Seattle’s newly elected mayor has found herself at the center of a controversy after posing for a photograph with a far-left activist brandishing a provocative placard. The image, shared on Mayor Katie B. Wilson’s official social media account, shows her smiling with her arms around two anti-ICE protesters in Seattle.

One of the protesters in the photograph sports a hoodie with the words “fight ICE” and holds a sign that reads “Nazis own flammable cars,” a statement that has been interpreted as a call for arson against those labeled as “Nazis” by the activist.

The contentious placard is reportedly available online from the Antifa Graphics Shop. This organization describes itself as an “internationalist graphics collective” dedicated to producing radical prints for public spaces.

Antifa, short for “antifascist,” is a loosely organized movement known for employing radical and sometimes violent tactics to combat far-right and fascist groups. This incident has drawn significant attention, highlighting the complex dynamics of political activism and expression in the city.

An abbreviation of ‘antifascist’, Antifa is a loosely organized far-left anarchist movement which uses radical and often violent tactics to oppose far-right racist and fascist groups. 

In September, the White House designated the group as a ‘terrorist threat’, accusing members of using ‘illegal means to organize and execute a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide to accomplish these goals’. 

The group frequently opposes law enforcement authorities like the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, and some members joined the protest in Seattle which unfolded on Sunday in response to the killing of Renee Nicole Good. 

Wilson, 43, who has used her first 12 days as mayor to speak out against ICE, joined protesters to mourn and demonstrate against Good’s ‘murder’ by federal agents. 

Seattle’s liberal new mayor has been caught posing for a photograph with a far-left activist holding a placard calling for arson attacks against their political enemies, as shown above

The sticker is being sold online via the Antifa Graphics Shop, which describes itself as ‘an internationalist graphics collective that provides radical prints for the streets’

‘I joined today’s ICE Out vigil to grieve for Renee Nicole Good & others who have lost their lives to ICE. To mourn. And to organize too,’ Wilson wrote on X. 

‘To everyone who makes Seattle home: this is your city, & you belong here. You deserve to be safe here. Together, we’ll fight to make it so.’ 

Wilson also posted a video on her X account the day after Good’s death to say she was ‘heartbroken and outraged’ by the violence, while pledging to forbid Seattle’s local police from aiding ICE activities in the city.  

 ‘I am furious at the federal government’s abuse of power,’ Wilson said. 

‘We already have laws in place that forbid our local police from aiding ICE in most instances,’ she added. ‘The police will adhere to these laws.’ 

Wilson also encouraged residents to sign up for Washington for All ICE Mobilization Alerts, a group which is training to ‘mobilize a unified response’ to ICE activities. 

‘Our existing laws are not enough to keep people safe’, Wilson said. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Wilson’s office for comment on the Antifa sign.  

Mayor Katie B. Wilson shared the image via her official X account showing herself beaming with her arms around two anti-ICE protesters in the Washington state city

Wilson, 43, who has used her first 12 days as mayor to speak out against ICE, joined protesters to mourn and demonstrate against Good’s ‘murder’ by federal agents

Wilson has been dubbed the ‘white female Mamdani’ for sharing similar socialist views to the New York City Mayor, who began his tenure on the same day. 

She was recently praised as ‘cool’ by many Seattle residents for allegedly telling cops not to arrest people for taking illegal substances on the streets. 

Like Mamdani, Wilson ran on a campaign characterized by promises to increase affordability in the city. Another core part of her platform is addressing Seattle’s homelessness crisis, which is one of the worst in the country. 

Critics have called Wilson privileged and out of touch, as she regularly receives checks from her professor parents to pay for childcare.

However, she told KUOW that when she moved to Seattle in 2004, she cut herself off from her parents’ money and ‘worked a bunch of working-class jobs.’ 

‘Psychologically, it really did something to me,’ Wilson said.

Seattle’s iconic Space Needle and Museum of Pop Culture were blighted by tent encampments when the Daily Mail visited in January 2026, as shown above 

In 2011, she founded the Transit Riders Union, a nonprofit focused on improving public transportation in Seattle and Kings County. Tax records show she earned close to $73,000 from the nonprofit in 2022 while working 55-hour weeks.

Currently, her husband does not have a paying job. That means the couple’s household income is below what would be considered enough money to support themselves and their child in Seattle.

‘It just speaks to how expensive and unaffordable it is, right?’ she told KUOW.

‘If you’re lucky enough to have parents who can pitch in a little bit, that’s not something to be embarrassed about.’

A spokesperson for Wilson’s campaign previously told the Daily Mail: ‘Families from all different kinds of economic backgrounds support each other in all different kinds of ways.’