By Vanguard Staff
DENVER, CO – Hundreds of demonstrators gathered across five U.S. cities this week in a coordinated day of protest against Palantir Technologies and its co-founder and chairman, billionaire Peter Thiel. The actions, which took place in Denver, Palo Alto, Seattle, Washington D.C., and New York City, targeted Palantir’s surveillance technology and government contracts—especially its role in powering mass deportations, military targeting in Gaza, and domestic policing.
Palantir, a data analytics and surveillance firm, has become one of the most controversial technology companies in the country due to its extensive government contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Defense, and multiple other agencies. Critics say the company’s tools are used to violate civil liberties and facilitate human rights abuses.
In Denver, protesters marched from the Colorado State Capitol to Palantir’s downtown headquarters, where dozens rallied outside the building and eight individuals formed a blockade at the entrance. The crowd included military veterans, teachers, parents, seniors, and children, all calling on local and state leaders to cut ties with the company. Among them was Juan Sebastián Pinto, a former Palantir employee, who spoke publicly about the company’s harm to communities in Denver and beyond. Demonstrators held signs, chanted, and demanded action from Governor Jared Polis and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston to address what they called the “weaponization of artificial intelligence.”
In Palo Alto, roughly 200 people gathered at Palantir’s offices and shut down traffic in the surrounding area. Organizers described the demonstration as the kickoff to eight weeks of sustained action targeting Palantir and tech companies that have aligned with what they called the authoritarian turn of the Trump administration. Protesters blocked intersections, displayed banners, and voiced their opposition to Palantir’s role in surveillance, policing, and warfare.
Seattle saw a similarly large turnout. Over 100 demonstrators staged a sit-in at the lobby of the building housing Palantir’s offices. Protesters also organized a bike brigade to block entrances to the parking garage, effectively disrupting business operations. The demonstration demanded that Washington State divest public funds from Palantir and end its financial relationship with a company organizers say enables both genocide abroad and repression at home.
Peter Lippman of Jewish Voice for Peace spoke at the Seattle protest, expressing outrage that Washington public funds were invested in a company he said is directly complicit in mass surveillance and civilian targeting. “As a Jew born and raised in Washington state, I was taught that our history demands we stand against injustice—especially when it’s carried out in our name,” Lippman said. “Washingtonians deserve to know that Palantir is making millions off of death and surveillance. The Washington State Investment Board must divest now.”
In New York City, more than 60 protesters gathered to denounce Palantir’s involvement in ICE deportations and Israeli military operations. The protest remained peaceful, but four individuals were arrested during the demonstration. Organizers described the event as a continuation of a long-standing resistance to the expansion of surveillance technologies, particularly those born out of the post-9/11 “war on terror.”
Daniel, a member of the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said Palantir’s origins make its current behavior predictable. “From the start, Palantir was envisioned as a weapon,” he said. “They were founded with an investment from In-Q-Tel, the venture capital arm of the CIA. They cut their teeth in New York, building their tools with data they collected on everyday people without consent or oversight. The Palantir we see today in Gaza and deployed by ICE grew here, but that means New Yorkers already know their enemy and how to fight back.”
In Washington, D.C., the demonstration took a more intense turn. Twenty-two protesters from an autonomous group led by women and Palestinians blocked a road in front of Palantir’s local office and entered the building’s lobby to stage a political “die-in” dramatizing the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza. Organizers say seven demonstrators were violently assaulted, with several thrown to the ground and one individual reportedly pushed down a flight of stairs onto concrete.
Palantir has drawn fierce opposition from civil rights advocates, immigrant rights organizations, and international human rights groups. Since 2014, the company has earned hundreds of millions in contracts with ICE, including for the development of ImmigrationOS, a sophisticated surveillance system that allows the agency to track, locate, and apprehend immigrants.
Palantir’s role in U.S. military operations has also expanded. The company recently secured an $800 million contract from the Pentagon for its Maven AI system, which uses satellite imagery, drone footage, and predictive algorithms to automate targeting for U.S. and Israeli forces. According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Palantir is one of the companies profiting from what the U.N. has identified as genocide in Gaza.
The company’s founder, Peter Thiel, has openly questioned the compatibility of democracy with freedom and has donated millions of dollars to President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. Palantir CEO Alex Karp received $6.8 billion in compensation in 2024, making him the highest-paid executive of a publicly traded company in the U.S., according to the New York Times.
Critics say Palantir’s vast access to personal data, surveillance systems, and law enforcement contracts represent a dangerous merger of corporate power and state violence. Demonstrators argue that the firm’s rapid expansion into domestic policing, immigration enforcement, and global military conflicts poses a direct threat to civil liberties.
“We’re protesting at Palantir because this company is developing systems that present a grave threat to the security and freedom of all people,” said Dain, a representative from General Strike US in Colorado. “Data collected by our government is being provided to companies like Palantir in order to develop AI and other technology that violates our civil liberties and tears families apart. These companies make billions from government contracts as part of an ongoing effort to privatize and commercialize oppression.”
Leah Redwood, an organizer with the Oil and Gas Action Network in the Bay Area, emphasized the breadth of Palantir’s impact and the resolve of those opposing it. “Palantir’s tech is enabling ICE to identify, locate, and kidnap immigrants en masse in my neighborhood,” Redwood said. “The Israeli Defense Force uses Palantir tech to target and kill civilians in Gaza with real-time surveillance and AI-powered tools. While Palantir CEO Alex Karp and Chairman Peter Thiel openly espouse authoritarianism, today’s protests are just the start of a surging mass movement that is hella loud, fearless, and ready to shut fascism down for good.”
Organizers have promised that this week’s actions will be followed by additional protests, advocacy campaigns, and pressure on elected officials to end government relationships with Palantir and other firms profiting from surveillance and war.
