As one right-wing news outlet reported that it had “unmasked” a protester who for months has been participating in nonviolent resistance against the Trump administration’s agenda in Portland, Oregon while dressed in a frog costume, one journalist spoke directly to the demonstrator about their views and motivations.
“I come out here day in and day out since June because I am worried about my community, I am concerned with what is happening in my community,” said the protester, whom news outlets have recently identified as Seth Todd. “I don’t want to see anyone treated inhumanely.”
Todd added that he finds it “unacceptable” that the Trump administration has deployed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and other federal agents to Portland, which President Donald Trump and other officials have baselessly described as “war-ravaged” and “under siege from attack by Antifa,” referring to protesters who oppose fascism.
Local reports have made clear that the agents themselves are escalating violence in Portland—using tear gas and pepper balls to stop community members including Todd from protesting near an ICE facility.
Last week, a federal agent was filmed shooting pepper spray directly into the air vent of Todd’s inflatable frog costume.
“I don’t want to see anyone treated inhumanely and to see this happen to my community members, my friends, my family, my neighbors,” Todd said Thursday.
