Angel Heist joined protesters outside Tampa City Hall on Thursday, a day after a federal immigration officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis.
Heist, a mother and wife, drove from Lakeland. She wore angel wings and held a sign that said, “Check in with your soul.”
“I am here to stand up and use my voice and my person to speak out about all the injustice and inhumane things that are happening now,” Heist, 48, said. “It is just appalling.”
She and more than 50 other protesters carried American flags and signs. They shouted in English and Spanish: “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here,” and “Escucha, escucha, estamos en la lucha!” (“Listen, listen! We are in the fight!)
The Tampa protest was part of a larger nationwide movement sparked by the death of Renee Nicole Macklin Good, 37, who was killed in Minneapolis, as well as by immigration enforcement raids and crackdowns, many carried out with what advocates described as extreme violence and intimidation.
Local protesters gathered at 5 p.m. and remained for two hours. The rally was organized by the Tampa Immigrants Rights Committee, an advocacy group.
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Yunging Zheng, a community activist and one of the organizers, said the shooting in Minneapolis was a clear example of how immigration authorities are not only violating civil rights but also terrorizing communities.
“We’re here to stand in solidarity with Minneapolis, bring awareness, and show the people of Tampa that the violence that happened in Minneapolis is not so far removed here because we have ICE agents roaming here as well,” Zheng said.
Similar anti-immigration enforcement demonstrations in response of the shooting also took place in cities and towns across the nation, from California to New York, Chicago to New Orleans.
Zheng said she believes change is more necessary than ever to prevent further tragedies. However, she said it’s difficult to know what will happen next because “events can shift quickly and unexpectedly.”
“That’s why we’re here, to make the voices of the people heard, to speak loudly to our local law enforcement and government officials and make our demands known clearly that we want them to protect local immigrants,” Zheng said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the victim’s actions as an act of domestic terrorism. She said the driver attempted to run over the officer and rammed him with her vehicle.
The incident occurred less than 48 hours after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descended on the city as part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s latest crackdown.
Robert People came to show his opposition to violence. The father of two said he was deeply affected when he learned that a mother had been killed by a federal officer in a residential neighborhood.
“We have to show that we’re not going to accept this,” People said. “We can’t sit back on this, we need to make our voices heard.”
He said there is no reason to use extreme force against civilians, including people who do not agree with zero-tolerance policies to curb illegal immigration.
“We fought and we will fight to protect our rights and keep freedom of speech going,” he said.
Mauricio Ramirez, a manager in Brandon, was also at the protest. He said he has seen many people arrested and others afraid to go to work because of immigration enforcement raids and the way people are treated.
“We cannot stay silent and accept all of this as something normal,” Ramirez said. “This is not right.”