Petersburg Protesters Brave Rain, Unite Nationwide for 'No Kings' Anti-Trump Rally
A crowd of around 100 demonstrators gathered by the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge for Petersburg’s “No Kings” protest on June 14, joining thousands of protestors across the country in condemning President Donald Trump.
Both Petersburg locals and members of nearby communities — including Prince George, Chesterfield, Hopewell and Colonial Heights — were among the crowd, which chanted and held up signs as cars drove by and honked in support. Around 50 or so people had gathered for Petersburg's protest, which started about 5 p.m., right around the time that rain started to fall.
As time went on, more protestors showed up for the cause. However, the rain turned torrential, chasing many of them back to their cars and homes. A handful braved the elements and stayed until the scheduled end time of 7 p.m.
Protesting overreaches of power
Several protestors told The Progress-Index that they attended the demonstration to protest overreaches of power by the Trump Administration. One of them said he was taking part in his first rally in 40 years.
“I haven’t been to a protest since 1985 on the mall in D.C. during the Reagan era when I was in college, and I thought Reagan was intolerable and what’s going on in this country is intolerable. It’s gotta stop right now,” Chesterfield resident Jim Rohrbacher told The Progress-Index. “Calling troops into [Los Angeles] — Marines — I have friends in the military and they’re appalled. Sending domestic troops against United States citizens is — that’s what kings do. That’s what dictators. That’s what despots do.”
“He’s trampling on the constitution every chance he gets,” Colonial Heights resident Robbie McGraw agreed.
“My problem is we have a constitution that’s being completely ignored,” Petersburg resident Christi Wooddy added. “He’s ignoring the courts, he’s ignoring the law of the land — just blatantly. That’s what kings do.”
Wooddy added that she was also at the demonstration to protest threats to Medicaid.
“I have an intellectually disabled brother. If it wasn’t for Medicaid he couldn’t live,” she said. “And now they’re talking about cutting Medicaid for the most vulnerable people in our community so they can give tax cuts to the richest? I don’t understand it.”
Attendee's nephew 'too afraid' to show up
Colonial Heights resident Lori Rowland said that she attended the protest because her daughter is Hispanic and her daughter’s father recently became undocumented after his visa was denied renewal by the Trump Administration.
“He’s been getting it renewed constantly, and they didn’t renew it this time,” she said.
Her daughter is a citizen, she added, but that doesn’t stop Rowland from fearing for her daughter’s safety.
“Every time my daughter walks out my door, I fear that she’s going to be picked up somewhere,” she said. “I want better for my daughter, I want better for my grandchildren.
“My nephew told me he has to carry his birth certificate, his ID, his passport everywhere he goes,” she added. “He wanted to come tonight but he was too afraid because he is part Guatemalan.”
'Just trying to stay alive'
Prince George resident Jan Rowley said she was at the rally for her children.
“My children deserve to grow up in a country that supports the same values that we traditionally had, where you welcome new people into the community and not chase them away with ICE,” Rowley said. “They’re taking away everything that makes a community strong — diversity, equity, inclusion, that makes our country better.”
“A lot of people come here for asylum, and that’s a very good thing, because people deserve to be somewhere they can live safely, somewhere they don’t have to fear,” Petersburg resident Mark Galler added. “They’re just trying to stay alive.”
Overall, a peaceful protest
Petersburg's rally was one of more than 2,000 nationwide scheduled for different times of the day. USA TODAY reported millions of people were expected to take part.
For the most part, the rallies were peaceful, authorities said. One incident was reported in Culpeper County, Virginia, when a 21-year-old Culpeper man was arrested for driving through protestors at the conclusion of their rally.
One person was hit, but no injuries were reported.
Culpeper Police alleged that Joseph R. Checklick Jr. escalated his vehicle as he drove through groups of people walking back to their cars. He was charged with reckless driving and was being held without bond.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin had alerted the Virginia National Guard to assist with crowd control at the Virginia rallies. But none of them were sent to Petersburg, where only a handful of Petersburg Police officers stood by to make sure everything stayed calm.
A protest at the Bell Tower in Richmond's Capitol Square drew about 3,500 protestors, a Virginia State Police spokesperson said. No problems, however, were reported.
While the protests nationwide were going on, Trump, his family and allies gathered to watch a military parade in Washington to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the creation of the United States Army. June 14 was also Trump's 79th birthday.
Progress-Index journalist Bill Atkinson contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg crowd braves rain, joins others across nation in 'No Kings' anti-Trump protests
Post a Comment for "Petersburg Protesters Brave Rain, Unite Nationwide for 'No Kings' Anti-Trump Rally"
Post a Comment