Boston community braves frigid weather to protest Trump administration in walkout
Jeffrey Franchetti: “The time to get up and stand up for these things is now — you can’t be on the sideline anymore”
On Jan. 20, 2026, over 100 people gathered in front of Boston’s Ruggles Station to participate in the nationwide “Free America” walkout despite frigid temperatures. Organized to protest the Trump administration and its immigration crackdown, the movement was fueled in part by the killing of Renee Good by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
Shortly after 2 p.m., participants began gathering, holding signs that criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), President Trump, and other White House officials such as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Vice President JD Vance. Northeastern University Professor of Sociology and walkout organizer Suzanne Walters opened the event with a short speech on the importance of organized protest.
Walters stressed society’s duty to speak out against the government when it mistreats its people. “We walk out to say we cannot go on with business as usual when the business is [the] government-sanctioned murder of young mothers in their cars,” she said.
After concluding her remarks, Walters instructed the group to march to Forsyth Park to further demonstrate. On their way, participants chanted slogans such as “For justice and peace, get ICE off our streets,” and “Not for war and occupation, fight for jobs and education.” In addition, protestors made use of megaphones, whistles, and horns, often to the response of cars passing by. Event marshals and the Boston Police Department also guided the protesters down Forsythe Street to the park, and medics were stationed along the route to administer aid for injuries caused by the frigid temperatures.
At Forsyth Park, several speakers expressed their dissatisfaction with the White House’s policies. Northeastern University fourth-year Josiehanna Colon, a criminal justice and human services major, criticized her university’s lack of action in regards to diversity programs.
According to Colon, the Trump administration’s attitude towards diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies has resulted in Northeastern University eliminating or drastically reducing positions involved in that area. Since their elimination, Colon claims that Northeastern has neither reinstated such positions nor explained how the funds previously allocated to those programs would benefit affected communities in other ways.
Other speakers denounced the administration’s positions on a range of issues, from the U.S. military’s capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro to the increasing prevalence of ICE and its effect on neighborhoods. By 3:30 p.m., the walkout had concluded, as participants left to seek refuge from the cold.
Despite the challenges the weather posed, many protestors were glad to see such widespread participation, especially from the younger generation.
For third-year Northeastern University student and co-organizer Jeffrey Franchetti, seeing people of all age ranges participate in the walkout was invigorating. “The time to get up and stand up for these things is now — you can’t be on the sideline anymore. It’s time to band together and show the world what us young people can do,” he emphasized.
High school student Damaris Sosa echoed the same sentiment. As a member of her school’s student identity protection alliance, Sosa participated in the event to support her classmates. Like Franchetti, Sosa reiterated the need for the younger generation to step up and take on greater responsibility for their future. “It’s very important that we start to work to better our future because it is our future and [this] is what we are being left with,” Sosa said.