This segment originally aired on NewsNation on May 28, 2026, as part of a panel discussion with Katie Pavlich, Mehek Cooke, and Michael Starr Hopkins. During the discussion, Laurie A. Watkins pointed to footage of demonstrators blocking a sanitation worker from doing his job and made a simple point: crap like that doesn’t advance your message. If advocates are raising concerns about conditions inside the detention facility—including access to food, medical care, staffing levels, and the treatment of detainees—those concerns deserve serious attention. But when protesters prevent working people from doing their jobs, the focus shifts away from those issues and onto the disruption itself. The question isn’t whether people have a right to protest. The question is whether the tactics being used help persuade the public or simply create a spectacle that overwhelms the message. Watch the full discussion and share your thoughts in the comments.
