Mass Student Walkouts Disrupt Charlotte Over ICE Operations
Political tensions surrounding immigration enforcement reached a boiling point in Charlotte, North Carolina, as tens of thousands of students staged dramatic walkouts from their schools. The protests, which took place on Monday, November 17, were organised in direct opposition to ongoing operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents in the city.
Academic Applauds Protesters Amid Reports of Vandalism
During a television appearance on MSNBC's The 11th Hour, political scientist and network regular Dr Jason Johnson appeared to revel in the scale of the demonstrations and their consequences. He awarded the students the 'MVP of the Week' for their actions, which he claimed had forced a public reckoning. Dr Johnson, a professor of Multimedia Journalism at Morgan State University, reported that the protests had extended beyond peaceful assembly.
'In addition to the fact - and I won't say that I'm suggesting this behaviour - but ICE agents have found that their tyres are slashed,' Johnson stated. He further claimed that agents had been 'chased out of buildings' and 'chased out of restaurants.' When host Stephanie Ruhle interjected to label such actions 'dangerous behaviour,' Johnson countered that it demonstrated the lengths to which the American public would go when 'they're not being listened to.'
Scale of Demonstrations and Political Fallout
The scale of the student involvement was significant, with Johnson highlighting that roughly 30,000 students participated in the walkout. He emphasised that the action was student-led, organised 'without politicians, without Mum and Dad,' with the clear message: 'We don't want ICE here.' The protest coincided with an ICE operation that led to the arrest of approximately 250 suspected illegal immigrants in the Charlotte area.
Johnson, who has been a political contributor at MSNBC since 2017, criticised the ICE operations for having 'terrorised' citizens and 'supposedly undocumented people' while disrupting city traffic. The segment concluded with host Stephanie Ruhle expressing her hope that 'nothing violent happens to any of these students,' underscoring the palpable tension surrounding the events.
