Organizer Cathy Carrillo stands at the makeshift lectern to give her remarks as a small group of gathered around the Aventura Mall entrance, wielding bright signs, like this one in Spanish that says “Out, Palantir,” on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
Carl Juste
cjuste@miamiherald.com
On a strip of grass near the entrance to the Aventura Mall, protesters took turns Tuesday whacking piñatas shaped like President Donald Trump and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel.
Britney Cooke, an activist with the Climate Organizing Hub, was the first to take a swing against the Trump-shaped piñata. Cooke was one of about 20 people protesting against Palantir, calling for the software company to leave its new home.
Palantir, which develops data analysis and surveillance tools, announced in February it had moved its headquarters from Denver to Miami. The tech company, which moved into a shopping complex on the site of Aventura Mall, has been controversial for its contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Israeli military.
“Protests that happened in Denver ran them out,” Cooke said. She’s said she’s hoping protests like Tuesday’s “Florida Unwelcome Party” will do the same in South Florida.
About the Palantir protest in Aventura Protesters and their signs on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at the entrance of Aventura Mall. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
Protesters chanted slogans — “Palantir, can’t you see? It’s time to pack it up and leave” — at passing traffic on U.S. 1. Some drivers honked and shouted out of their windows in approval.
An annual report released in February showed Palantir was concerned about protests against the company. The report said these demonstrations “are or are perceived to be harmful” and “have resulted in public criticism.”
Denver-area activists organized numerous protests against Palantir at its Colorado headquarters over the past year. The same happened in Palo Alto, California, Palantir’s base until the company relocated to Denver in 2020.
Palantir received over $1 billion in contracts with the U.S. government last year, mainly from the Department of Defense. The company’s second-largest government contracts are with ICE, including $30 million last April to develop “ImmigrationOS” software to track and target people for deportation.
Palantir didn’t respond to the Miami Herald’s requests for comment about its move to Miami-Dade County or Tuesday’s protest.
A low profile in South Florida? Organizer Britney Cooke of the Climate Defenders takes a swipe at the piñata of Donald Trump as a small group of protesters gathered around an Aventura Mall entrance on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
Romeo Umana, an activist with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said he thinks Palantir is trying to keep a low profile with its new offices because of the demonstrations at the company’s previous headquarters.
The activist group Mijente was one of the main organizers of Tuesday’s anti-Palantir demonstration near Palantir’s new offices. According to federal filings, Palantir is now based at The Abbey at Aventura, a retail and dining complex that was once the site of a Sears store.
Mijente is a national organization that was involved in anti-Palantir protests in Denver.
‘Palantir, we’re watching you’ A protestor swings a stick at a piñata depicting Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel as a group gathered in Aventura to protest the tech company’s move to Miami. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
Cathy Carrillo, the coordinator for Mijente’s No Tech for ICE campaign, told the Miami Herald that the protests that seemingly pushed Palantir out of Denver have given her hope that protests in South Florida could do the same.
Speaking to demonstrators and reporters at Tuesday’s demonstration, Carrillo said, “Palantir, we’re watching you,” referencing the company’s surveillance technology. Scattered around the lectern at the demonstration were inflatable eyeballs. The company’s name comes from the all-seeing palantír stones in the Lord of the Rings series.
Carrillo said she thinks Palantir is “skirting responsibility” by moving to a right-leaning state like Florida, where the company likely expected there would be less pushback from local activists.
Jeff Weinberger, the founder of the October 22nd Alliance to End Homelessness, told the Herald at Tuesday’s demonstration that he thinks it may be challenging for protesters to push Palantir out of Florida because of the state’s conservative, pro-business politics.
“But I think we do have a lot of committed people here,” Weinberger said.
Audrey Bomse, an 82-year-old lawyer and activist who took a swing at the Thiel-shaped piñata, said she hopes anti-Palantir demonstrations in South Florida grow “bigger and bigger” and create an inhospitable environment for the company.
“They’re moving here because it’s a much more welcoming environment,” Bomse said. “So I think we have to show that they’re not welcome.”
A protester waves a pirate flag at an anti-Palantir gathering in Aventura on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at the entrance of Aventura Mall. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
Protestors make their opinion known about the tech company that moved its headquarters to Aventura. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
A protester stretches to place sign on a pole at a protest against Palantir, which moved its base to Aventura. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
Romeo Umana, center, takes a swing at a piñata shaped like President Donald Trump on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at the entrance of Aventura Mall in Aventura, Florida. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
Eyeball props at the Palantir protest in Aventura. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 6:22 AM.
Miami Herald
Catherine Odom covers real estate for the Miami Herald. She previously interned on the Herald’s government team and has worked as a journalist in Germany and Armenia. She is a graduate of Northwestern University.