Mike Johnson Called Us Hateful. Meet the Portland Frog.
How dancing protesters proved love defeats hate and why millions march October 18
Frogs of Portland
Portland is defeating hate through absurdist brilliance.
Trump has spent weeks calling Portland a “war zone,” a “bombed-out hellscape,” “worse than a postapocalyptic movie.” He sent National Guard troops to “restore order” at the ICE building. Conservative media descended on the city looking for footage of violence and chaos to justify federal occupation.
Instead, they found dancing frogs.
Meet the Portland Frog
On October 4, a protester showed up outside Portland’s ICE facility wearing a bright green inflatable frog costume. A giant blow-up suit with an air pump keeping it inflated. Cartoonish and maybe a little ridiculous. Obviously no threat.
Federal agents pepper-sprayed him anyway. Not in the face… into the air intake vent on the costume’s rear end, filling the entire sealed suit with pepper spray.
The Portland Frog, who goes by Seth Todd, coughed a little and came back the next night. “I’ve tasted spicier,” he said. “I’m Mexican, what do you expect?” Then he did a little dance.
From One Frog to a Lily Pad of Resistance
The next night, more people showed up in costumes including inflatable dinosaurs, peacocks, Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, and we can’t forget the Portland Chicken (Jack Dickinson) who became famous when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stepped onto the ICE building roof to stare down protesters... and had to face this guy in a chicken suit.
People started calling it “Operation Inflation.” Families showed up. A couple brought their teenage daughter, who passed out pizza to protesters while her dad ordered more inflatable costumes online for anyone who wanted one.
Joy Wilson, dressed as Tigger, told reporters: “People sometimes wonder, ‘What can I do’ to protest. This makes it so accessible.”
Portland is changing Trumps narrative. No one would have guessed that this would have resulted in dancing frogs. When heavily armed federal agents stand in formation against inflatable characters and FROGS, they look ridiculous. The entire narrative of Portland being a war zone collapses. Shout out to our frog family and the Portland community!
As Jack Dickinson (the Portland Chicken) put it: “It becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.”
The costumes also serve practical purposes:
They provide protection from tear gas and pepper spray
They make it visually obvious there are no weapons
They show the protests are peaceful
They make protesting feel accessible to people who are scared
And most importantly, they refuse to let Trump set the emotional tone.
Portland is giving him Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time” and a conga line of inflatable animals.
CNN reports that Trump’s narrative has completely collapsed. Even a Trump-appointed federal judge ruled against the administration’s characterization of Portland. Internal Federal Protective Services documents the agency that monitors government building safety described the protests as “low energy” and “uneventful” on the exact days Trump called the city “war ravaged.”
Oregon Public Broadcasting produced timestamped photos showing: a man sunbathing in the park, a woman ordering coffee, a couple strolling, and of course, dancing protesters in costumes.
“I come out here day in and day out since June,” Seth Todd told reporters, “because I am worried about my community, I am concerned with what is happening in my community.”
Thank you Todd(Frog), Jack(Chicken), and all the other participating characters showing up for Operation Inflation for finding creative and peaceful ways to push back against Trumps narrative and for standing up for your communities!
And this Saturday, October 18, the Portland Frog will be at the No Kings protest along with thousands of others in Portland, and millions across the country.
Last Friday, the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, stood before cameras and called the No Kings protest scheduled for October 18th a “hate-America rally” filled with “the Antifa crowd, the pro-Hamas crowd, and the Marxists.” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer went further, calling millions of peaceful Americans planning to exercise their constitutional right to protest “terrorists.”
This Saturday, when millions of Americans gather in over 2,500 cities and towns across all 50 states, we won’t be rallying for hate. We’ll be rallying for the most American principle there is: love thy neighbor.
Love Trumps Hate
Hate is trying to strip rights away from your fellow citizens and our neighbors, it is demonizing millions of peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights and hate is calling your neighbors “terrorists” for defending their communities.
Love looks different.
