In the middle of a busy New York City street, dozens of people lay still atop the pavement on Saturday afternoon. ACT UP, one of the world’s most prominent HIV advocacy groups, organized the demonstration outside Palantir, a software company that develops surveillance technology and contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The demonstration was a callback to die-ins staged by AIDS advocacy groups from the 1980s onward to celebrate the organization’s 39th anniversary. Hundreds of protesters rallied at the New York City AIDS Memorial, then marched to Palantir’s unmarked office in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, protesting government spending on ICE and the war against Iran amid cuts to funding for HIV care.