Over 200 people gathered near 3 Main Street, outside the former police station, for Rock This Democracy’s “March to Melt ICE” on Saturday, January 31.

Those from Newtown and neighboring towns and cities bundled up on Saturday afternoon to listen to several speakers and march to the flagpole up the street.

Rock This Democracy organizer Alex Villamil said they marched up the street to drive home a message: “The violence being created by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must be de-escalated.”

“Across the political spectrum our country agrees: what’s been happening is alien to the ideals we cherish as Americans,” Rock This Democracy notes on its website.

The protest is just one of many that have been held across America in response to the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old woman and mother who was killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on January 7, along with the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old man and intensive care nurse who was killed by US Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis on January 24.

Rock This Democracy organizer Jim Allen said they assemble knowing that, across America, their power is in their numbers.

“It has fallen to us in our time to defeat authoritarianism and fascism in our own country,” Allen said. “We say to all elected officials: either join the bipartisan push against authoritarianism, or resign yourselves to telling your grandchildren that you stood on the wrong side of history.”

He continued by saying that they demand a drawdown of ICE agents from Minnesota and transparency in the investigation for the shootings of Good and Pretti.

Allen noted the public was told ICE would focus on deporting the worst of the worst, but he said he felt it was a lie. Instead, Allen said ICE is going into parking lots to “see who they can detain,” and has been going into cities to militarize them and intimidate civilians.

“We stand with the families of [Good] and [Pretti], and all of those injured or killed by ICE,” Allen said. “This is our democracy, and these freedoms to exercise are the arsenal of our fight.”

Trinity Church Director and Reverend Andrea Wyatt spoke next. She said she wanted to speak because she is a person of faith, and believes in a merciful and compassionate creator.

“Who knew the word ‘mercy’ would be such a threat to those abusing power,” Wyatt said. “As a person of faith, I believe in the dignity and sanctity of every human being ... because we are made in the very image of that creator. And if we are diverse, what does that tell us about God?”

She said that even though their streets are full of ice, their hearts are on fire. Wyatt said they have seen families separated, not even violent criminals, but people who do everything right trying to pursue citizenship, beaten, thrown around, or disappeared into detention camps.

“A witness holding a cell phone is not a domestic terrorist,” Wyatt said. “How many unknown names are dying in camps in the United States of America?”

Newtown resident Nancy Crevier read an account written by Molly Willer, a resident of Bloomington, Minn. and daughter of Newtown Democratic Town Committee member Betsy Litt.

Before reading the letter, Crevier said that they need to stand by Minneapolis.

“But, we need to remember that while the most prominent horrors have most recently taken place there, it is not the only place in America that has, or will, experience the overstepping of federal agents,” Crevier continued. “We can only continue to support these citizens who, like us, oppose crime, but long to see the law rightfully enforced.”

Willer’s letter mentioned that she has not slept well in weeks, and has cried alone, with her family, and with strangers over what has happened in her state.

She said she has seen a lot over the past several weeks: saw videos of citizens being thrown to the ground and beaten, read about the Department of Justice charging protesters for blowing whistles and filming, and saw a screenshot from a Facebook group of Make America Great Again advocates local to her area planning ways to intimidate their city council and local citizens who speak against ICE.

“This is not about immigration enforcement, and it never was. If Republicans actually cared about immigration enforcement, they would have approved the bipartisan immigration enforcement deal two years ago. They would be sending ICE to places like Texas and Florida that have almost ten times as many immigrants as Minnesota,” Willer wrote.

She finished by saying that she has seen people who have never spoken out before, such as teens who have never volunteered, dads who have never protested, and moms so introverted that they do not want to talk to anyone, use their voice and rally together.

“Whatever we were, now we are all Minnesotans,” Willer wrote. “We defy injustice and we protect each other. We are exhausted but we hold fast. We are the North Star State.”

Miranda Pachiana, a volunteer for Rock This Democracy, spoke next. She said her own activism began after December 14, 2012, where she got on a bus to Washington D.C. to march for gun control prevention.

While she did not know how to organize, talk to legislators, or even believe in her own voice yet, Pachiana kept going and learned the power every person has by speaking out.

“Every single person has something to offer. We can’t afford not to contribute if we want to protect democracy,” Pachiana said.

She said they can call legislators, show up at rallies, and carry signs, but that power also looks like writing letters to the editor, supporting artists, driving neighbors to meetings, or getting other people to get involved.

“The power of the people is the only way we defeat government oppression,” Pachiana said. “They want us exhausted, hopeless, and angry, but people have had enough.”

Villamil took the microphone next, and said change happens when people come together. Turning that feeling of helplessness into action, he said, is making a difference in Minneapolis across the nation and in the halls of Congress.

He encouraged people to get to know who their representatives in Congress and local government are.

“Put them on your speed dial and call; they actually welcome hearing from us,” Villamil said. “That is a major part of becoming part of the change.”

He also encouraged people to join groups that advocate for causes that inspire them, whether it be immigration, social justice, education, or the environment.

The last speaker was Kiera Reilly, a Newtown resident who wrote to Villamil the previous week and said she felt horrified by the recent events in Minnesota. She did not know where to start, but Reilly worked with fellow organizer Amy Drabik to get together a group of moms on Facebook to get involved and affect change.

Reilly said she is not a public speaker, but was inspired by the quote from social activist Maggie Kuhn, “Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes.”

Reilly mentioned how she only moved to Newtown a few years ago, and has mostly stayed away from politics. She wanted to get to meet people, and said she was afraid of politics getting in the way of that.

Last weekend, however, she said something changed. In seeing what happened in Minneapolis, she made a Facebook post looking for others who felt as devastated as she did and wanted to do something. Reilly said that group has now grown to over 100 moms, ready for action.

“I am resolved to no longer sit at home and scroll through social media’s echo chambers or its horrifying alternate realities, to no longer just send the same group of people articles, podcasts, and memes ... I want to do more than that,” Reilly said. “I am ready to get to work, to make our community members feel safer, and I am filled with encouragement by the coalition of moms with me.”

Afterwards, people marched up Main Street all the way to the flagpole, waving signs and chanting all the while.

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.