Just after 8 p.m. on Tuesday June 10, a group of nearly 50 protesters marched from the corner of Mill Street and Illinois Avenue to the Paul Simon Federal Building in Carbondale to voice their concerns about an array of issues ongoing in the United States.
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Those concerns had mostly to do with the deployment, conduct and tactics of federal agencies like Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. military, as well as the conduct of U.S. police forces and select government officials.
The issues, articulated through signs and banners, ranged from government overreach, fascist tendencies, deportation, the absence of due process, visa revocations, over-policing, border control and police brutality.
“We stand in full solidarity with the L.A. rebellion and all of the people rebelling across this country who, in good conscience, cannot let their neighbors and loved ones be kidnapped and disappeared into foreign prisons,” said an anonymous speaker addressing Tuesdays group with a megaphone.
These protests in Carbondale come on the heels of nationwide protests in larger cities like Chicago, San Antonio and Los Angeles, most of which call for an abolishment of agencies like ICE, the defundment of police and a halt to the mass deportations being dealt by the federal government.
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Tuesdays protest was not led by a single organizing group. Participants observed an absence of leadership and hierarchy as a form of risk management – a fundamental aspect of this form of contemporary protesting. Word spreads online as accounts post anonymously sourced flyers detailing the what, when and where of the protest – then people show up.
Most who participate in these protests don’t want to be known, named or photographed. They wear sunglasses, masks and even long sleeves in the heat.
With the threat of surveillance, protesters are wary of police, federal agents, doxxers and increasingly, of journalists. Many refuse to give out their names in fear that their involvement with the protests will be used against them.
In places like Atlanta and New York, protesters have been arrested weeks after demonstrations based on nothing more than photos and facial recognition.
The people showing up in Carbondale Tuesday seemed to know exactly what they were risking, and that’s reflected by the outcome of their demonstration.
Despite a constant police presence during the protest and no observable damage to federal property, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois issued a press release on Wednesday, June 11 stating that the protesters will be prosecuted for vandalism to federal property to the fullest extent of the law.
The Carbondale Police Department was on scene for the entirety of the protest and followed behind the group in a squad car as they marched around the Strip to the federal building.
Not once did they intervene.
Lights on with no siren, the Carbondale squad car stayed close to the group of protesters and monitored the situation the entire time.
“Carbondale is one of the most overpoliced small towns in this entire country,” said one of the anonymous protesters to the crowd. “We have three times the amount of cops as a town of this size on average. That includes both the Carbondale PD and the SIU police force.”
Chants during the march included:
- “Melt ICE!”
- “No justice – no peace!”
- “No border, no wall, no USA at all!”
Although many at protests of this nature prefer to remain anonymous, not everyone follows suit.
Macklen Makhloghi, who moved to Carbondale from Los Angeles two years ago, attended Tuesdays protest wearing no mask with a sign that read “ACAB” and “abolish all police.”
“We’re here today because the fascist overreach of the federal government, which has been snowballing for a long time now, has reached a breaking point,” Makhloghi said. “More and more people are realizing that we cannot sit by and watch fascism happen and expect others to get out there and protest – we’ve gotta get out here too.”
Makhloghi said ACAB, which stands for “all cops are bastards,” doesn’t mean that every individual police officer is a bad person.
“What it means is that once they put that outfit on,” he said, “they have an obligation to the fraternity that is the police to cover stuff up, to look out for one another and to sweep stuff under the rug because they are required to enforce unjust laws.
“So many things have been laws over the years that are not morally correct,” continued Makhloghi. “Everyone can look back at slavery and see how horrible it was – and I’m glad we’re at that point – but at one point slavery was the law of the land. Slave uprisings were literally illegal.
“When I set foot in the streets to advocate for a cause I ask myself, ‘Is this morally correct?’ And that’s when I wanna come out here – to speak up for what’s morally correct.”

When the group arrived at the federal building on Tuesday, they stopped to speak, bang on their drums and chant demands as police looked on.
At around 8:35 p.m., the group lit smoke devices and flares outside of the building, then continued marching onto University Avenue and back to the corner of Mill Street and Illinois Avenue where the march began.
As the protesters departed from the federal building and continued their march, police officers and members of the media went to assess any potential damage to the building and the surrounding area.
No damage was observed by the Daily Egyptian and no arrests were made after the police conducted their search.
The only thing that appeared to be left behind was a single water bottle and a flare out on the street.

In their press release on Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois allege that “criminals defaced a federal building” during the protest.
U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher J.S. Johnson both vowed to pursue and prosecute those involved.
“There are bright lines separating where speech ends and criminal conduct begins. Those who committed this targeted vandalism to federal property will be pursued and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Weinhoeft said in the release.
Johnson echoed that sentiment: “The individuals who defaced the building last night will be identified and charged, as well as those who aid and abet them.”
When the investigation was launched, the DE and other members of the local media returned to the scene to see if any damage had been done overnight.
None was found.
A headline posted from Swinford Media Group’s WFCN on Wednesday read: “Federal Building in Carbondale vandalized; FBI vows justice.” They have since posted an update after leaving many people concerned, stating that they have now visited the scene and found no visible damage on any portion of the building.
During a TV broadcast, KFVS12 reporter Devin Kidd said on the air that he noticed no signs of damage to the building either.

As the march concluded on Tuesday, protesters dispersed and the Carbondale police stayed around to ensure everyone went home safely.
As the police left the scene around 9 p.m., there had been no injuries, no violence and no observable vandalism throughout Carbondale.
When asked if they had been informed of what the protest was going to consist of beforehand, the officers said that they had only seen the online flyer and nothing more than that.
It is unclear whether or not the ignition of smoke and flares outside of the federal building is what the Department of Justice is considering “targeted vandalism to federal property,” or if something happened to the building that only the Department of Justice would recognize, or if whatever alleged damage was done has already been corrected.
Lauren Barry Duncan, Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Illinois, told the DE that there are no more details available concerning the alleged damage that was done by the alleged criminals at the federal building during the protest on Tuesday. The office will not release any further information while the investigation is ongoing.
At the end of the march, one of the alleged criminals encouraged the group to use this time to build community with each other: “Before you leave, meet some of the people here. We’re here to support our neighbors. Meet some of these people – they’re awesome.”
Another protest is planned for the evening of Thursday, June 12 at the Carbondale Town Square Pavilion lead by the Southern Illinois Democratic Socialists of America. They are protesting to “stop the raids” and to “abolish ICE.”
Multiple protesters on Tuesday told the DE that they plan to host another demonstration again at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, outside of Carbondale City Hall.
Saturdays planned event is part of a nationwide protest called the “NO KINGS” event and is being organized counter to President Trumps planned military parade in Washington D.C., which coincides with the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, Flag Day and the Presidents birthday.
According to the event website, NO KINGS is a national day of action and mass mobilization in response to “increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption from Trump and his allies.”
Their website states that a core principle behind all NO KINGS events is a commitment to nonviolent action, and that they expect all participants to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with their values.
The NO KINGS event has been advertised by Walmart heiress Christy Walton.
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