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The Portland Frog didn’t show.
On the evening of Oct. 8 at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on South Macadam Avenue, there was an inflatable cow, the Disney cartoon critter Stitch and the Portland Chicken, but no frog. Costumes have become a hallmark of the nightly protests of President Donald Trump’s efforts to deploy National Guard troops in Portland, though Oct. 8 was a bit sleepy in front of the ICE building.
While the Portland Frog became an icon after it got pepper sprayed last week—directly into its air-intake vent on its booty!—the Portland Chicken has been a consistent presence and visual focal point of the movement. The bird gained global fame on Oct. 7, when right-wing influencer Benny Johnson posted video of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem stepping onto the ICE facility roof and staring down a handful of hecklers... and one chicken.
The Portland Chicken—Jack Dickinson, 26, of Portland—started out protesting at the Tesla dealership, also on South Macadam Avenue, in February but has switched to the ICE building. He has an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Oregon State University and a graduate degree in economics, with a focus on game theory. During the interview, drones circled overhead, passing cars honked their support and a bicycle brigade of law enforcement looked ready but relaxed.
WW: Why the chicken suit?
The Portland Chicken: It was originally TACO Trump, “Trump Always Chickens Out.” It was for the first No Kings protest, is what I got it for, because I had been protesting for a while and I kind of felt like I wanted to do something more than a clever sign this time. So, yeah. That’s what it is. Not an incredible amount of thought went into it at the time, though I did have ideas for the purpose of bringing a costume to an authoritarian consolidation.
Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.
There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.
What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.
It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.
What motivates you to protest?
I think, at some point, I just I tied my own fate into that of the movement. Because I was someone who read most of [the 2023 conservative playbook by the Heritage Foundation] Project 2025, and this is where it’s looked like we’ve been leading for a while. The place this is going to go is such a departure from the world I thought I would have as a kid and I would much rather do anything that I can to prevent that world from happening rather than just sit around selfishly and do nothing.
Do you have a day job?
No. Most people here do. The vast, vast majority of people here work jobs. I’m in a very fortunate position right now where I have some savings to live off of and I live with my parents.
How do you think the protest has gone these first almost two weeks?
It feels like we’re winning this. They’re not getting the footage they’re looking for. They look ridiculous. We won the court case, which ruled in our favor even though it was a Trump-appointed judge. I saw something of a general in the Oregon National Guard being pretty explicit in saying if the National Guard was assigned here, one of their goals would be protecting the protesters. That kind of language shows that the real narrative of Portland is leaking out. And I think that the work that a lot of people have put in to building a culture of discipline and a culture of whimsy and a knowledge of how they operate has really helped us.
Anything else you want WW readers to know?
Oct. 18 is the second No Kings protest. If you’ve never been to a protest before, this is the kind of environment you should show up to for the first one. Hopefully it will be big.
