Protesters gathered in St. Augustine Tuesday to participate in the nationwide “Free America Walkout” demonstration against the Trump Administration’s enforcement of immigration laws.
The protest, endorsed by the 50501 movement and the Women’s March, took place in front of the Castillo de San Marcos and drew roughly 80 people.
Supporters of Trump and his policies counter-protested by driving past the demonstration on Castillo Drive while playing Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” to signal their support for the agency.
Katrina “Kat” Duesterhaus, a national coordinator for the 50501 movement, said the group opposes what it sees as unconstitutional actions.
“It’s unconstitutional and un-American to have a paramilitary operating in the United States; it’s Donald Trump’s personal army at this point,” Duesterhaus said.
The Free America Walkout is a nationwide action that organized protests across the country at 2 p.m. on Jan. 20.
According to the group’s website, the goal is to “stress-test our readiness for real, collective action — not just symbolic protest.”
Conservative commentator Kaitlin Bennett attended the event and engaged protesters while her cameraman recorded the interactions.
“I came out here to conduct interviews with people who disagree with me. That’s what I do on my YouTube channel,” Bennett told The Citizen.
One exchange became heated, prompting U.S. Army combat veteran and progressive pundit Ben Candelora to urge protesters to avoid Bennett.
“Just refuse to take her questions. She’s here trying to provoke,” Candelora said.
Shortly afterward, a law enforcement officer asked Bennett and her crew to relocate to a designated counter-protest area. Bennett initially refused, saying she was standing on public property and was not counter-protesting.
Several officers then informed Bennett she was being detained. She and her crew then complied and followed officers away from the protest area.
U.S. Park Rangers later issued Bennett a citation for disobeying a lawful order. Bennett said officers did not explain the order.
She continued interviewing protesters from a public sidewalk and said her First Amendment rights were violated.
“This is public property,” Bennett said. “Just because you have a permit to hold a protest doesn’t make it private property.”
Bennett referenced a similar 2025 incident in Winter Garden, Florida, where she was initially trespassed from a farmers market while recording interviews.
City officials later rescinded the warning, according to a statement from the city manager.
Candelora criticized Bennett’s conduct during the protest in a statement, saying her comments and filming misrepresented the event’s purpose.
“We were there because our privilege allows us to show up and speak out without worrying about being stopped or targeted simply for being brown or Black,” he said.. A lot of people do not have that safety. Filming people that way and turning it into content ignores that reality and misrepresents what the protest was actually about.”
Apart from the citation, the protest passed without incident.
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