At least 1,000 protest ICE outside Pacers-Thunder finals game in Indianapolis
At least 1,000 ICE protesters met basketball fans headed to Wednesday evening's NBA final game three between the Pacers and Thunder at Indianapolis' Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
"The most dangerous immigrants arrived in 1492," said one sign held by a protester. Other signs said "ICE out of Indy now" and "Power to the workers not the billionaires."
Under President Donald Trump, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have stepped up raids seizing and removing people in the United States illegally. Wednesday's Indianapolis protest is just the latest to spring up since protests began in Los Angeles.
About 20 Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers were monitoring the protest, which was organized by the Indy Liberation Center. The members of IMPD's emergency response group, specially trained in crowd control, had pepper ball guns.
Protesters began by lining up in front of businesses across Pennsylvania Avenue from Gainbridge. They chanted phrases including, 'IMPD, KKK, IOF, it's all the same!'
Some fans passing protesters responded with chants of "USA."
About 8 p.m. — a half hour before tipoff — the growing group protesting ICE filled Pennsylvania Avenue, marching north.
This story will update.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: At least 1,000 protest ICE at Pacers-Thunder NBA final in Indianapolis
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'An outright lie': Fiery Bass delivers impassioned speech demanding ICE leave city
Standing alongside a hundred civic leaders as police sirens blared in the background, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass delivered her most impassioned critique of the federal response to anti-ICE protests to date Thursday. The mayor — flanked by faith leaders, business leaders, immigrant rights advocates and others — defended the city's ability to handle the sometimes chaotic protests that have swept across downtown L.A. for the last week, while accusing the Trump administration of deliberately misrepresenting the city as overwhelmed by violence. "To characterize what is going on in our city as a city of mayhem is just an outright lie," Bass said, responding to comments by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier in the day. "I'm not going to call it an untruth. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I'm going to call it for what it is, which is a lie." "I served with the Secretary for probably about 10 years in Congress. And Madame Secretary, I do not recognize you. I do not know the Kristi Noem that I served with," she said. Noem told the media earlier Thursday that the Trump administration planned to 'liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that the governor and the mayor have placed on this country.' Bass also denounced the brief detention of Sen. Alex Padilla, who showed up at Noem's press conference and was forcibly removed after he tried to ask questions. "They just shoved and cuffed a sitting U.S. senator. How could you say you did not know who he was?" Bass asked of Noem. The hastily-called press conference at City Hall was the clearest representation yet of the two-pronged battle the mayor is currently facing — on the one hand trying to end the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that have given rise to the protests across the city, while on the other attempting to quell the vandalism, theft and violence that have roiled the Civic Center and surrounding parts of downtown. At the press conference, Bass once again called for the president to remove the National Guard and the U.S. Marines from the city and to stop the ICE raids. She also extended the 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. downtown Los Angeles curfew that she first announced Tuesday as the LAPD and other law enforcement agencies worked to clear out protesters. The event came nearly a week after ICE agents began fanning across the region, showing up at workplaces, schools and courthouses, and triggering an array of protests across Southern California. Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, said the Trump administration had brought cruelty, chaos and violations of human, civil and constitutional rights to L.A. "What has been brought to our city has been racial profiling in a way that I have never experienced it in my career," she said. "The pain that we are witnessing, when we talk to the family members, is unbearable, of children being left behind," said Salas, as she stood next to Bass. "And I want this president to know that this city is tough, it is organized, it is disciplined and will not tolerate what is happening at this moment." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CNN
14 minutes ago
- CNN
Analysis: Trump didn't want Israel to strike Iran. They did it anyway
In the hours before Israeli warplanes carried out an attack on Iran early Friday, raising fresh fears of all-out war in the region, President Donald Trump made clear it was an outcome he hoped to avoid. 'I don't want them going in because, I mean, that would blow it,' he said, referring to his diplomatic efforts to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions. The fact Israel went in anyway – without any US involvement, and against the president's publicly stated wishes – now thrusts Trump into one of the biggest tests of his young presidency. By his own telling, the strikes risk scuttling his attempts at diplomacy with Tehran, even as his top envoy was preparing to depart for Oman for another round of talks this weekend. It casts a pall over his already tense relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he has sharply disagreed for months and whom he urged as recently as this week to hold off on a strike. And it presents him another global conflict without any easy resolution, this one with tens of thousands of US troops potentially caught in the regional crossfire. Trump will now find himself caught between competing crosscurrents from within his own party. Many Republicans were quick to offer their support to Israel on Thursday, including Sen. Lindsey Graham – a longtime Iran hawk – who wrote on X: 'Game on.' Yet Trump has never quite adopted that strain of his party's foreign policy, particularly in his second term. His administration is stacked with officials, starting with his vice president, who take a deeply skeptical view of US military involvement abroad without express American interests on the line. Trump offered no signals in the immediate aftermath of the attacks that he was prepared to use American military assets to help defend Israel from expected Iranian reprisal, as his predecessor Joe Biden did when Israel and Iran exchanged fire last year. Without American assistance, Israel's air defenses could be unable to withstand a major Iranian onslaught. The focus of public messaging from the US administration was instead on protecting American personnel in the Middle East, and warning Iran not to drag the US into the fray. Still, for all the complicated dynamics for Trump to now sort through, the attack hardly came as a surprise to the president and his team. Even as he was speaking from the East Room on Thursday, the president and his aides were aware the strikes were likely coming soon, sources said, despite Trump's repeated attempts at urging Netanyahu to hold off. As the strikes were getting underway, Trump was appearing on the South Lawn at a congressional picnic. He returned to the West Wing afterward to huddle with top officials, according to a White House official and other sources. Afterward, a terse statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to put distance between the US and any role in the attack. 'Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,' read the statement, which was distributed by the White House. 'Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners,' Rubio continue. 'Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.' Devoid of even boilerplate language offering support for Israel and its defense, the statement made clear: this would be Israel's conflict, not Trump's.