Love looks like showing up for your neighbors. All of them. Love looks like defending the rights of people who don’t look like you, pray like you, or love like you.
Love looks like saying: “In America, we don’t abandon each other or have kings. And we sure as hell don’t let authoritarians tell us who deserves dignity, respect, or basic human rights.”
Every marginalized group matters. Our differences in identity, experience, culture, and perspective are not weaknesses to overcome. Our differences are the foundation of American strength and it shapes us, challenges us, and makes us better.
These are just a few of many communities under direct attack right now, and why we stand with them.
For Our Transgender and LGBTQ+ Neighbors
On his first day back in office, President Trump signed an executive order attempting to erase legal recognition of transgender and nonbinary people across the federal government.
The administration has:
Restricted access to accurate passports for transgender Americans, forcing over 214,000 people to submit public comments in opposition
Weakened federal data collection on gender identity, making it harder to track hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people
Rolled back workplace protections, allowing discrimination against gay and transgender employees in federal jobs
Threatened to classify discussing transgender people as “pornography” worthy of criminal prosecution
Blocked transgender service members from serving openly in the military
They are targeting transgender people, gay people, lesbian people, bisexual people, queer people, nonbinary people, your neighbors, your coworkers, your family members who have the right to exist safely in their communities and their daily lives without the government stripping them of their rights. Hate divides, love defends.
For Black Americans and All Communities of Color
The administration has systematically dismantled voting rights protections:
The Justice Department dismissed voting rights lawsuits in Georgia, Texas, and Arizona
An executive order demanding proof of citizenship to register would disenfranchise millions who lack passports
Voter roll purges targeting communities of color
Threatened prosecution of election officials who helped people vote in 2020
These are the exact same tactics used after Reconstruction to prevent Black Americans from voting. What began as Jim Crow-era oppression of Black voters has expanded to target Latino communities, Native Americans, and all voters of color. These are the same tactics and the same hate just a different century. Love defends everyone’s right to vote. Hate divides, love defends.
For Women’s Bodies, Women’s Choices
The Trump administration has systematically dismantled reproductive healthcare access:
Reinstated the “Global Gag Rule”, cutting funding to international organizations that even mention abortion causing clinic closures worldwide
Ended federal protection for emergency abortion care, even when a mother’s life or fertility is at risk
Pardoned 23 anti abortion extremists convicted of violence and harassment against patients and providers
Announced the Justice Department will no longer enforce the FACE Act protecting clinic access
These are examples of control and hate. This is the government forcing women to continue dangerous pregnancies by denying emergency care and criminalizes healthcare providers. Love trusts women to make their own healthcare decisions. Love defends, Hate divides, love defends.
For Our Immigrant Neighbors
The administration has pursued what experts call the most aggressive deportation campaign in American history, tearing families apart:
Nearly 200,000 people deported in seven months
Children separated from parents and detained in adult facilities
A two-year-old American citizen kept in U.S. custody after both parents were deported to different countries
ICE raids at schools, hospitals, and churches, places previously considered off-limits
These are parents taking their kids to the dentist and nurses and teachers, not criminals. These are also people who fled violence seeking safety. These are our neighbors. Hate sees “illegals.” Love sees human beings. Love defends, hate divides.
For Americans with Disabilities
The administration has launched what experts call “a war on disability”:
Proposing to cut SSI benefits for nearly 400,000 low-income disabled people
Eliminating age as a factor in disability determinations making it nearly impossible for older workers to qualify
Ending support for SOAR training that helps disabled people experiencing homelessness access benefits
Mass layoffs at agencies that provide essential services. The VA alone cut 17,000 workers
Disability benefits were a commitment we made as a society that implied when you can’t work, we won’t abandon you. They are breaking that commitment to our IDD community. That’s hate dressed up as “fiscal responsibility.” Love honors our commitments to our most vulnerable neighbors. Love defends, hate divides.
