“We win by making them absurd, because that’s what they are.” Detained giraffe comedian says ICE laughed at his Epstein jokes.

It happened outside Portland’s ICE field office, where Potylo has been performing satirical protest songs against Trump’s immigration raids and militarized policing. He’d shown up armed with a mic, a Bluetooth amp, and an arsenal of Rod Stewart, Doors, and Village People parodies re-written to mock ICE and Trump’s Epstein connections.

Then, in a surreal display that felt more Brazil than America, three ICE agents in full tactical gear and masks dragged the fuzzy giraffe into custody while onlookers recorded. His little giraffe tail swayed as they carried him over a blue line labeled “GOVERNMENT PROPERTY.”

Inside, the absurdity continued. ICE agents removed his costume and gear, questioned him about his career, and, according to Potylo, laughed at his jokes. “I’m singing, ‘Trump was on the plane, chasing around young girls,’ and they start cracking up,” he told Rolling Stone.

But this moment isn’t just one man’s theatrical arrest. It plugs into a broader movement of absurdist protest exploding in Portland, dinosaurs, inflatable frogs, naked bike rides, all a response to militarized policing on American soil. Long story short: when you can’t beat the federal apparatus at its own violent game, make it look foolish.

It’s a philosophy born in Portland’s chaotic resistance scene, where protesters have embraced humor, music, and surreal spectacle to counter Trump’s escalating crackdowns. Naked cyclists. Inflatable frogs. Street raves outside ICE buildings. The message: joy is rebellion.

Because that’s the thing about authoritarianism, it doesn’t just rely on fear, it relies on control of the narrative. And artists like Potylo, through absurdist protest, take that control back.

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