Overview

Roblox ICE Protests refers to anti-ICE protests that take place in the video game Roblox, most notably, in the Brookhaven roleplaying game, which occurred during the 2025 LA ICE Protests. The earliest apparent protest took place on or around June 12th, 2025, when clips of the protest showing Roblox players battling against police went viral on social media. The protests garnered increased interest after journalist Taylor Lorenz published an article interviewing Roblox protestors and a 17-year-old, Simon Gutierrez, who organized a Roblox ICE protest after he stated he was stopped from attending the No Kings protests. Lorenz later tweeted that the Roblox protestors were facing police violence, inspiring mockery and criticism towards her for reporting on violence happening in a video game as if it were real-life violence. This is not the first time Roblox players have protested in-game, with pro-Palestine protests happening in 2023.

Background

On June 12th, 2025, TikToker^[1] @clips4closet posted a video of footage taken in the Brookhaven Roblox^[2] Experience, garnering over 11.3 million views in six days. The footage shows anti-ICE protestors with signs facing off against a Roblox S.W.A.T. team. The protests were inspired by the June 2025 ICE protests in LA and the United States, specifically the No Kings protests.

The presence of protests in Roblox garnered viral spread on social media as people shared more videos from the in-game protests in mid-June 2025.

For example, on June 16th, X^[3] user @rawsalerts shared the video, garnering over 9,300 likes in two days. On the same day, X^[4] user @kirawontmiss shared a video of a protest, garnering over 88,000 likes in two days.

Developments

Taylor Lorenz's Article "Kids are protesting against I.C.E. in Roblox"

On June 16th, 2025, independent journalist Taylor Lorenz published an article titled "Kids are protesting against I.C.E. in Roblox" on her website,^[4] User Mag.

In the article, she discusses the in-game protests, how Roblox can be used by young people to protest, and talks with 17-year-old Simon Gutierrez, who organized an ICE protest in Roblox after his siblings told him he couldn't go to a real No Kings protest. In the piece, he is quoted as saying:

A lot of young people really want to protest and put their words and beliefs out there but are unable to, so this is the only thing we can turn to.

On June 17th, the article was republished by Teen Vogue.^[5]

Roblox Protestors Face Police Violence Tweet

On June 18th, 2025, Taylor Lorenz made a post on X^[6] linking to her article, reading, "On Monday I reported on anti-ICE protests taking over Roblox. One of the kids I interviewed texted me this morning to share that the Roblox protesters are now facing police violence," garnering over 6,000 likes in under a day.

The post also includes a screenshot of a text from one of the protestors telling Lorenz that they got shot during an in-game protest.

Online Reactions

TikTokers continued to post videos of ICE protests in Roblox in mid-June 2025, with TikTok user @clips4closet posting many of the most popular examples.

For example, on June 17th, 2025, the TikToker^[7] posted a video of a protest that gained over a million views in a day.

Reactions to Taylor Lorenz's Tweet

Taylor Lorenz's tweet on June 18th, 2025, about Roblox protestors facing police violence inspired reactions online, many of which criticized Lorenz's post as cringeworthy or humorous, as well as the perception of for reporting on violence in a video game as if it's violence in real life.

For example, on June 18th, 2025, X^[8] user @nikicaga posted, "The most Taylor Lorenz tweet ever," in response to the post, garnering over 500 likes in under a day.

That same day, Ethan Klein of the H3 Podcast posted Lorenz's tweet to his Instagram Story, writing, "This might be the dumbest thing I've ever read in my life. Also Taylor, why are you texting with a 9 year old at 3am????"

The Story was reposted by X^[9] user @Awk20000 that day, garnering over 440 likes in about an hour.

Search Interest

External References