Denver protest against war tech giant Palantir

Denver, CO – On July 4, dozens of Coloradans gathered outside the Tabor Center on 17th Street in a rally against Palantir, whose headquarters are located on the 15th floor.

Palantir, a tech company notorious for its links to both ICE and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), relocated to Denver in August of 2020. Their AI technology is used to expedite both the mass deportations of immigrants under Trump, as well as the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Palantir was recently given billions of dollars in no-contest contracts by the Trump administration with the passage of the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” Palantir is spearheading the development of mass surveillance and drone warfare. They are in the process of developing a surveillance platform called “ImmigrationOS” to track the movements of immigrants all across the country.

Gina McAffe, a member of the Immigrant Protection Team stated, “Manufacturing systems to surveil us is not acceptable. Assisting ICE to arrest, detain and deport our neighbors is not acceptable. Not in our backyard!”

Palantir’s AI systems “Lavender” and “Where’s Daddy?” are used by the Israeli government and the IDF to target individuals on a “kill list.” The IDF attacks them in their homes, resulting in the reckless slaughter of innocent civilians throughout Gaza and Palestine. Profit margins for Palantir have increased since the escalation of the genocide on October 7, 2023.

“I’m here in part because of my nieces and nephew,” said Connor Posey of Denver Anti-War Action (DAWA), “I have seen what happens to children just as wonderful, beautiful, and innocent as them in Gaza and I cannot separate the two. Were things slightly different for them, Palantir wouldn’t hesitate to assist in their slaughter if it made them a dirty nickel!”

DAWA member Eliot Howe emceed the event and led the crowd in chants of “Palantir profiteers off of Palestinian tears!” and “Genocidal tech-bros get out of Colorado!”

Howe sang to the crowd, including Have You Not Heard?, a song taking aim at the hypocrisy of Christian Zionists. They sang:

“I was thirsty and had nothing to drink And you gave me not a drop I was naked and had nothing to wear And you did not give me clothes! I was hungry and had nothing to eat And you did not give me food Depart from me for you are cursed For you did not comfort me!”

Terry Burnsed, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace, characterized Palantir as an inevitable outgrowth of imperialism, saying, “Palantir’s commodities are diligently identifying, targeting, filtering, prioritizing, assigning and firing. And Palestinians die. And die and die.”

DAWA passed out food and Palestina sodas to pedestrians, along with fliers about Palantir. Many drivers passing by honked in support of the demonstration, with a few waving keffiyehs and Palestinian flags out of their windows.

Simon Peña of DAWA gave an impassioned speech lamenting the passage of the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” a bill that gives billions of dollars to ICE, guts Pell Grants, and strips away Medicaid. Peña emphasized the importance of organizing and collective action, and the connection between Donald Trump, Palantir and ultimately all of our struggles.

Peña told the crowd, “The price of this bill is our brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins, mothers, fathers, grandparents and grandchildren dying sooner, and suffering more, all so companies like Palantir and egomaniacs like Trump can keep playing their game.

“You alone might be able to move a mound. The people in this courtyard could probably move a hill. But the people? The people can move mountains. The people can topple empires. The people can free Jeanette [Vizguerra]. The people can free Palestine. The people can and will free them all!” Peña concluded.

As chants of “Free Palestine” and “Palantir Out” rang in the Tabor Center Plaza, the anti-war activists of Denver repurposed the Fourth of July. They made it a day to speak out against the war machine and corporations. The groups united to rally urged the crowd to get organized in the fight against Palantir and in the larger fight against Trump and the Republicans.

#DenverCO #CO #AntiWarMovement #DAWA #Palantir #JVP #Palestine