A young American activist was arrested moments after giving a live television interview about a protest, leading to accusations that police are targeting organisers to suppress dissent.
Arrest Follows Viral Interview
Jessica Plichta, a 22-year-old pre-school teacher, was taken into custody by police in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on 3 January 2025. The arrest occurred immediately after she finished a live interview with a local news station regarding a demonstration against the Trump administration's military action in Venezuela.
The protest opposed the reported seizure of Venezuela's President, Nicolás Maduro, in an attack said to have killed 100 people. The clip of Plichta's interview spread rapidly across social media, gaining millions of views.
While roughly 200 people participated in the demonstration, Plichta was the only individual arrested that day. She now faces misdemeanour charges of "obstructing a roadway and failure to obey a lawful command from a police officer".
A Trip to Caracas and Claims of Political Targeting
Plichta, a co-founder of the group Grand Rapids Opponents of War which organised the protest, suggests her arrest was politically motivated. She had recently returned from a trip to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, in December 2024.
She travelled as part of a delegation to the International People’s Assembly for Sovereignty and Peace of Our Americas, visiting communes and meeting activists. Plichta claims she even spoke with President Maduro. Her journey came despite an order from the Trump administration on 29 November closing Venezuelan airspace, which caused many others to cancel.
"I came back to the US, and I’ve done report-backs. I had spoken at that rally. I gave an interview, and immediately, during the interview, I get shut down and arrested out of 200 people. So what else can you say about that?" Plichta said.
A Pattern of Protest Suppression?
Local activists assert that Plichta's arrest is part of a wider pattern. Emerson Wolf, co-director of Grand Rapids’ Institute for Global Education, stated that issuing citations months after an event is an established police tactic to criminalise protest.
Wolf themself was arrested in April 2024 on identical charges related to a speech they gave the previous month. "If it’s truly about the safety of people executing their sacred free speech rights... then why doesn’t GRPD arrest protesters right away?" Wolf questioned. "Instead, they issue citations months later in order to criminalise dissent."
The arrest occurred amid nationwide unrest following the killing of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agents in Minneapolis. Wolf connected the events, stating, "First, they arrest us on camera, and then they shoot us in the streets... We’re living in a nightmare right now."
Defiance and a Call to Escalate
Both Plichta and Wolf see the US action in Venezuela as a critical escalation in international politics. "We do not want war. We do not want the US to escalate its attacks on Venezuela," Plichta emphasised.
Despite the arrest, Plichta remains undeterred, believing suppression efforts will backfire. "When you try to suppress the movement, all it does is radicalise those who stand against needless war," she argued, noting that a public comment suggested her arrest would create "1,000 Jessicas."
Wolf posed a fundamental question about democratic expression: "If they don’t want us marching in the streets, how else do they expect us to voice our opinions?" Their stance highlights a growing determination among activists to continue protesting US foreign policy, regardless of the legal risks.