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Northwest lawmakers won't attend military parade in D.C. on Army's 250th anniversary, Trump's birthday
Jun. 12—WASHINGTON — Thousands of Americans are expected to descend on the nation's capital on Saturday to see the city's biggest military parade in decades, but members of Congress from the Northwest won't be among the crowds. The parade marks the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, which estimates the total cost of the event will be between $25 million and $45 million. It also coincides with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, and with Flag Day. Republicans from Washington, Idaho and Oregon said they don't plan to attend the spectacle but appreciated the opportunity to celebrate the Army. More than 6,000 soldiers will participate in the event, along with tanks, armed vehicles, rocket launchers, marching bands, horses, mules and one dog, according to the Army. "It's a great way to honor America's military history; happy birthday to the U.S. Army," said Rep. Michael Baumgartner. The Spokane Republican dismissed the idea that Trump is using the occasion to celebrate himself. Democrats from the Northwest said they celebrate the Army but questioned why the government would spend millions of taxpayer dollars on what they see at least partially as an elaborate birthday bash for the president, at a time when Trump and his GOP allies in Congress are proposing cuts to Medicaid and food assistance for low-income Americans. "It is a huge waste of taxpayer dollars," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in an interview. "I appreciate the 250th anniversary, but it should be about the soldiers. It should be about the men and women who serve, not about satisfying President Trump's ego." Rep. Adam Smith of Bellevue, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, called the parade "wildly inappropriate" and said that while he has no problem celebrating the U.S. military, including in parades, the price tag of Saturday's event is unprecedented. "It's clear Trump is doing this as a celebration of his power, not as a celebration of the military," Smith said in a brief interview at the Capitol. "It's obviously going to be very costly and very disruptive, and also, I think, sends the wrong message. As someone said a long time ago, we are not a tanks-in-the-street type of republic, and we should not become one." The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps were also founded in 1775, but in October and November of that year. Smith said neither of those military branches is likely to get the same celebration as the Army, "because their birthday doesn't fall on Donald Trump's birthday." Most members of Congress choose to head home on weekends and during recess periods, but several Republicans have said they plan to stay in D.C. to attend the parade. "While I will not be in attendance at the parade, I sincerely appreciate this meaningful tribute honoring our nation's heroes," Rep. Russ Fulcher, a Republican who represents North Idaho, said in a statement. "This celebration marks a historic milestone in the Army's proud legacy of courage and unity. It is with deep respect and gratitude that we recognize the U.S. Army's 250 years of dedication, service, and sacrifice on behalf of all Americans." Fellow GOP Reps. Dan Newhouse of Sunnyside, Mike Simpson of Idaho Falls and Cliff Bentz of Eastern Oregon will all miss the parade, their spokespeople said. Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch also said they will be out of town. "Happy 250th Birthday to the U.S. Army!" Crapo said in a statement. "For two and a half centuries, the brave men and women of the U.S. Army have stood as a bulwark of freedom, defending our nation and its values at home and abroad. We are eternally grateful for their unwavering courage, sacrifice, and dedication. Thank you for your service." Asked what he thought about the estimated cost of the event, Risch replied, "Don't know anything about it." Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said she routinely goes to Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma for events celebrating the military, but she sees Saturday's event as something else. "We appreciate 250 years of the Army," she said in a brief interview. "I don't know that we had to do this to celebrate that. I'll definitely be thanking the men and women at our Army installations and commemorating them." Orion Donovan Smith's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
