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The resistance won't be televised, but it could have amphibious toes and bulging eyes.

Furthermore, it may involve a unicorn's horn or a chicken's feathers.

While rallies opposing the leadership carry on in American cities, protesters are utilizing the energy of a local block party. They've provided salsa lessons, distributed treats, and performed on unicycles, while armed law enforcement watch.

Mixing comedy and political action – a tactic researchers refer to as "tactical frivolity" – is not new. However, it has emerged as a hallmark of protests in the United States in this period, embraced by both left and right.

And one symbol has risen to become especially powerful – the frog. It originated after video footage of a confrontation between a man in an amphibian costume and federal officers in the city of Portland, went viral. And it has since spread to demonstrations nationwide.

"A great deal going on with that small frog costume," states an expert, who teaches at UC Davis and an academic who focuses on political performance.

The Path From a Cartoon Frog to the Streets of Portland

It's hard to examine protests and frogs without talking about Pepe, a web comic frog adopted by extremist movements throughout an election cycle.

Initially, when the character first took off online, people used it to express specific feelings. Subsequently, it was utilized to endorse a political figure, including a particular image shared by that figure personally, depicting the frog with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

Images also circulated in digital spaces in darker contexts, as a historical dictator. Users exchanged "rare Pepes" and set up digital currency in his name. Its famous line, "that feels good", was used an inside joke.

But the character did not originate this divisive.

The artist behind it, the illustrator, has been vocal about his unhappiness for its co-option. The character was intended as simply a "chill frog-dude" in his series.

The frog debuted in comic strips in 2005 – non-political and best known for a particular bathroom habit. In 'Feels Good Man', which follows the creator's attempt to reclaim ownership of his work, he stated the character was inspired by his time with friends and roommates.

As he started out, Mr Furie experimented with uploading his work to early internet platforms, where the community began to borrow, remix and reinvent his character. As Pepe spread into the more extreme corners of online spaces, Mr Furie tried to disavow his creation, even killing him off in a comic strip.

Yet the frog persisted.

"This demonstrates that creators cannot own icons," explains Prof Bogad. "They transform and be repurposed."

For a long time, the popularity of Pepe meant that amphibian imagery became a symbol for the right. This shifted on a day in October, when a viral moment between a protestor dressed in a blow-up amphibian suit and a federal agent in Portland, Oregon captured global attention.

The moment followed a decision to deploy the National Guard to Portland, which was described as "a warzone". Protesters began to assemble in large numbers at a specific location, near an ICE office.

The situation was tense and an immigration officer used a chemical agent at a protester, directing it into the ventilation of the inflatable suit.

The protester, Seth Todd, quipped, stating it tasted like "spicier tamales". But the incident spread everywhere.

The costume was somewhat typical for the city, known for its eccentric vibe and activist demonstrations that embrace the ridiculous – outdoor exercise, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and nude cycling groups. The city's unofficial motto is "Embrace the Strange."

The costume even played a role in a lawsuit between the administration and the city, which argued the use of troops was illegal.

Although a judge decided that month that the president had the right to send personnel, one judge dissented, referencing in her ruling the protesters' "known tendency for wearing chicken suits while voicing opposition."

"It is easy to see the majority's ruling, which adopts the description of Portland as a war zone, as simply ridiculous," she wrote. "But today's decision goes beyond absurdity."

The deployment was stopped legally soon after, and personnel are said to have left the area.

But by then, the frog was now a potent anti-administration symbol for the left.

This symbol appeared nationwide at anti-authoritarian protests that fall. Frogs appeared – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They were in small towns and global metropolises like Tokyo and London.

The frog costume was in high demand on major websites, and saw its cost increase.

Mastering the Narrative

What connects the two amphibian symbols – lies in the dynamic between the silly, innocent image and underlying political significance. This concept is "tactical frivolity."

This approach relies on what Mr Bogad terms the "irresistible image" – often silly, it acts as a "appealing and non-threatening" performance that highlights a message without needing explicitly stating them. This is the silly outfit you wear, or the symbol circulated.

Mr Bogad is both an expert in the subject and someone who uses these tactics. He authored a text on the subject, and led seminars around the world.

"You could go back to the Middle Ages – under oppressive regimes, absurd humor is used to express dissent indirectly and while maintaining plausible deniability."

The theory of such tactics is three-fold, he explains.

When activists take on authority, humorous attire {takes control of|seizes|influences