Three people landed in hospitals after a Denver student walkout turned violent with a school board official present.
Monica Hunter, vice president of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education and District 4 representative, stood alongside students at the September 4th “ICE Out” rally at La Alma-Lincoln Park. She wore a white shirt identifying herself as a DPS grad, parent, and teacher, and raised her fist next to students carrying signs reading “Break the ICE,” “No one is illegal on stolen land,” and “I like my ICE crushed.”
The Colorado Youth Coalition organized the statewide walkout, with support from groups including the Brown Berets of Tepetlán, a Denver-area Chicano activist group connected to the militant Brown Berets movement founded in East Los Angeles in 1967. Organizers anticipated students from more than 160 schools walking out around noon, with Denver participants gathering at the park.
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School districts across the Front Range generally acknowledged students had a right to protest but made clear that leaving campus would likely result in unexcused absences. Cherry Creek School District went further, declining to endorse the walkout and setting up a designated on-campus protest area. The district told families that student safety and maintaining a functional learning environment would remain the priority.
As originally reported, the demonstration escalated into violence. Students surrounded a masked man in a red MAGA hat who carried an “I love ICE” sign, doused him with water, grabbed the sign, and tore it apart. A woman whose identity wasn’t immediately confirmed had her hair pulled and was punched in the face. Photographs also showed protesters crossing a street to confront a group of counterprotesters.
Denver police documented at least five assaults or altercations inside the park. Three people were taken to hospitals, though the severity of their injuries was not immediately disclosed. A fourth person was evaluated on the scene. A fifth reportedly left before police could speak with them. Officers contacted or identified several suspects and cited two people for graffiti. The department did not identify Hunter as a suspect or connect her to any assault.
Hunter’s presence at the rally followed a significant policy move by the Denver school board. On April 23rd, the board voted unanimously to restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities, directing the superintendent not to grant immigration agents access to district property, records, or surveillance footage without a valid judicial warrant. The policy also shielded students from being questioned, detained, or removed without a warrant and prior sign-off from the district’s attorney.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston had signed a parallel executive order on February 26th, limiting the use of city-owned property for civil immigration enforcement and directing police to protect peaceful protesters during federal immigration operations.
After attending the rally, Hunter posted that she had “proudly stood with students” exercising their First Amendment rights, saying she spoke with students “who have been directly impacted by the sanctioned violence of ICE.”
