<\/p>\n
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 \u201cOut, Palantir,\u201d on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.<\/p>\n
Carl Juste<\/p>\n
cjuste@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
On a strip of grass near the entrance to the Aventura Mall, protesters took turns Tuesday whacking pi\u00f1atas shaped like President Donald Trump and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel.<\/p>\n
Britney Cooke, an activist with the Climate Organizing Hub, was the first to take a swing against the Trump-shaped pi\u00f1ata. Cooke was one of about 20 people protesting against Palantir, calling for the software company to leave its new home.<\/p>\n
Palantir, which develops data analysis and surveillance tools, announced in February it had moved its headquarters from Denver to Miami<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n \u201cProtests that happened in Denver ran them out,\u201d Cooke said. She\u2019s said she\u2019s hoping protests like Tuesday\u2019s \u201cFlorida Unwelcome Party\u201d will do the same in South Florida.<\/p>\n About the Palantir protest in Aventura Protesters chanted slogans \u2014 \u201cPalantir, can\u2019t you see? It\u2019s time to pack it up and leave\u201d \u2014 at passing traffic on U.S. 1. Some drivers honked and shouted out of their windows in approval.<\/p>\n An annual report released in February showed Palantir was concerned about protests<\/a> against the company. The report said these demonstrations \u201care or are perceived to be harmful\u201d and \u201chave resulted in public criticism.\u201d<\/p>\n Denver-area activists organized numerous protests against Palantir at its Colorado headquarters over the past year. The same happened in Palo Alto, California, Palantir\u2019s base until the company relocated to Denver in 2020.<\/p>\n Palantir received over $1 billion in contracts with the U.S. government last year, mainly from the Department of Defense. The company\u2019s second-largest government contracts are with ICE, including $30 million last April to develop \u201cImmigrationOS\u201d software to track and target people for deportation.<\/p>\n Palantir didn\u2019t respond to the Miami Herald\u2019s requests for comment about its move to Miami-Dade County or Tuesday\u2019s protest.<\/p>\n A low profile in South Florida? 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\u2019s previous headquarters.<\/p>\n The activist group Mijente was one of the main organizers of Tuesday\u2019s anti-Palantir demonstration near Palantir\u2019s new offices. According to federal filings, Palantir is now based at The Abbey at Aventura<\/a>, a retail and dining complex that was once the site of a Sears store.<\/p>\n Mijente is a national organization that was involved in anti-Palantir protests in Denver.<\/p>\n \u2018Palantir, we\u2019re watching you\u2019 Cathy Carrillo, the coordinator for Mijente\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Speaking to demonstrators and reporters at Tuesday\u2019s demonstration, Carrillo said, \u201cPalantir, we\u2019re watching you,\u201d referencing the company\u2019s surveillance technology. Scattered around the lectern at the demonstration were inflatable eyeballs. The company\u2019s name comes from the all-seeing palant\u00edr stones in the Lord of the Rings series.<\/p>\n Carrillo said she thinks Palantir is \u201cskirting responsibility\u201d by moving to a right-leaning state like Florida, where the company likely expected there would be less pushback from local activists.<\/p>\n Jeff Weinberger, the founder of the October 22nd Alliance to End Homelessness, told the Herald at Tuesday\u2019s demonstration that he thinks it may be challenging for protesters to push Palantir out of Florida because of the state\u2019s conservative, pro-business politics.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think we do have a lot of committed people here,\u201d Weinberger said.<\/p>\n Audrey Bomse, an 82-year-old lawyer and activist who took a swing at the Thiel-shaped pi\u00f1ata, said she hopes anti-Palantir demonstrations in South Florida grow \u201cbigger and bigger\u201d and create an inhospitable environment for the company.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re moving here because it\u2019s a much more welcoming environment,\u201d Bomse said. \u201cSo I think we have to show that they\u2019re not welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 6:22 AM.<\/p>\n Protesters and their signs on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at the entrance of Aventura Mall. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
Organizer Britney Cooke of the Climate Defenders takes a swipe at the pi\u00f1ata 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 <\/p>\n
A protestor swings a stick at a pi\u00f1ata depicting Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel as a group gathered in Aventura to protest the tech company\u2019s move to Miami. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
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 pi\u00f1ata 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 <\/p>\n