For Our Planet
The EPA has pursued what it calls “the biggest deregulatory action in U.S. history”:
Proposing to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding, the legal foundation for all climate regulation
Canceling $7.6 billion in clean energy projects
Rolling back limits on mercury and toxic pollutants from power plants
Eliminating climate research programs and firing scientists
The EPA administrator literally said they’re “driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion.” This is zealotry. That’s condemning our children to an uninhabitable planet. Love protects the world we’re leaving our kids. Love defends, hate divides.
When Mike Johnson calls that “hate,” he’s telling you exactly who he thinks deserves rights in America: people who look like him, pray like him, and vote like him.
And everyone else is expendable.
We reject that vision entirely.
When Love Defeated Hate in one of History’s Darkest Hour
Berlin, February 27, 1943.
The Gestapo launched the “Final Roundup” arresting the last Jews remaining in the city. Most were immediately deported to Auschwitz and they died within days.
2,000 of those arrested had non-Jewish German wives. They had children and families who loved them.
The Gestapo locked these 2,000 Jewish men in a building on Rosenstrasse, Rose Street, in the heart of Berlin. It was meant to be temporary, just a holding facility before deportation… before murder. But someone got word to the wives.
So the wives showed up
On the morning of February 28, dozens of women showed up outside the building on Rosenstrasse. By the evening, there were hundreds. They stood in the freezing cold and chanted, demanding answers. “Give us our husbands back! Let our husbands go!”
The SS (Schutzstaffel guards) tried to disperse them and armed soldiers threatened to shoot them. The Gestapo showed up looking for organizers and found none because they all shared the same responsibility, they were all organizers.
The women didn’t leave.
The next day, more came. The day after that, even more. For seven days, hundreds of non-Jewish German women stood face-to-face with the Nazi regime and said: “No. You will not take our families. You will not make us choose between our safety and our love.”
On March 1, British bombers struck Berlin. The women scrambled for cover and then returned to Rosenstrasse.
On March 6, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels gave the order: release them. All of them. Even some who had already been sent to Auschwitz were brought back.
Why did the Nazis history’s most ruthless regime back down?
Because Goebbels understood visible dissent is contagious.
If German women could successfully defy the regime, others might try. The facade of total control would crack.
98% of German Jews who survived the Holocaust without going into hiding lived in mixed marriages. It was the non-Jewish partners who refused to abandon them and said “my spouse, my neighbor, my fellow human being” mattered more than their own comfort.
The Rosenstrasse protest wasn’t planned by professional organizers.
It wasn’t funded by George Soros or coordinated by antifa.
It was mostly brave and courageous women who loved their neighbors enough to risk everything.
The 50501 Movement isn’t funded by billionaires or run by political operatives. It’s all of us seeing what’s happening in America and saying “Wtf.”
On June 14, over 5 million Americans showed up in 2,100+ cities for No Kings Day. This Saturday, October 18, we’re doing it again but even bigger (Now 2,500+!)
We’re not terrorists, radicals, or a mod. We’re Americans who love this country enough to fight for what it’s supposed to stand for.
And just like those women on Rosenstrasse, we’re exercising rights that the Constitution explicitly protects. We want our political leaders to know, you will not turn America into a place where only some people have dignity and rights or where only some people count as real Americans.
We are all created equal.
Less Than a Week to Make History
What can you do between now and Saturday?
Here is a challenge for every single day this week.
The single biggest threat to Saturday’s success is that people don’t know it’s happening.
Each day, you have one goal: spread the word. Make it impossible for people to say they didn’t know. Turn October 18th into the most talked-about day in America.
Print this out, track your progress, and store it forever as memorabilia. This is history in the making and you’ll want to say that you did everything you could to stand up for our county.
MONDAY, October 13: Share this challenge
Day 1: Share this exact post so everyone can join the challenge.
What to do:
Share this post to places with an audience like large Facebook groups and populated subreddits.
Drop it into Discord servers, Threads, or any community spaces you’re in.
