An unlikely hero has emerged from amidst the ICE protests in Portland, Oregon—a frog.
Featured VideoPresident Donald Trump has continued his attempts to paint Portland as a crime-ridden “never-ending disaster,” due in part to the protests taking place at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building.
City officials have pushed back against Trump’s allegations, while others have suggested this is just part of a larger ploy for him to continue insisting the country is under attack from within so he can assert more and more control over American citizens.
Reports on the ground from both protestors and journalists have portrayed the protests themselves as generally peaceful and civil—until conservative livestreamers try to agitate crowds and federal agents start attacking protestors.
AdvertisementOne of these incidents involved a character who has come to be known as the Portland Frog.
Who is the Portland Frog?
One of the ways in which the people of Portland are fighting back against Trump treating their city as a war zone is by dressing up in colorful, silly costumes. One person in particular showed up to protest dressed head-to-toe in a bright green inflatable frog costume: the Portland Frog.
The thing about a costume like this is that not only is it cartoonish and fun, but there’s also very clearly no place for hidden weapons, and no way for the wearer to move nimbly and pose a physical threat.
AdvertisementWatching cops and ICE stand off against someone like this only serves to highlight the absolute disgraceful absurdity of what’s going on in Portland.
“Oh no MAGA! Look at the Antifa Frog in Portland, Oregon,” Ed Krassenstein wrote on X. “Is this really what you guys consider to be ‘domestic terrorists?’”
What did ICE do to the Portland Frog?
Either these heavily armed men just enjoy throwing their weight around or they’re pathetic enough that they truly feared for their safety up against some person in a blow-up frog costume, because it didn’t take long for video to start circulating of a calculated attack against the Portland Frog.
AdvertisementThe viral video shows one of them approaching the frog and spraying pepper spray directly into the costume’s air intake vent.
“That orange circle not only keeps the costume inflated but also draws in fresh air for the user,” @CalltoActivism pointed out. “Spraying in that hole is a MAJOR health risk.”
“Yeah that’s attempted murder,” one X user wrote, while another asked, “Why are we gas chambering a person in a frog suit.”
AdvertisementA follow-up video features the frog claiming they ultimately just “coughed a little” and confirming that they returned to protest the following night.
“I’ve tasted spicier. I’m Mexican, what do you expect?” they said, before doing a little dance.
Online support for the Portland Frog
The various videos prompted a mixture of outrage at ICE’s conduct and general support for the Portland Frog, who is now being treated by some as a symbol of the fight against fascism and government overreach in the United States.
Advertisement“There needs to be 50 of those frogs lined up, frog elbow to frog elbow.”
“The harmless individual in a goofy costume is now in a sealed bag with only pepper spray to breathe. This is state terror.”
Advertisement“@ICEgov is a violent fascist paramilitary no different from the SA or the Gestapo.”
“By the way, this is what Trump claims is the “Antifa insurrection” that merits sending in the Texas National Guard to Portland. A protest in which the most tense stand-off involves a gyrating frog thrusting towards police. The horror!”
“I love Portland so much. Only in Portland can a person in a frog costume scare ICE.”
Advertisement“more evidence of which direction the violence is really going”
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