November, a group of 14 suburban moms were arrested after sitting in the road outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, reportedly telling a local outlet they were using their “privilege as white women.”
But if that were the case, Good wouldn’t be dead. These women are in over their heads, and unless common sense starts to prevail, it will only result in more deaths.