A coalition of activist groups has called for a nationwide “National Shutdown” this Friday, February 2, 2026.
Connecticut residents are also planning local actions as part of a work, school and shopping boycott to protest recent killings by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The protest is supported by organizations such as National Shutdown and General Strike US, who demand justice for Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by a Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis on Saturday, January 24.
Another incident that fueled the protest was the murder of Renee Good, a US citizen killed by an ICE officer in Minnesota earlier this month.
Protesters frame the strike as a mass mobilization for systemic change. In Connecticut, the rallying cry has mobilized community and religious organizations.
Activities begin this week with vigils in Avon on Wednesday and in Bloomfield on Thursday, where citizens will honor the victims and “name what is wrong.”
Large protests will be organized in New Haven and New London on Friday in solidarity with the victims.
The movement has also received publicity thanks to celebrity support.
Actors such as Pedro Pascal, Hannah Einbinder and Jamie Lee Curtis have used social media platforms to call for public participation in the movement.
State and local law enforcement are monitoring the plans, although organizers emphasize that the vigils are spaces for “pain, truth and quiet resolution.”
