In deep red Shenandoah County, a group of demonstrators have gathered at the I-81 overpass in Woodstock every week since March to protest the Trump administration. Last weekend, a handful of them were issued warnings and a citation for loitering. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
Local residents displeased with the administration have marched on the overpass every Saturday for 25 weeks and counting. When WMRA's Calvin Pynn visited for the "No Kings" protest in June, there were more than 400 people assembled. Retired emergency department physician Dr. Mark Pierce said they typically have between 50 and 75.
DR. MARK PIERCE: Everyone out there at these rallies, obviously including myself, has a very deep, abiding love of and for this country, and the ideals that it was founded on. We feel that the current administration is the polar opposite of the ideals that this nation was founded on, so we are voicing and displaying our dissatisfaction with that.
Pierce said they get a range of feedback from passers-by. More than 70% of the county's vote went for President Donald Trump in November.
PIERCE: On a day to day basis in town, I don't face antagonism from people. … Now, when we're demonstrating, it's a different story, and we get a lot of catcalls and we get called a lot of nasty names. … People get angry at us because we are demonstrating against what they believe in, and I understand that. … On the other hand, I've got to say, that we have gotten a tremendous amount of positive response, especially from the truckers on I-81, believe it or not.
Pierce and fellow demonstrator Dennis Atwood are involved with both the Shenandoah County Democratic Committee and the grassroots group ShenCo Indivisible. Atwood said protestors bear American, Ukrainian, Canadian, and Palestinian flags, and hold homemade signs emblazoned with a variety of concerns.
DENNIS ATWOOD: The violation, ignorance of rule of law by Trump; the masked, anonymous kidnapping of people by ICE agents; the budget bill that we call the 'Big Bad Budget Bill' and negative impacts on healthcare, food assistance, giving money through tax breaks for billionaires; and most recently, the Epstein files.
Atwood said they've followed guidance from the Woodstock Police Department that they stay on the sidewalk, don't hang large objects over the railings, and cede the right-of-way to pedestrians. But they've still run afoul of the Virginia Department of Transportation.
ATWOOD: In late April, we were informed verbally that VDOT intended to put up new restrictive language, signage, and it didn't happen for a long, long time.
Last Friday morning, group members noticed signs had been erected at either end of the bridge, citing a Virginia administrative code that [quote] "any non-travel purpose is prohibited and is considered trespassing – no stopping, standing, loitering, or assembly." On Saturday, dozens of people showed up anyway. State troopers were already there.
PIERCE: So we walked across the bridge and back two times, always in single file.
After their second trip, Pierce said a state trooper called him over.
PIERCE: He explained to me that if we continued to go across the bridge as we had been doing, that we would be issued citations. The first citation would be a warning, the second would be an actual citation with a court date, and then if we went a third time, it would result in being arrested.
Pierce and a handful of other protestors crossed the bridge one more time and were issued written warnings – except for one woman, who Pierce said requested a citation with a court date.
Matthew Demlein, a public relations coordinator with the Virginia State Police, told WMRA via email that six people were given warnings and one was issued a citation for loitering. The protestors argue they aren't loitering. Atwood referenced the 2001 federal court case Lytle v. Doyle, in which the court ruled that another Virginia law prohibiting loitering on bridges was unconstitutionally vague. That lawsuit stemmed from a group of anti-abortion protestors who were arrested for loitering on a Norfolk overpass.
Pierce said he doesn't know who or what prompted VDOT to put up the signs.
PIERCE: The one reason they did give us was a safety concern. … Obviously, we are much more concerned with our First Amendment rights.
Jessica Cowardin, VDOT's assistant director of communications, told WMRA in an email that they put up the signs in response to safety concerns – but has not yet responded to a question about who reported the safety concerns.
She sent a statement which reads in part, [quote] "Signs and banners placed or waved over bridge railings directly over traffic pose a safety hazard to travelers should these items fall onto the roadway or create a distraction to drivers. … In several cases, pedestrians have stood in or stepped out into the roadway, creating significant safety concerns."
Atwood and Pierce say they are altering, but not stopping, their protests, and will cross the bridge just once to get from a parking area to their assembly point.
PIERCE: My main goal, all along, and it remains, is to be a reminder to everyone that drives by, everyone that sees us, that things are not right in this nation.
Pierce told WMRA they held a "mini-rally" on Wednesday evening with no issues – and they'll be back out there this Saturday.
