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In the bitter cold, more than a thousand people rally in Providence for ‘ICE Out!’ protest – The Boston Globe

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In the bitter cold, more than a thousand people rally in Providence for ‘ICE Out!’ protest – The Boston Globe


Amanda McCorkle also came to Providence from the southern part of the state and took her two children, Ada and Magnus Katter, out of school to participate in the “ICE Out! National Day of Action” protest

“It’s just too hard to ignore what’s happening right now,” McCorkle said.

“Stop killing people,” her daughter, 15-year-old Ada Katter, said. “Kids are seeing it, it’s hurtful, it’s scary.”

Amanda McCorkle and her children, Magnus, 10, and Ada, 15, protest against ICE near the Rhode Island State House.Christopher Gavin/Globe Staff
Protesters march down Canal Street in Providence holding signs. “From Rhode Island to Minneapolis, stop ICE terror,” one banner says.Christopher Gavin/Globe Staff

The rally turned into a march around downtown, blocking traffic at times, before returning to the State House. Families with small children were in attendance. Wind chills dipped into the single digits.

“Free our families, free them all,” one chant rang out. The protest drew more than 1,000 people and was peaceful. A Providence police spokesperson said no arrests were made as of 5 p.m.

Protests against ICE are being held nationwide on Friday and this weekend, as tensions reach a boiling point over the two killings. The Department of Justice earlier Friday said it was opening a civil rights investigation into the shooting of Pretti, but a similar investigation was not being opened in Good’s death.

Students from various Providence high schools and from Brown University also joined the protest Friday afternoon.

“We are here saying enough is enough,” said Dakota Pippins, a freshman at Brown. We’re not going to tolerate it anymore.” Pippins said students from Brown walked out of their classes to join the protest, which made its way up North Main Street toward the State House.

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Students from URI, RISD, Johnson & Wales, Roger Williams, RIC, and CCRI also participated, he later confirmed, and student and graduate worker groups including the Deportation Defense Network, Brown Rise Up, Sunrise Brown, and the RI Student Climate Coalition worked together to coordinate the walkout.

Students, including from Providence high schools and Brown University, round the corner onto Smith Street to join a protest against federal immigration officials at the Rhode Island State House.Carlos Muñoz/Globe Staff
Protesters against ICE hold signs outside the Rhode Island State House in Providence.Christopher Gavin/Globe Staff

“What people are really bothered by is the horrifying violence of it,” Pippins said, referencing the Pretti killing. “And just the fact that the highest officials in our nation would then call him a terrorist, an assassin, trying to murder people, when we have video evidence that so clearly refutes that, is just sickening.”

Manuel Urizar, a senior at Hope High School, said he walked out of school with around 50 other students. He said he has heard people say that protesting ICE is causing “unnecessary fear.”

“It’s not unnecessary where there is the possibility that anyone from our family, our friends … are just being taken off the streets,” Urizar said.

Matthew Muller walks with a giant inflatable whistle, an homage to the whistles used in Minneapolis to warn neighbors that ICE is coming.Christopher Gavin, Globe Staff

Matthew Muller marched with a massive inflatable orange whistle created by his Providence-based art studio Pneuhaus, a reference to the whistles used in Minneapolis to warn neighbors that ICE is nearby.

“People are intimidated to join the ICE watch, and I think inflatables are a playful way to get past the barriers that these political issues bring up,” Muller said.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley on Friday had just returned from a US Conference of Mayors meeting where he spoke to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, along with the mayors of Los Angeles and Portland, where major ICE enforcement actions have taken place.

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“We’ve been so appalled and offended by the lawlessness that we’ve seen, and heartbroken by the harm that’s been done,” Smiley said.

He said there’s been a “tone and tactic shift” from many mayors, including himself, who initially sought to avoid drawing the attention of the Trump administration, for fear of being the next city targeted.

Now, he said, “enforcement priority locations seem to have nothing to do with anything other than political grudges or retribution from the administration, and so ‘keeping your head down’ maybe does, maybe doesn’t keep you off the hit list,” Smiley said.

Protest against ICE at Rhode Island State House in Providence.Christopher Gavin/Globe Staff

He signed an executive order earlier this month barring ICE from using city property for its operations. The city has a separate ordinance barring police from helping ICE with civil immigration enforcement.

Smiley said the city’s emergency management agency has been preparing in case Providence is targeted by a major ICE enforcement.

There is no specific reason to believe Providence will be targeted, he said, “but there’s no reason to believe they were going to target Portland, Maine, either.”

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State Representative David Morales, who is running against Smiley for mayor, said he was “terrified” that an immigration action could happen here.

“If I was mayor, we would be towing ICE vehicles out of our city any time they violate our sanctuary city laws,” Morales said.

Protesters march through downtown Providence.Christopher Gavin/Globe Staff

Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com. Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado. Carlos Muñoz can be reached at carlos.munoz@globe.com. Follow him @ReadCarlos and on Instagram @Carlosbrknews.





