The performance at Lincoln Memorial was orchestrated by the advocacy wing of Hungryman Productions, spearheaded by Bryan Buckley, aimed to honour the memory of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Photo: Screengrab/ Instagram @firstamendmenttroop
On President’s Day (February 16, 2026), the First Amendment Troop staged “ResistDance” at Lincoln Memorial, a powerful tribute and act of artistic dissent to commemorate the lives lost by the recent actions of Trump’s immigration policies.
The troop included several dancers from multiple Broadway shows including Hamilton, MJ & Wicked, along with performers from the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.
The performance was orchestrated by the advocacy wing of Hungryman Productions, spearheaded by Bryan Buckley, aimed to honour the memory of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, as well as to draw attention to issues of governmental transparency in the investigation of their killings.
The symbolism of ‘ResistDance’
Choreographed by the Tony Award-winning Mathew Steffens, “ResistDance” featured a cast of 22 dancers, symbolically representing the 22 days that elapsed between the deaths of Good and Pretti. The performance expressed the gravity of their loss while simultaneously framing it as a call for justice.
The choice of the Lincoln Memorial as the backdrop was particularly significant, considering the ongoing struggle for civil rights in America.
However, the subsequent guerrilla performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was abruptly halted when law enforcement intervened, deploying 23 officers to shut down the performance.
Who were Renee Good and Alex Pretti?
Renee Nicole Good (37) was a poet, mother of three, and 2020 Academy of American Poets awardee who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis. Alex Pretti was a 37-year-old intensive care nurse who was shot dead by Federal officers at an anti-immigration rally in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026.
Pretti’s death at the hands of Federal agents took place less than three weeks after Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent, on a street about 2 km (1.25 miles) away. Subsequently, Minneapolis has become the focal point of the immigration policy backlash, where pro- and anti-ICE protest groups clashed amidst Trump administration doubling down on immigration enforcement.
Published – February 18, 2026 11:01 am IST
