Local businesses across the US forwent income for the day to protest the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the fatal shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis.
In what was billed a “National Shutdown,” organizers called for a 24-hour general strike, asking students to skip school, business owners to close up shop, and consumers to refrain from spending for the day.
Some small and medium-sized businesses from coast to coast posted on their social media stating that they’d be closed on Friday as part of the demonstrations. Others said that they’d remain open to support their workers, but showed support for the protests.
Touchstone Climbing, a popular California-based climbing gym with about 20 locations, posted on social media that its gyms were closed and that hourly employees scheduled to work on Friday would be paid.
A protester in New York City holds an “ICE out” sign.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Medium, an online publishing company, told employees that they were free to take Friday off to participate in the protests.
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Photos show crowds of demonstrators holding signs that said “ICE Out” and gathering in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, New York City, Boston, and Minneapolis, among other cities.
The protests come amid growing tensions in communities where the Trump administration has deployed federal agents. Many of the high-profile enforcement efforts have been concentrated in blue or so-called sanctuary cities.
In Minneapolis, two US residents, Good and Pretti, were fatally shot after a confrontation with federal agents that occurred within a span of a few weeks.
A large crowd of protesters gather in Minneapolis to protest the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
John Moore/Getty Images
Hundreds of local businesses in Minnesota participated in an economic blackout last week, shuttering their stores for a day following the shootings. The Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, which is tied to AFL-CIO, the largest labor union in the US, endorsed the general strike.
The Department of Justice announced on Friday that it opened a civil rights investigation into the shooting of Pretti, a 37-year-old registered nurse who was killed by a Border Patrol agent.