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Married couple from R.I. identified as victims in fatal Swansea crash

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Married couple from R.I. identified as victims in fatal Swansea crash


Local News

The two victims were identified as a husband and wife from Rhode Island, local officials said.

A Rhode Island husband and wife in their 50s were identified as the two people killed in a Swansea car crash Friday night.

Carlolyn Carcasi, 54, and James Carcasi, 53, of Bristol, Rhode Island, were killed in the Feb. 27 crash, the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a press release Monday.

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The crash occurred at the intersection of Route 136 and Route 6 in Swansea, Quinn’s office said.

Police in Cranston, Rhode Island identified the driver who allegedly hit the couple as Demitri Sousa, 28. Sousa allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island nearly four hours before the crash, Cranston police said.

At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said previously.

The couple was driving southbound on Route 136 when the Sousa crashed into the side of a Subaru Ascent. Both cars had “catastrophic damage,” and the Subaru was engulfed in flames, Swansea fire and police officials said. 

Both occupants of the Subaru were declared dead at the scene, Swansea officials said.

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Sousa was transported to a local hospital, where he is being treated for serious injuries. He is expected to live and will be held in Cranston police custody until he is medically cleared, police said Sunday.

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Women’s Fund of Rhode Island, leaders celebrate Women’s History Month with panel event

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Women’s Fund of Rhode Island, leaders celebrate Women’s History Month with panel event


Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed celebrated Women’s History Month in Cranston with a panel discussion on Monday.

The event was held at the Cranston Public Library at 9 a.m.

Reed and other leaders of WFRI hosted a panel discussion with women leaders in environmental and agricultural advocacy, education, community resilience, housing, finance, workforce development, and more, officials said.

Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed celebrated Women’s History Month in Cranston with a panel discussion on Monday. (WJAR)

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“Women have played a critical role in this process, most often without any recognition,” Reed said. “Today’s panel brings together an extraordinary group of women who are addressing the challenged of sustainability from various angles and I want to thank you all for your great efforts.”

The panelists highlighted their experiences, shared insights and tips on lifting up women’s voices, provided strategies for sparking change and more.

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According to officials, some of the panelists included Executive Director of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council Nessa Richman, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at Rhode Island College Kim Bright, Newport Housing Authority Executive Director Rhonda Mitchell and more.

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Man allegedly kills man in R.I. before causing car crash that killed 2 in Mass.

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Man allegedly kills man in R.I. before causing car crash that killed 2 in Mass.


Local News

“On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Javon Lawson and the two individuals who were killed in the crash in Swansea,” Col. Michael J. Winquist said.

A Seekonk man is accused of murder after he allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island before causing a car crash in Swansea that killed two people last week, police said.  

Demitri Sousa, 28, is charged with murder, using a firearm while committing a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license, the Cranston Police Department said.

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The shooting occurred Thursday night in Cranston, police said in a press release.

That night, Sousa allegedly arrived at the Cranston home of Javon Lawson, 35. Sousa began banging on the side door of the home, police said. 

When Lawson approached the door, he was hit by gunfire from outside, police said.

First responders transported Lawson to the Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Cranston police said.

“Based on the preliminary investigation, the motive is believed to be a dispute between the suspect and the victim over a mutual female acquaintance. Detectives are continuing this investigation to gain more insight, as well as to collect and analyze evidence,” Colonel Michael Winquist, Chief of Cranston police, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.

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Neighbors gave police video footage that “showed a male subject wearing dark clothing and a mask walking toward the residence moments before the shooting and fleeing immediately afterward,” Winquist said.

The suspect was also seen running to a white Infiniti sedan which then drove off, the Cranston police chief said.

Shortly after the shooting, a license plate reader captured the vehicle driving southbound on Route 10, and then later in Fall River and Westport, Massachusetts. The sedan’s license plate was registered in Sousa’s name, Winquist said.

At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said.

Just moments later, Sousa allegedly “crashed into the side of another vehicle, a blue 2022 Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136,” Swansea Police Chief Mark Foley and Fire Chief Eric Hajder said in a joint press release.

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Both vehicles had “catastrophic damage,” and the struck car was engulfed in flames, the Swansea officials said.

The driver and passenger of the hit car — a man and a woman — were declared dead at the scene, they said.

“Swansea Police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect vehicle. However, Swansea Police were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the crash,” the Swansea chiefs wrote. Swansea official have not announced charges related to the fatal crash.

Sousa had been driving the Infiniti and appeared to be suffering from serious injuries, Winquist said. Inside the car, police found a pistol and “additional .22 caliber ammunition was recovered” from Sousa at Rhode Island Hospital, Winquist said.

Police arrested Sousa and transported him to Rhode Island Hospital. Sousa is expected to survive, Winquist said. Sousa will be held in Cranston police custody until he is conscious and medically cleared, Winquist said.

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“On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Javon Lawson and the two individuals who were killed in the crash in Swansea,” Winquist said.

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