Send it to friends, family, or coworkers who care about democracy.
“A movement only works when it moves. Share this today so everyone can take part.”
Track it:
Count how many platforms you shared on.
Track: “Posted to 5 platforms! ✓”
How this helps:
Social media is an incredible tool that encourages real action.
Every share introduces someone new to the movement and that’s how we can get more people to show up.
TUESDAY, October 14: Paint Your Profile and Flood the Feed
Day 2: Turn social media yellow.
What to do:
Change your profile picture to a No Kings symbol
Post the official No Kings flyers and graphics across all your platforms.
Add your city name:
“Portland is showing up. Chicago is showing up. New York is showing up.”
Tag your local protest page.
Use hashtags: #NoKingsDay #50501Movement
Track it:
Count how many platforms you changed or posted on.
Track: “4 platforms! ✓”
How this helps:
Visibility builds unity. When thousands of yellow profiles and flyers appear across timelines, it grabs attention that is hard to ignore.
Profile Picture Recommendations:
WEDNESDAY, October 15: Tag and Post to Influencers
Day 3: Get high-visibility voices talking about the movement.
Who to tag:
Musicians, actors, comedians
Politicians and journalists
Podcasters, authors, and influencers
Athletes and sports teams
What to do:
Comment “NO KINGS” on their latest posts.
Tag them in your stories or replies related to No Kings.
Send them a private message:
“Hey *name*, millions are gathering October 18 for democracy. Will you help get the message out? #NoKings”
Track it:
Count how many public figures you tagged.
Track: “Tagged 20 people! ✓”
How this helps:
Celebrities and journalists can reach millions. Even one retweet, one stitch, or one mention can help encourage more people to show up.
THURSDAY, October 16: Take It Offline
Day 4: Bring the movement to real life.
What to do:
Print No Kings flyers
Leave them at coffee shops, campuses, bookstores, and libraries.
Ask local businesses if they’ll post one in their window.
Post a photo of your flyer in the wild with #NoKingsDay and #50501Movement.
Track it:
Count how many places you posted flyers.
Track: “Posted flyers in 7 locations! ✓”
How this helps:
Not everyone is online but everyone should see us.
The physical flyers you share might reach the person who shows up on No Kings day.
FRIDAY, October 17: The Final Push ⚡
Day 5: Remind everyone it’s happening tomorrow.
What to do:
Share your state’s protest flyer or map.
Tag friends and groups who said they’d attend, keep them accountable.
Post something to inspire your community members.
Track it:
Comment: “Shared my state flyer everywhere! ✓”
Track: “I know 10 people going tomorrow! ✓”
How this helps:
This is the moment… Visibility turns to turnout… Turnout turns to history.
SATURDAY, October 18: SHOW UP
No Kings Day: Be there (And take lots of pictures to share since this is going to be history in the making!)
If you have a paperclip, wear one.
Go to nokings.org and fiftyfifty.one to find your nearest event.
Bring your sign, friends, and your love for this country and everyone in it.
Be peaceful, proud, and present.
This is what democracy looks like.
We are are standing with our neighbors because we care about them.
We are defending our country. Hate divides, love defends.
📍 FIND YOUR LOCAL EVENT:
nokings.org | fiftyfifty.one
History is watching. The Rosenstrasse women didn’t know if they’d succeed. The suffragists didn’t know. The civil rights marchers didn’t know. We don’t need certainty. We need courage and we need each other. This Saturday, let’s give future generations a story worth telling.
Community Comments
If you’re planning to attend on Saturday, what advice would you share with first-time protesters?
SOURCES & FURTHER READING:
Thank you for supporting independent journalism
-Blue, with The 50501 Movement
PS: Don’t forget the Epstein Files
My only regret is that I didn’t think of it first. Congratulations to all you inflatables in worn torn Portland. Brilliant you are an inspiration
Thank you so much for this article. I finally found a small laugh able to come out reading this. Go Froggie and all you inflatables!!!!