Marine veteran disrupts immigration protests with comedy sign, sparks liberal fury

Dozens of protesters gathered connected the steps of the national courthouse successful downtown San Antonio connected June 11, waving Mexican flags and signs with slogans similar "Keep our metropolis neat — nary ICE." In beforehand of them stood a tattoo-covered antheral wearing an obscene t-shirt and holding his ain cardboard sign, connected which he'd handwritten "Come to my amusement @ LOL connected June 15."

Heads turned. Confusion turned to anger. The adjacent day, Justin Governale said helium saw photos of himself connected section societal media pages, labeled a "known agitator" by protesters who urged others to "share his face."

"I was like, 'Yeah, support sharing my face. Let's go,'" Governale joked to Fox News Digital. "Free promotion."

Protesters basal connected the steps of a authorities gathering adjacent the Alamo, holding signs with slogans similar "No 1 is amerciable connected stolen land," connected June 11, 2025, successful San Antonio, Texas. Justin Governale stands astatine the beforehand of the crowd, holding a motion promoting his drama show. (Courtesy @as_seen_in_sa/Instagram)

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Governale, a erstwhile Marine scout sniper, garnered a surge of online attraction aft crashing demonstrations against ICE and President Donald Trump past week successful San Antonio to advertise his drama show. Many felt helium wasn't taking the contented of wide deportations and workplace raids earnestly enough.

"Families are being separated and breached apart, meantime this feline is utilizing it to publicize himself, sad," 1 Instagram idiosyncratic wrote successful the comments nether Governale's video.

"So galore radical connected the left… were arguing with me," Governale said, and making assumptions astir him — and his opinions — that weren't needfully true.

His parent came to the U.S. arsenic a migrant idiosyncratic from Mexico, helium said, picking cherries successful Wisconsin. She didn't summation citizenship until Governale was 11 years old.

"When she became an American citizen, she was truthful freaking proud," helium said. "I'm precise fortunate to beryllium here."

His mother's experience, coupled with his travels passim Central America, wherever helium met migrants embarking connected unsafe journeys trying to get to the United States, fto him spot some sides of the issue.

"How tin immoderate of these radical not privation a amended beingness successful America? So I don't blasted them," helium said. "[But] we person to support our borders. And I'll basal connected that. We person to marque definite there's a process to bash it legally truthful we tin way the radical that are coming successful and beryllium harmless astir it."

Justin Governale has been a Marine scout sniper, MMA fighter, two-time contestant connected the survivalist world amusement "Naked and Afraid," and is present trying to marque a sanction for himself arsenic a comedian.  (Courtesy Justin Governale)

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Governale is nary alien to unorthodox selling strategies. He often records amusement announcements selfie-style, with melodramatic backdrops including workers picketing extracurricular a rental car company, thoroughfare fights and adjacent flashing reddish and bluish lights arsenic constabulary and paramedics respond to emergencies.

So erstwhile helium heard the nationwide protests against the Trump administration's wide deportation policies were coming to his city, helium decided to prehend the opportunity.

"I benignant of went undercover," Governale said, making a decoy motion and holding it implicit his promotional motion until it was clip to snag his video past Wednesday. At the past second, helium switched it out. The assemblage wasn't pleased, helium said.

Nor were they blessed erstwhile helium showed up again connected Saturday for the "No Kings" protestation with different offbeat sign. As helium near the demonstration, Governale said idiosyncratic connected a microphone started describing what helium was wearing.

"But I volition springiness it to them. They didn't effort and propulsion punches," helium said. "They kept it peaceful."

Thousands of demonstrators showed up for Saturday's march successful San Antonio, according to section reports, joining radical successful hundreds of cities crossed the nation who reason the Trump administration. Even though helium whitethorn not wholly hold with the protesters' message, Governale said that's what the First Amendment is each about.

"That's wherefore I went to Iraq and got blown up, right? So you tin accidental and judge immoderate you want, and vice versa," helium said.

Governale said helium would person pulled his stunt careless of what radical were protesting.

"The federation is truthful tense and divided close now, it's like, ‘Well, fto maine bring a small wit to the scenario,’" helium said.

Governale credits his clip successful the Marines for his willingness to effort thing to marque a joke.

People protested against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids astatine San Antonio City Hall connected June 11, 2025, successful San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

"That's wherefore I'm not frightened to bash things. Life isn't that serious," helium said. "Even successful your worst moment, you tin find a 2nd to laugh. That's what drama is, dude."

And his selling strategy appears to person worked. When Governale took the signifier Sunday nighttime and held up his cardboard sign, the assemblage cheered.

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Asked if he'd beryllium attending much protests successful the future, Governale's reply was obvious.

"Am I going to troll immoderate more? Hell yeah, I am."