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Federal agents in military fatigues carrying assault rifles in major cities. Huge cuts to healthcare, science and the US’s largest anti-hunger program. Immigrants dragged from cars and courthouse hallways. Rising authoritarianism, corruption and anti-democratic behavior. These are just some of the reasons pushback against the Trump administration is growing with each passing day.
While traditional marches such as the massive No Kings protests are a critical part of any resistance movement, sociologist Doug McAdam has shown how tactical innovation – the introduction of creative or novel protest methods – was a key part of the success of the civil rights movement in the US. Historically, when organizers established new tactics, movement activity peaked.
From coordinated boycotts and block parties to noisy disruptions and an ad campaign that encourages non-cooperation from Ice agents, 2025 has seen a torrent of new, innovative and highly effective protest tactics employed against Donald Trump and his administration. These nine forms of non-violent protest – happening in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, Memphis, Washington DC and beyond – have engaged countless everyday Americans to exercise their first amendment rights.
1 Ice scraper buy-in
Home Depot parking lots, where day laborers often gather looking for work, have become “ground zero” for ICE. In an effort to pressure the home improvement retailer to “scrape ICE out of their stores”, LA organizers used a symbolic tactic to protest ongoing immigration actions: about 100 community activists associated with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network gathered in Monrovia last month for a “buy-in” event where volunteers purchased a small $0.17 ice scraper from Home Depot before getting back in line to return it, which caused enough chaos for the store to close down short-term. The effort followed the death of Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, a day laborer who was struck and killed while fleeing from an immigration sweep at the Monrovia store in August.
2 Inflatable frogs
The Portland Frog Brigade, a group of activists who don inflatable frog costumes while protesting against government overreach outside the city’s ICE facility, may look silly, but that’s the point. Its participants say the costumes help counter rhetoric from Donald Trump and other Republicans that protesters are violent extremists and “domestic terrorists”. The costumes can also help defuse tension with federal armed forces (although one agent pepper-sprayed Seth “Toad” Todd through an air vent in his frog suit) and prevent the Trump administration from using footage as propaganda. The whimsical inflatables are an approach known as “tactical frivolity”, a form of protest designed to underscore the ridiculousness of the overreaction from police or other militarized forces.
3 No sleep for ICE
In June, when ICE descended on LA and began carrying out violent raids, protesters targeted several Los Angeles-area hotels where ICE and border agents were thought to be staying overnight. Community members first rallied outside the AC Hotel in Pasadena and successfully chased federal agents out after hours of noise. In Montebello, a band playing Mexican songs joined an overnight protest at Home2 Suites by Hilton. At an Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in nearby Downey, people held signs that read “Dehumanize ICE” and used bullhorns to make noise. Documents suggest that the “No Sleep for ICE” campaign successfully disrupted Trump’s LA immigration crackdown, although it is still ongoing.
4 Tesla Takedown
Elon Musk once extolled the evils of the fossil fuel industry, but his increased involvement in rightwing politics and Doge cuts and layoffs turned the richest person on Earth into a supervillain for a coalition of climate activists, fired federal workers and anti-Trump advocates. Since February, the #TeslaTakedown grassroots movement has included thousands of protesters outside various showrooms around the US, former fans selling their Teslas, scores of “Anti-Elon Tesla Club” and “I Bought This Before We Knew Elon Was Crazy” bumper stickers and others dumping their stock in an effort to materially affect Musk and challenge his political influence. By the end of May, Musk formally ended his role as a “special government employee”, last month and Tesla US sales reached a new low.
5 Unsubscribing from Disney+
After Disney pulled Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC late-night show “indefinitely” on 17 September after encouragement by the Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, over comments the host made related to the conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death, the backlash was swift. Activists and influencers showed people how to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions via video instructions and screenshots, which helped lead to about 3 million Americans canceling Disney+; Hulu had around 4.1m cancellations. “Disney adults” were activated to speak out and cancel upcoming trips, all of which influenced ABC’s decision to reinstate Kimmel on 23 September.
6 Plastic whistles
Since the Trump administration launched a deportation crackdown in the Chicago area in early September, the high-pitched sound of a plastic whistle has become a popular citywide warning that ICE or other federal agents are nearby. The piercing noise is also a simple and effective way to alert US citizens to record arrests and share legal information with detainees. The Little Village Community Council, a community group in one of Chicago’s largest Latino enclaves, began distributing whistles over the summer. Since then, there have been whistle-packing parties and whistles appearing in Little Free Libraries. Other places, including New York, New Orleans and North Carolina have followed Chicago’s lead.
7 Banging on pots and pans
In response to aggressive federal law enforcement tactics in Washington DC, the organizers from Free DC called on residents to go outside and bang pots and pans for five minutes each evening at 7pm. The community-led organization, which is advocating to give local leaders more control of DC, was inspired by cacerolazos – hitting pots, pans and utensils as a form of protest – a symbol of antifascist resistance that’s popular in Latin America. Free DC plans to continue the coordinated action for as long as federal forces are present in the district.
8 Pop-up block parties
Last month, a community advocacy group in Memphis launched a pop-up block party series to make sure people’s voices are heard during the 2026 election and to oppose the deployment of the national guard to their city. The inaugural “Joy Rising: Block by Block” kickoff event was hosted by Free the 901 at a local church. Organizers have said that Black and brown communities have a history of being targeted and overpoliced and they are responding with collective power, unity and love. Attenders were invited to take part in voter-registration efforts, know-your-rights training, music, food, arts and games.
A new ad campaign is fighting ICE by trying to convince agents to quit their jobs. In the minute-long spot, an ICE agent returns home to his young daughter after a long day that includes real footage of masked federal agents breaking car windows and terrorizing immigrants. “Daddy, how was your day?” she asks. As he hugs her, text appears on the screen: “What will you say when she asks about your day?” The evocative ads from Women’s March Win encourage agents to “walk away before the shame follows you home” and have run in Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina, where ICE has been deployed, and in West Palm Beach, home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.
