A former US Army soldier in uniform showed up at an anti-ICE protest in Dallas, Texas and ended up getting a lot of attention online.
She sparked a lot of reactions, especially from conservatives, after speaking out against Trump’s decision to bring in Marines during protests happening in cities like LA.
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A veteran in uniform joins protesters in Dallas
At the Dallas protest, someone caught Carmen Colado on video wearing her camo and a name tag that said “Colado.” The clip spread fast.
In it, she talked about how Trump sent thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to help control protests, and she wasn’t okay with that at all.
Carmen speaks out against Trump’s military deployment
“We are not pawns for Donald Trump’s agenda,” she said.
The video was shared by BreakThrough News, and lots of people started talking about it right after it went up.
She believes this goes against her oath
“In our oath to serve, we serve the people of the United States, the Constitution. These constitutional rights are being stripped and just denied. And the military will not be pawns to that.”
Carmen felt like this wasn’t what she signed up for when she served.
Urges others in uniform to listen to their gut
“That’s why I’m calling on the conscience of military members who served previously and now. We have a conscience, we have a mind and we have a duty, a moral obligation to say no and resist.”
She made it clear she wasn’t just speaking for herself, that she hoped others in the military would really stop and think about what they’re being asked to do.
Backlash from conservatives came quickly
It didn’t take long before people on the right started calling for her to be punished. Some said she should be dishonorably discharged or even court-martialed.
They didn’t like that she publicly went against the president and felt like she crossed a serious line.
Critics cite military law and want her punished
A few people online pointed to the military law and said what she did went against the Uniform Code of Military Justice. They even mentioned Article 15.
That’s something commanders can use to hand out punishments without a full court-martial. Things like losing pay or getting stuck with extra duty.
But from what it looks like, she’s not in the military anymore, so none of that would really apply now.
Carmen’s background and values show up on her social media
If you check out her Instagram, she talks a lot about her story. She calls herself the “proud daughter of an illegal immigrant hero who saved my life.”
She posts art, poetry, family stuff, even a short film she made. You can tell she’s expressive and open about who she is and where she comes from.
She draws strength from others who speak up too
One of her posts features a quote from Texas Rep. Al Green, who was censured earlier for interrupting one of Trump’s speeches to Congress.
The quote came from a protest in Dallas and said, “To protect liberty and justice for all — to protect government of the people, by the people, for the people — to protect what this country has in its great and noble ideals, we have to do what is necessary.”
