The plague of frog costumes demonstrates the subversive power of play in protests

By: Anya M. Galli Robertson, University of Dayton, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: November 21, 2025

Words: 821

Last Updated: 3 days, 18 hours ago

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By Anya M. Galli Robertson, University of Dayton

When the center of protests against immigration enforcement switched recently to Charlotte, North Carolina, so did the frogs.

Back in October 2025, an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency popularly known as ICE, deployed pepper spray into the air vent of a peaceful protester’s inflatable frog costume. Video of the incident in Portland, Oregon, quickly went viral. Frogs and other inflatable costumes became …

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