“I am not afraid, I am not afraid, I will fight for liberation, ’cause I know why I was made.” A choir of about 20 people of all ages stands in a hotel lobby in Minneapolis, arranged in a half-circle with one person conducting. They hold signs reading “No sleep for ICE” and “Hilton stop housing ICE.” What sounds like a contemplative rehearsal is a deliberate tactic: organizers instructed participants to sing until police arrived and not to escalate.
Minneapolis has become a site of creative nonviolent protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Residents use singing, loud noise, and even impromptu rock concerts to disrupt the work and rest of officers staying in local hotels. These actions are part of a broader turn toward varied nonviolent methods across the US: coalition building to broaden support, non-cooperation such as neighborhood patrols and alerting residents via chat groups, and boycotts—though a recent nationwide call to stay home from school, work, and shopping did not bring the country to a halt.
Nonviolent campaigns have succeeded elsewhere. In the past two years, Gen‑Z-led protests in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Madagascar helped bring down governments and were largely nonviolent. Ivan Marovic, a leader of Serbia’s Otpor movement that helped unseat Slobodan Milosevic, emphasizes that the key is motivating as many people as possible for as long as possible. Otpor’s student-led campaign sustained protests for over two years before toppling the regime.
Political scientists often cite a rule of thumb: if at least 3.5% of a population participates in sustained nonviolent protest against an authoritarian regime, success becomes likely. Numbers alone, however, are not sufficient. “The reason why movements succeed is because they apply continuous pressure,” says Marovic, now executive director of the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC). Successful campaigns transform protests into movements capable of maintaining long-term pressure.
Organizers in Minneapolis say their local efforts meet these criteria. Aru Shiney‑Ajay, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, which helps coordinate actions like hotel protests, says neighborhood groups organizing on Signal frequently reach the limit of active participants. She estimates at least 4% of citizens are involved, counting those who provide support beyond marching in the streets. “People are really hungry for things that materially get in the way of the ability of authoritarianism to function,” she says.
Scholars urge caution in applying the 3.5% rule universally. Lee Smithey, professor of Peace and Conflict Studies and Sociology at Swarthmore College, notes it may be less applicable to smaller-scale campaigns limited to a neighborhood or city.
Humor is another important tactic for sustaining movements and undermining power. Shiney‑Ajay draws inspiration from Otpor’s use of satire. Marovic recalls an action where protesters tied daisies—the favorite flower of the leader’s wife—to a turkey and paraded it through the streets. The gesture was meant to critique the political system rather than simply mock an individual; its shared symbolism helped unite protesters. “Using humor in movements helps those movements to shift perceptions about those who have power,” Marovic says. Humor can reduce fear of repression and make participation accessible: nonviolent actions allow children, the elderly, and a wide range of people to join.
Preventing apathy is critical. To sustain engagement, Shiney‑Ajay highlights tangible wins: some hotels have stopped accommodating ICE, and the number of officers in Minnesota has been reduced. In Minneapolis, Gregory Bovino, the border patrol official in charge of local immigration enforcement, left his post after an ICE officer shot protester Alex Pretti in January—a departure the Sunrise Movement celebrated on social media: “YOU did that. We did it together. We have made it impossible for ICE to do their job.” ICE did not respond to requests for comment at the time of reporting.
To keep momentum, organizers already plan future disruptions. One idea is to pressure the city to schedule construction on highway entrances around the Whipple detention building—”We have a lot of potholes in Minnesota. Maybe we should repair them right about now,” Shiney‑Ajay suggested, reframing routine civic work as a tactic to obstruct detention operations.
Nonviolent protest’s strength lies in its inclusiveness, creativity, and persistence. By combining sustained pressure, broad participation, humor, and tangible goals, movements can erode the functioning of authoritarian practices without resorting to violence. Edited by Rob Mudge.