North Central High School students protested ICE on Feb. 2
North Central High School students walked out of class to protest ICE on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026.
Hundreds of North Central High School students participating in an anti-ICE walkout spilled onto 86th Street in northern Indianapolis on Feb. 2 in an initially chaotic scene.
Dozens of drivers passing by honked and held fists up in solidarity. Some students stood on top of or hung out of vehicles.
North Central’s walkout was one of hundreds that have been taking place across the nation following the deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis last month. Students at multiple schools across central Indiana walked out of class Monday to lend their voices to the protest.
But North Central’s walkout was one of the larger ones.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police and MSD Washington Township officers closed the intersection of 86th and Westfield Boulevard after hundreds of students had left school and gathered in parking lots and near the street. Once closed, students gathered in the road and played music, displayed signs and waved flags.
After about 20 minutes, the teens mostly cleared out the street at the direction of IMPD and Washington Township officers and protest organizers. The road reopened shortly after, and the protest moved to the parking lot of a former Walgreens, where speakers addressed the crowd.
Student organizers freshman Liam Bastnagel and senior Emma-Louise Akinleye said between 800 and 1,000 of North Central’s 3,664 students participated.
“We’re feeling powerful,” Akinleye told IndyStar. “We’re feeling like our voices — they have a real impact.”
Akinleye and Bastnagel said the turnout was double what they expected and noted the school’s diverse makeup. The Washington Township high school is 22% Hispanic, 29% White and 39% Black, according to the Indiana Department of Education.
“If any Indiana politician saw this or even our governor, we would want him to know that we don’t want ICE to have unlimited access into our city,” Akinleye said. Despite several rumors, ICE has had limited operations in Indianapolis so far.
IMPD officials did not mention any injuries or arrests in their statement about the protest. IndyStar reporters did not witness any injuries, arrests or confrontations.
Multiple walkouts across Indy metro
Earlier on Monday, a few hundred students at Noblesville High School held a walkout. The students marched around the school grounds before heading to the city’s square, where they did call and response chants and hoisted signs. Police blocked streets downtown as the crowd progressed.
“It’s so important that they’re standing up for their rights,” Noblesville mom Jamie Black, whose sophomore was among the marchers, said through tears. “They see what’s happening, and they’re willing to stand up for it and be identified as someone who does care. I just think that’s so special.”
Walkouts were also planned on Feb. 2 at Greenfield High School, Mt. Vernon High School in Fortville, Park Tudor High School, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School and Zionsville High School.
See hundreds of Indianapolis students block traffic in ICE walkout
North Central students blocked traffic, chanted and waved signs at a protest on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026.
But not every adult praised the students’ actions.
North Central Principal Jagga Rent warned parents in a Feb. 1 email: “While we respect students’ desire to engage with current events, please note that leaving campus during school hours without proper authorization is not permitted under school policy.”
“If parents want their students to leave school, please follow the standard sign out process through our attendance office,” the email said. “Students who leave class or campus without permission will be subject to the consequences outlined in our code of conduct.”
Noblesville High School leaders released a similar statement
Reporter Kristine Phillips contributed.
The USA TODAY Network – Indiana’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.
Have a story to tell? Reach Cate Charron by email at ccharron@indystar.com, on X at @CateCharron or Signal at @cate.charron.28. Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
