At "No Tech for ICE" Demo, Deadly Consequences of Palantir’s Technology Heavily Protested

Photos by Jim Colton/ProBonoPhoto and Jim Katzman/ProBonoPhoto
Please credit the photographers. Top photo by Jim Colton

On January 20th, 300 protesters took charge of street corners at the intersection of Hamilton Ave and Alma St in Palo Alto and stretched out along Alma. They hung a large "Palantir helps ICE Spy" banner and crowded around the main entrance of Palantir Technologies.

Messages on signs hit upon their major complaints. One placard read “What connects ICE with Palestine ??? Palantir." Others said “Palantir has your data” and "Stop Bugging."

The largest number of signs called out Palantir for supporting ICE and the horror that is being inflicted upon residents of Minneapolis. "Protesters had whistles, ICE used guns," said one of the demonstrators, referring to the murder of Renee Good.

The demo was timed to coincide with a national day of action "Free America Walkout" by a coalition of groups including Mijente, The Wolves, Stand Up for Science and Sanity, the Raging Grannies and Purge Palantir. New to activism, Dan Rutherford initiated the event and emcee'd throughout a busy hour of speeches and entertainment that included traditional tunes like We Shall Overcome and more recently composed numbers.

One song called "Is Peter Thiel a Eugenicist?" led with the lyrics:

Spying and surveilling, keeping all eyes on you!
His AI wants to send us to the great beyond, it's true.
Cuz Peter Thiel...wants us gone!"

Costumes included a Raging Granny in an inflatable penguin suit, while other members of the Grannies joined Sharat Lin of Dance for Peace donning monarch butterfly wings bringing to life the message that migration is normal and beautiful. Not to be outdone by Portland, there was, of course, a dancing frog to enliven the protest.