How this Portland costume became a signature protest tool at ‘No Kings’ anti-Trump rallies

It all began when Seth Todd was wearing an inflatable frog costume while protesting ICE in Portland, Oregon.

Seth Todd was wearing an inflatable frog costume while protesting outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Building in Portland, Oregon, when a federal officer unleashed a torrent of chemical spray directly into the costume’s air vent.

Video of the incident on Oct. 2 has spread, and puffed-out costumes — hippos in tutus, Mr. Potato Heads, dinosaurs — have quickly become a feature of protests against President Donald Trump’s administration, including the massive “No Kings” marches across the U.S. last weekend.

Todd, 24, said that while the attention has been overwhelming, he is nonetheless “honored to have inspired a movement like this.”

“It’s helping to … combat that specific narrative that we are violent and we are agitating,” he said.