ICE Is Attacking Protesters, Journalists, and…a Clarinet Player

Outside an ICE facility in Portland, a clarinet player was recently thrown to the ground and arrested. She’s now being held without bail in Washington.

By Audra Heinrichs  |  October 16, 2025 | 5:23pm
Politics
ICE Is Attacking Protesters, Journalists, and…a Clarinet Player
Federal agents clash with anti-ICE protesters outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on October 12, 2025, in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Getty Images

Over the weekend, a 38-year-old clarinet player was brutalized and detained by ICE during a protest outside an ICE facility in Portland. As captured on this video, the woman—who Jezebel will not be identifying—and her brass band were playing the Ghostbusters theme song when a federal agent suddenly forced her to the ground. According to her family, she has since been transported across state lines to Vancouver, Washington, and is being held without bail in Clark County Jail on charges that she assaulted an officer.

“It is a beautiful party atmosphere. Everybody’s really excited. Then the band hits into ‘Ghostbusters,’ and then at ‘Ghostbusters,’ that’s when ICE start storming in,” her husband told KOIN 6. “Why are they targeting a clarinet player? A clarinet player standing on the sidewalk far away from the street, following instructions.”

The woman is a member of the “social action-oriented” Unpresidented Brass Band, which uses music as a de-escalation tactic for tensions during protests—now a regular occurrence thanks to an increased ICE presence, according to Portland Mayor Keith Wilson. For weeks, Trump has painted what locals say is an inaccurate portrait of Portland, describing it as “bombed out” and “on fire.” Who he’s actually getting this information from is unclear.

On September 27, Trump said he ordered “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth to send troops to “protect war ravaged Portland” and “any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.” The White House is currently awaiting a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on whether Trump can deploy 200 members of the National Guard in Portland.

But the city’s residents have pushed back against Trump’s portrayal in a variety of unconventional ways. In the past week, photos and videos have gone viral of Portlanders wearing inflatable animal suits to protests, participating in naked bike protests, and dancing outside the ICE facility in protest. Observers have described all the protests as “peaceful” and likened them to one “big block party.” The locals’ strategy has even spread to other states. A group of people in Tulsa, Oklahoma, wore the same inflatables for a counter-protest against a gathering of Trump supporters this week.

Since January, cruel, chaotic, and criminal ICE raids have taken place in Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York City, Phoenix, Memphis, and more. But they’ve significantly escalated since Trump declared war on sanctuary cities in August. Chicago and Washington, D.C., in particular, have been targeted in the last several weeks, resulting in thousands of arrests.

In Chicago, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched “Operation Midway Blitz” in September and claims that ICE has made 1,500 arrests since. One man was shot and killed by an ICE officer after dropping off his two kids at his elementary school; another woman (who activists claim is a U.S. citizen) was shot by agents who alleged she was armed and attempted to run them over; and in the city’s South Shore neighborhood, tenants reported ICE agents using military-style tactics to raid an apartment building at 1 a.m., where at least 37 people were arrested and many were left traumatized.

Meanwhile, a coalition of Chicago-based press associations, journalists, nonprofits, and unions has sued the Trump administration, claiming federal agents assaulted them while covering local protests. In a 52-page lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege agents used “extreme brutality” to “intimidate and silence” both civilians and members of the media. Six journalists say they were hit with pepper balls or tear gas, despite wearing clearly visible press credentials. Other reports of ICE’s “violent presence” include tear-gassing peaceful protestors and even a local Presbyterian minister.

The nation’s capital has also become a nexus of Trump’s fear-mongering and the resulting protests. Following weeks of increased federal presence, residents have begun tracking what they describe as ICE “kidnappings” in certain neighborhoods, putting up homemade warning signs on trees and utility poles. Simultaneously, the National Guard remains active in the city, and Trump continues to lie about their necessity—most recently claiming that the National Guard “beat” child gang members. He’s also insisted that D.C. went “from a hellhole to a safe place,” despite residents’ longtime insistence that it was never unsafe at all.

“There is not a crime crisis in D.C.,” Rosa Brooks, a former D.C. Metropolitan reserve police officer and Georgetown Law School teacher, told NPR in August.

Currently, the Portland Mutual Aid Network is calling for the clarinet player’s release and urging supporters to call the Clark County Jail. On Monday, her husband told a local news outlet that he and their three-year-old child haven’t had contact with her since the arrest. “We’re not seeing her,” he said. “We don’t know when we’re going to see her again.” Protests outside the facility have continued, as has reports of agents attacking protestors. On Tuesday, musician and comedian Rob Potylo was arrested and charged with trespassing simply for singing alongside Portland Frog, a now-infamous anti-ICE protestor.

This weekend, Portland, Chicago, and D.C. will once again play host to No Kings! protests that are expected to draw thousands across the country. Organizers say the Trump administration is working hard to demonize the protests as “hate America” rallies. Still, Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible and one of the organizers, told Rolling Stone it’s never been more important to press on.

“If the first No Kings was about pushing back on Trump’s image as a strong man on [the day of] the ridiculous military birthday parade he threw for himself, this one is a reaction to the invasion and occupation of American cities, the crackdown on comedians and other peaceful protests, and the bullying of media institutions and political opposition,” he said.”
There’s still time to order yourself an inflatable animal costume.

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