Protests in Chattanooga
Townes Henderson & Liam Keown
Embedded Files
The No Kings Protests
The No Kings Protests
The No Kings protests were a large movement across the nation, created to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the leadership of President Donald Trump and his cabinet, as well as the "military parade" being held for the President's birthday.. On social media, many people discussed how he was acting as royalty and as if the people lived to serve him.
Protesters in Chattanooga swarmed Miller Park with signs, bullhorns, and costumes protesting President Trump. On the other hand, there were many Trump supporters present fighting back against the protesters. One told the press that they believed a large number of people there "didn't even know what they were fighting for".
This protest ended in little to no violence with very little direct police intervention, with varying response across the board.
Hamilton County ICE Protests
Hamilton County ICE Protests
In June of 2025, protesters swarmed streets to beg the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office to cut ties with ICE. The protesters cited one of their main concerns to be the separation of children from parents through the deportation process, and the unfair treatment of ICE detainees.
A statement made by Sheriff Austin Garrett of the HCSO stated that the department is going to keep ICE around until further notice, not remedying the disagreements among the people on whether to keep ICE or not.
ICE has been portrayed on social media as harsh, violent, and unjust. This depiction was a main cause of the protest, sparking outrage among concerned citizens.
Protesters in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Police Perspectives
Police Perspectives
During the research for this paper, we conducted seperate interviews with Officer Andres with the Hamilton County Department of Education, and Officer Genovisi with the local Sheriff's department. This Q&A reflects the content of these interviews.
If you were deployed to a protest, what would be your mindset going in?
If you were deployed to a protest, what would be your mindset going in?
Mainly to make sure that everyone there at the protest are kept safe.
To make sure there isn't any sort of damage to physical property or vandalism going on at the site of the protest.
What do you believe is the police department's role in a protest?
What do you believe is the police department's role in a protest?
To make sure everyone is able to safely exercise their rights.
To keep everybody safe and make sure nobody is breaking the law.
What would you do if you witnessed another officer acting unprofessionally during a protest?
What would you do if you witnessed another officer acting unprofessionally during a protest?
Step in. If it's something small that can be solved there, that's what's done.
If it's something more serious like an officer using excessive force that's something that's handled higher up the chain.
How do organizations such as hospitals and schools respond to active protests?
How do organizations such as hospitals and schools respond to active protests?
Many organizations have special safety procedures for large protests nearby, especially when they get violent.
Procedures focus on maintaining safety.
How does the number of people attending a protest affect the response?
How does the number of people attending a protest affect the response?
Police don't always respond to protests.
Police almost never respond to small assemblies.
The amount of police deployed is decided in accordance to how many people are protesting.
How do police typically find out about protests?
How do police typically find out about protests?
Large protest organizers can coordinate with police to schedule things like road closures and larger public events.
Police often spot protests directly while on patrol or track them on social media.
How do the police typically discern when to deploy riot and swat teams? Are there any specific prerequisites?
How do the police typically discern when to deploy riot and swat teams? Are there any specific prerequisites?
There really aren't any standard procedures where a certain thing happens that directly prompts a riot response unit.
Typically, the deciding actions happen when the level of violence during a protest escalates to a point where standard law enforcement officers cannot de-escalate the situation.
The Impact of Protests
The Impact of Protests
The biggest impact of protests is their ability to make change, but even when made for a good cause, they can go wrong if violence is used. and could change nothing and put people in jail.
The more a protest or other movement loses momentum or relevance or falls out of the attention of the public, the less likely it is to make real impact.
Protests have a much greater impact on the public than they do the public's leaders, and protesters should cater to this. Often the opinions of the people are both much easier to influence and much more important than those of a higher official.
There is absolutely very little denying that, when subject to any form of undue oppression, injustice, or conflict, the immediate human reaction is either to protest or to stay reluctantly silent. The unalienable right to protest, assembly, and expression is a staple of all people in the world, and to obstruct or ignore that right would be to sacrifice our independence, freedom, and power.
Page updated
Report abuse