If the marching opposition to US President Donald Trump’s first term had a color, it might have been a pussy-hat hat.
But knit protest hats have a new look in 2026, thanks to the popularity of a “melt ICE” hat shared online by a Minneapolis-area yarn store.
What started as a local “trick” act has now spread across the US and around the world. But the artists say their commitment to the effort to protect their neighbors from alien invasion goes beyond wearing a hat.
Minneapolis has been the target of increasing immigration raids since Trump sent 2,000 US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to the city in Jan. 6. These raids were met with strong local resistance, with protesters following unmarked ICE vehicles and alerting neighbors to their presence with whistles.
In the middle of these clashes, federal agents shot and killed two protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, which caused an international outcry.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz spoke to reporters after a woman was shot and killed by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, saying he had been warning about the consequences of the Trump administration’s “recklessness” for weeks.
Public figures from Joni Mitchell to Bad Bunny have spoken out against cleavage, with pins bearing slogans such as “Be Beautiful” and “ICE Out” appearing on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.
Nordic inspiration
The “melt the ICE” hat takes inspiration from Norway, according to the staff at Needle & Skein yarn store in St. Louis Park, Minn., who shared the pattern on the popular Ravelry site last month. Minnesota has one of the highest concentrations of residents who claim Norwegian ancestry, according to anthropologists.
A red hat, called a you’re still here in Norwegian, it was a symbol of patriotism and protest against the Nazi occupation during the Second World War.
“The hats were illegal because of what they represented,” said Maggie Bonetti, a Chicago mom who also teaches knitting who saw the pattern make waves three weeks ago.
Bonetti made an Instagram reel explaining the history of the hat, which he shared with his 900 followers. The post went viral, and was seen by hundreds of thousands of Instagram users.
Tailors from around the world have since added their own spin to the social media trend, combining middle fingers and small bag charms in the form of hats. Ravelry users even recreate the a hat with a green rabbit ear worn by Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old boy who was arrested by immigration officials in Minneapolis last month. (Ramos and his father were released from a Texas jail on Saturday.)
The cable store charges five dollars for the “ice melt” pattern, and said it goes up.ed over $250,000 US for immigrant aid groups in Minnesota. In a fundraising update posted on social media last week, the store said the proceeds will go to STEP St.
Symptoms and action
Ann Shoemake first learned to knit during the women’s march of Trump’s first term, when pink hats filled the streets of America’s biggest cities in response to Trump’s comments about misogyny that appeared during his 2016 presidential campaign. She lives in Tacoma, Wash., with her husband and son, Shoemake says knitting has become a shop.and how to communicate with the wider community.
As ICE now descends on the streets of Minnesota, she has once again taken up “fury knitting”, making red “ICE hats” for her family and friends.
“I am saddened by what is happening in this country,” he said. “I’m very worried. I have a white husband and son, so I’m worried about them.”
People across Minnesota participated in an ‘economic boycott’ on Friday to protest immigration violence in parts of the state. Hundreds of businesses are closed on this day and their organizers have urged people not to work or go to school.
Although it’s not the first time artisans have embraced a political movement, some “melt ICE” hat makers want to avoid the pitfalls of the pussy hat movement. Looking back a practice of the pink hat that some later criticized as obsoleteBonetti says he is careful not to let the sign get in the way of the action.
“The pink hats, they were just like good signs, they didn’t do anything with the movement,” Bonetti said. In this, he sees a strong focus on community service and mutual aid.
“What inspired me the most was seeing people not only knitting a hat,” she said. “The important thing is that you do work in your community to embody what this hat represents.”
Democratic cities are targeted
Shoemake and her husband, Syed Jamal, said they attended the No Kings march in Tacoma, and they expect another protest across the country in March.
Bonetti helped organize an anti-ICE fundraiser at a local cafe on Saturday, and is planning the next event on Feb. 15. She asked the wider knitting community to donate funds to help each other, and make a plan for when ICE will come to their town.
Democratic-controlled cities such as Chicago, Portland and Washington, DC, have already seen the decline. Shoemake’s family is concerned that Washington state could be next.
During protests in Chicago last year, Bonetti said he heard the sound of helicopters and sirens.
“ICE came here in September and it was really scary,” she said. “I had to explain to my children, in an age-appropriate way, why Mom now whistles every day when she goes to pick up school.”
Small actions, such as whistleblowing at school, have helped bring neighbors together, he said.
“There was definitely a lot of community working together in Chicago to help fight back as best we could.”
Can red hats have the same effect?
“Whatever you do, it’s going to feel small,” Bonetti said. “But if the choice is small or nothing at all, you just need to do something small and succeed.”
