Protests continued Wednesday outside the Hilton Carillon, 950 Lake Carillon Drive, in St. Petersburg, where a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol recruitment (CBP) event was held inside the hotel. The demonstration followed heightened public vitriol after the Jan. 7 shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis.
The hotel parking lot was saturated with law enforcement, including St. Petersburg Police, Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies and CBP representatives, who vetted and directed incoming traffic throughout the afternoon.
For context, Hilton Hotels has faced criticism from groups such as Voices of Florida, which helped organize opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP after the hotel agreed to host the recruiting event at its Carillon location.
While no representatives from Voices of Florida could be located on site, their social media accounts circulated videos and commentary from the demonstration observed by Poliverse.
Speaking with Poliverse, one protestor said, “I’m from the 60s and 70s and never went to a protest. But this has me riled up.” As cars traveled down Lake Carillon Drive, reactions were mixed – some drivers honked in solidarity, while others shouted expletives, raised middle fingers or yelled “get a job.”
When suspected CBP recruits entered the parking lot, protestors blew whistles in an effort to drown out CBP directions to drivers.
Wednesday’s second day of protests drew a noticeably smaller crowd than the previous day, when demonstrators remained on site until 8 p.m. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said he had been “concerned last night” that law enforcement might need to “take action,” though no arrests were made during Tuesday’s demonstration.
Despite the smaller crowd Wednesday, two arrests were made.
St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway told Poliverse the individuals were asked to leave the premises and refused to comply, resulting in trespass arrests. One individual, wearing a pink tutu, was arrested shortly after exiting her vehicle in the parking lot; it was not confirmed, however, whether or not she was participating in the protest. The woman’s vehicle was towed following the arrest.
Most protestors remained within designated areas marked by orange traffic cones at the entrance and along the medians of Lake Carillon Drive.
Holloway said officers coordinated resources between agencies, with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office securing the interior of the hotel while city police focused on maintaining safety for protestors outside.