On the Scene: Spokane ICE protest, June 11, 2025

Protesters demonstrating solidarity with immigrants and attempting to prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement from moving two people in Spokane to an ICE detention facility in Tacoma took to the streets on Wednesday, June 11.

A protest of ICE activity, in solidarity with Los Angeles demonstrations, had already been planned for Wednesday at 7 pm, but earlier in the afternoon, former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart sought community support at a facility ICE is using in Spokane.

Stuckart noted that he'd become the legal guardian to a young man from Venezuela, who was following proper legal processes to live and work here. But when he took the man to his appointment, ICE informed them they'd be detaining the man and taking him to Tacoma. Stuckart and others protested outside of the facility, attempting to block access to a bus that might be used to transport the man and another person who was being held inside a facility at 411 W. Cataldo Ave.

Over the course of the afternoon, more demonstrators showed up. Police also arrived, trying to disperse the crowd and get people to remain on the sidewalk.

By the time the evening protest was set to start, those organizers decided they would gather the crowd of hundreds at the Red Wagon in Riverfront Park and march toward the protest that was already taking place a few blocks away near the intersection of Washington Street and North River Drive.

Before the city issued a curfew, police used chemical irritants to push the crowd back on Washington Street.