In cities and small towns around the country, people gathered for "No Kings" protests over the weekend in opposition to President Trump's policies. WMRA’s Meredith McCool and Calvin Pynn were at two protests in the Shenandoah Valley and filed these reports.
[Chanting: "Protect our democracy. No kings."]
MEREDITH MCCOOL: A crowd chanted outside of the Augusta County Courthouse on Saturday afternoon – one of nearly 2,000 "No Kings" protests across the country. Around 1,000 people attended in Staunton.
CHRISTOPHER BENJAMIN: Trump does not deserve to be a king. In fact, it is antithetical to the Constitution of the United States.
Christopher Benjamin is the chair of the Staunton Democrats.
BENJAMIN: The goal is to show that more people than you know are wanting to have our democracy back. We don't want our rights taken away. We don't want a quote, unitary executive, unquote. We want to keep Medicaid. We want everyone to have the same equal rights and on and on.
At the start of the rally, Beth Daisey, chair of the Augusta County Democrats and the event’s emcee, urged rallygoers to be peaceful and cautioned that the streets were not going to be blocked off. As the gathering went on, however, officials used dump trucks and city vehicles to prevent traffic from driving along Johnson Street in front of the courthouse.
In addition to music performed by the Shenandoah Ramblers, protesters heard speeches delivered by candidates seeking office in November. Makayla Venable is running for election to the Virginia House of Delegates as a Democrat to represent District 36, which includes Staunton, Waynesboro, and parts of Augusta and Rockbridge counties.
MAKAYLA VENABLE: Democracy is our birthright, not a spectacle to be staged with tanks and parades on government dime, not a photo op from someone who treats the Constitution like stage props. So today we say no kings, no tyrants, no fear. We say yes to community, yes to voting, yes to democracy, and yes to rebuilding government of, by, and for the people. Let them know: If you think you can divide us or intimidate us, you're wrong. We are rising together, which you guys have shown all by showing up here today.
[Cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “I Won't Back Down” by the Shenandoah Ramblers.]
Sixty-five miles north, WMRA's Calvin Pynn was reporting from Woodstock.
CALVIN PYNN: More than 400 people stood on a quarter mile stretch of road in Woodstock overlooking I-81 Saturday morning to protest the Trump administration.
The “No Kings” rally in Woodstock was a collaborative effort between the Shenandoah County Democratic Committee and ShenCo Indivisible. It was close quarters along the busy roadway and, as such, the organizers ran a tight ship.
Marshals in orange vests, like Dennis Atwood, directed protesters to ensure the demonstration went smoothly.
DENNIS ATWOOD: General ground rules for safety, do not step in the main roadway …
Susan Medley was one of the protesters who showed up Saturday morning, troubled by the actions taken by the Trump administration.
SUSAN MEDLEY: Well, I'm terribly worried about what's going on with the current president. We live in a very red area, and coming together with other Democrats to express our fears and our hopes is very important to me.
She's been a regular at demonstrations in Woodstock over the past several months, and her concerns were shared by many fellow protesters. Don Hindman has been alarmed by what he sees as "amateurism" in the executive branch.
DON HINDMAN: You don't want an amateur in the operating room, alright, so why do we have an amateur, a real estate person, running the country and assigning other real estate people to do diplomacy with Iran. Hello? I mean, it's amateur hour.
For context – Hindman is a physician in Woodstock. He even wore his white coat to the rally in a show of solidarity with his community.
Nan Ducklow, from Basye, also protested Saturday on behalf of her late husband who worked as a journalist for Voice of America, which the Trump administration dismantled earlier this year.
NAN DUCKLOW: This whole thing would be appalling to him. Those foreign correspondents, they risk their lives every single day.
Protests on the I-81 overpass in Woodstock have been regular events over the past three months. While the demonstrations have been peaceful, they've encountered pushback from the department of transportation and law enforcement who have accused the groups of loitering, as The Northern Virginia Daily reported.
Organizer Mark Pierce hasn’t been deterred.
MARK PIERCE: See where that pole is? I went out there with my Ukrainian flag, hoping that the people coming south would be able to see me, and a friend of mine came out. … Not one, not two, but three state troopers pulled out onto the ramp and gave us both $99 tickets. [laughs] It's the cost of doing business, right?
The protestors managed to avoid trouble on Saturday, save for the occasional sneers and jeers from drivers passing by. Regina Freestone kept track of the middle fingers waved at the protesters.
REGINA FREESTONE: 16 middle fingers and insults since 10 o'clock.
PYNN: You've been keeping tally?
FREESTONE: I do.
They were up to 30 before noon, but were mostly drowned out by honks of support throughout the morning.
[sound of car horns honking]
