Protesters speak out in Charlotte over ICE, federal killings of 2 Americans
After federal agents killed two people in Minnesota earlier this month, several hundred protesters took to uptown Charlotte on Friday.
They met at the Charles R. Jonas Federal Building in the afternoon, marched through uptown and circled back. At least 10 advocacy groups — including the Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice, the Poor People’s Campaign, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation — backed the protest.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been active in Charlotte since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, as well as U.S. Border Patrol agents in a five-day operation last year.
But after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, many protesters’ moods on Friday struck a less whimsical tone than at last year’s No Kings rallies.
Signs called for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to be arrested, said ICE was committing ethnic cleansing and compared agents in masks to Klansmen in hoods.
The deaths of Good and Pretti have stoked anger across much of the country. With the possibility of a government shutdown looming, Senate Democrats have been negotiating with President Donald Trump for some changes to how ICE operates.
Protesters want more from elected Democrats
Beth Clements said she and her husband have spent the last four years fostering nearly 40 children, from eight months old to 17 years old, who came into the United States unaccompanied.
“We’ve brought children into this country, loved them, held them, hugged them and then sent them off to their families because they belong here,” she said. “They’re here legally, and they’re in danger. Once their mom, I’m always their mom.”
Because they feel afraid now, she said she protests in their place.
In the meantime, she was not satisfied with how elected Democrats were responding to federal agents.
“If one more Democrat tells me, ‘Oh, the midterms are coming!’ — that’s nine months away,” she said. “How many people do ICE kill between now and then?... The midterms aren’t going to save us. They didn’t save Alex, and they didn’t save Renee.”
Another protester also felt dissatisfied.
“They’re soft,” Francisco Rojas said of Democratic lawmakers. “They’re weak.”
He believed politicians were “looking the other way.” He felt angry and frustrated from the government “trampling” constitutional rights, he said, and came to Friday’s protest to speak out against it all.
Calls for general strike
Across the country, organizers pushed for a general strike on Friday. It’s a tactic that was used in Minneapolis, where hundreds of businesses shut down.
“Now is the decisive moment,” a social media post from some of the Charlotte groups read this week. “The Minnesota General Strike has given us a historic opening. If we all take a stand now, we can stop the killings and the kidnappings, and end Trump’s war on our most basic rights!”
Ryan Oehrli covers criminal justice in the Charlotte region for The Charlotte Observer. His work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The Observer maintains full editorial control of its journalism.
This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 12:26 PM.