Dozens of protesters lined the steps of the federal courthouse in San Antonio on June 11. They waved Mexican flags. Their signs read things like “Keep our city neat — no ICE.”
Then came Justin Governale.
The tattooed ex-Marine showed up in an obscene t-shirt, holding a cardboard sign that read: “Come to my show @ LOL on June 15.” Confusion turned to anger. Photos of him quickly made rounds online. Protesters called him a “known agitator” and urged others to “share his face.”
Governale didn’t mind. “I was like, ‘Yeah, keep sharing my face. Let’s go,’” he told Fox News Digital. “Free promotion.”
Critics said he was mocking a serious issue. One Instagram user wrote, “Families are being separated... meanwhile this guy is using it to publicize himself, sad.” But Governale says they got it wrong. His mother came to the U.S. from Mexico as a migrant worker. She didn’t become a citizen until he was 11. “She was so freaking proud,” he said.
Governale says he understands both sides. “Of course people want a better life. But we have to protect our borders. I’ll stand on that.”
The stand-up comic is known for bold stunts. He’s filmed promos in front of street fights, picket lines, even emergency scenes. So when he heard anti-Trump protests were hitting San Antonio, he grabbed a decoy sign and waited. When the cameras were rolling, he switched to his promo sign. “The crowd wasn’t pleased,” he said.
He returned for Saturday’s “No Kings” protest. Organizers called him out over the microphone. But no one got physical. “I’ll give it to them. They kept it peaceful.”
Governale insists his act wasn’t political. “The nation is so tense and divided… Let me bring a little humor.” And it worked. When he took the stage Sunday night, holding that same cardboard sign, the crowd roared.
So what’s next? “Am I going to troll some more?” he laughed. “Hell yeah, I am.”