A crowd gathered on the Allen County Courthouse Green Thursday evening, filling in the half circle of grass near the front doors, despite the rain. Many held homemade signs on posterboard while one man carried an upside-down American flag.
"Renee Nicole Good. A mother, a citizen, a member of her community," said Bri Andrews, one of the speakers.
Organizers began with a few speeches about why they were gathered. Many of them mentioned Renee Nicole Good by name. Andrews urged the crowd to honor more than just Good.
"But we know more than 30 souls have been killed in ICE custody just last year," Andrews said.
Once the brief speeches wrapped up, the crowd marched south from the Courthouse to the E. Ross Adair Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse. They split into a few groups as they marched, stopped by traffic lights.
They chanted things like "defund ICE" and "no more ICE, no more wars."
At the Federal Building, the crowd gathered again for a few more speeches. Kelly Thompson, a democratic candidate running for Indiana’s Third Congressional district, called out the Republican majority in the U.S. Congress, saying they are complicit in Good’s death.
She also called for the dissolution of ICE, which she says was an overreaction to the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11.
“ICE is an overreach, we don’t need ICE," she said. "ICE is different than law enforcement.”
At the end of the march, organizers encouraged those who attended to call and write Senators Jim Banks and Todd Young, requesting the removal of ICE from the state.
