Protestors Gathered Outside of Rock Hill to Protest ICE and the Deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.
Written By Chase Duncan
Photos By Weston Hook
Local News
With the frigid air biting at his hands on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, Winthrop senior and Rising Artist of Winthrop president Mars Simpson stood in front of a crowd of several dozen people from the local Rock Hill area with a microphone in hand.
Defying the cold weather and the chilling actions of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement across the United States, Mars led fellow protesters in rallying chants against the Trump administration’s controversial actions in Minneapolis and other cities across the country.
“We want justice, we want peace, we want ICE off our streets,” Simpson said.
Rock Hill community members gathered on Dave Lyle Boulevard between East Main Street and East White Street on Feb. 8 to protest ICE and the Department of Homeland Security’s aggressive reshaping of immigration enforcement over the past year.
The local protest was a response to the recent deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota last month. The two were acting as a civilian observer and legal observer respectively as they were supervising ICE’s actions in Operation Metro Surge when they were shot and killed during their observation.
Locals young and old stood on the sidewalk and road verge of Dave Lyle Boulevard near downtown to hold signs rebuking what they see as the excessive and even tyrannical overreach of the Trump administration since the 47th president’s term began. The theme and title of the protest was “Family over Fascism”.
“This regime is hate and division,” Rock Hill resident Jolyne Murphy said. “Fear, hate and division. That’s what they count on.”
Murphy came to the protest with other likeminded homeowners from the Riverwalk Community Group who organize and/or attend protests in the city community. Murphy said she came to the protest to fight for a different path than what the Trump administration is choosing for the United States.
“We offer light, hope and inclusion,” Murphy said. “Everybody who’s human should be treated with equal rights.”
Vera Hammond, another resident of the Riverwalk Community Group, said that the Trump administration’s attempts to revoke and change the definition of fundamental rights imbued in the First and Fourteenth amendment of the constitution against groups they dislike will affect all Americans in the end.
“Once people accept this, that some groups don’t deserve full rights, no one is safe,” Hammond said. “So we need to stand out here and protest.”
Another member of the Riverwalk group that attended the protest was Juanita Toatley, daughter of Robert Toatley Sr., an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, was present for King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and ministered to the Friendship Nine while they were in jail.
“We are here because were are fighting and the improper practices of the Trump administration, and they are using that to enforce ICE,” Toatley said.
Hammond said most Americans are non-indigenous to the North American continent.
“We are all immigrants, coming from all likes,” Hammond said. “We just want to have our rights not taken away at all. We just want to have a peaceful protest without being arrested or handcuffed or our rights being taken away.”
Violent action by protesters has become a controversial and contested topic surrounding anti-ICE and other anti-government rallies, but the description for the event online explicitly called for nonviolent protesting and asked attendees to avoid bringing weapons of any kind to the protest.
“We are committed to nonviolent action,” states the event’s description on mobilize.com. “We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.”
Rock Hill resident and former chair of the York County Democratic Party Amy Hayes said she attended the protest to join her voice with others against the
“I think it’s important to unify our voices and speak as one about the many things we’re seeing going on right now,” Hayes said.
Simpson said that protests like “Family Over Fascism” help him feel connected under an administration that seeks to alienate anyone who does not align with their own oppressive definition of “America”.
“All of the atrocities and horrible things the administration is doing against all these underrepresented groups of people… it feels a lot of the days there’s not much I can do,” Simpson said. “Coming out here in the cold and being with all these beautiful people, that’s where my heart is and where the community’s heart is.
The protest was organized by RAW, YCSC Indivisible and York County Rising.
RAW is a Winthrop University based club that connects student artists and promotes artist events like panels, galleries, workshops, concerts and art shows.
YCSC Indivisible is the York County chapter of a progressive movement organization that connects local residents and organizes events for activists to more easily make their voices heard.
York County Rising is a local volunteer-led organization that aims to create progressive change in York County through protests, activism, community action, advocacy and partnership.