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This resistance isn't broadcast, though it may feature webbed feet and large eyes.

It also might feature a unicorn's horn or the plumage of a chicken.

While protests against the government persist in American cities, protesters are adopting the vibe of a neighborhood dress-up party. They've provided dance instruction, distributed snacks, and ridden unicycles, as police observe.

Mixing levity and political action – a tactic social scientists call "tactical frivolity" – is not new. However, it has emerged as a defining feature of protests in the United States in recent years, adopted by various groups.

And one symbol has risen to become especially powerful – the frog. It started after a video of a confrontation between an individual in an amphibian costume and ICE agents in the city of Portland, went viral. It subsequently appeared to protests throughout the United States.

"There is much happening with that little frog costume," says an expert, a professor at UC Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who studies creative activism.

From the Pepe Meme to the Streets of Portland

It is difficult to discuss demonstrations and amphibians without talking about Pepe, a web comic frog embraced by far-right groups throughout a political race.

As the character initially spread online, people used it to signal certain emotions. Later, it was utilized to express backing for a candidate, including one notable meme endorsed by that figure personally, portraying Pepe with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

The frog was also portrayed in digital spaces in more extreme scenarios, portrayed as a hate group member. Online conservatives exchanged "unique frog images" and established digital currency using its likeness. His catchphrase, "that feels good", became an inside joke.

Yet Pepe didn't start out so controversial.

Matt Furie, artist Matt Furie, has been vocal about his distaste for its appropriation. Pepe was supposed to be simply a relaxed amphibian in his comic world.

This character debuted in a series of comics in the mid-2000s – apolitical and best known for a particular bathroom habit. In a documentary, which chronicles the creator's attempt to take back of his work, he said his drawing was inspired by his life with friends and roommates.

Early in his career, the artist experimented with uploading his work to early internet platforms, where people online began to borrow, remix and reinvent the frog. As its popularity grew into darker parts of online spaces, the creator sought to reject his creation, even killing him off in a final panel.

But Pepe lived on.

"This demonstrates that we don't control icons," explains the professor. "Their meaning can evolve and be reclaimed."

Until recently, the association of this meme meant that frogs were largely associated with the right. This shifted in early October, when an incident between a protestor wearing a blow-up amphibian suit and an immigration officer in Portland, Oregon spread rapidly online.

The moment came just days after a directive to deploy military personnel to the city, which was described as "a warzone". Protesters began to congregate at a specific location, near a federal building.

Tensions were high and a officer sprayed a chemical agent at a protester, targeting the air intake fan of the puffy frog costume.

The individual, Seth Todd, responded with a joke, stating he had tasted "spicier tamales". However, the video became a sensation.

The frog suit was somewhat typical for Portland, famous for its unconventional spirit and activist demonstrations that embrace the absurd – outdoor exercise, retro fitness classes, and nude cycling groups. The city's unofficial motto is "Keep Portland Weird."

This symbol was also referenced in subsequent court proceedings between the federal government and Portland, which contended the deployment was illegal.

Although a ruling was issued in October that the president was within its rights to send personnel, a dissenting judge wrote, noting in her opinion the protesters' "known tendency for donning inflatable costumes when expressing their disagreement."

"Some might view this decision, which adopts the description of Portland as a battlefield, as simply ridiculous," the dissenting judge wrote. "Yet the outcome is not merely absurd."

The action was "permanently" blocked just a month later, and personnel are said to have left the city.

However, by that time, the amphibian costume was now a potent anti-administration symbol for progressive movements.

The inflatable suit appeared in many cities at anti-authoritarian protests last autumn. 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 inflatable suit was backordered on major websites, and became more expensive.

Mastering the Visual Story

The link between both frogs together – lies in the interplay between the silly, innocent image and a deeper political meaning. Experts call this "tactical frivolity."

The strategy is based on what Mr Bogad calls a "disarming display" – usually humorous, it's a "disarming and charming" performance that highlights your ideas without directly articulating them. This is the unusual prop used, or the symbol circulated.

Mr Bogad is an analyst 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 – when people are dominated, absurd humor is used to express dissent indirectly and still have a layer of protection."

The theory of such tactics is three-fold, Mr Bogad says.

As activists confront the state, a silly costume {takes control of|seizes|influences