Jennifer Werstein, of Princeton, didn’t expect to find a “No Kings” rally in her hometown on Saturday, so she drove to Hopkinsville with a sign protesting President Trump’s policies.
Carrying a loud speaker and leading chants as she walked up and down the West Ninth Street sidewalk, Werstein joined roughly 225 demonstrators who assembled in front of the Christian County Justice Center. Like her, many who carried protest signs and American flags came from neighboring towns.
“I am protesting for our constitution,” said Werstein. “I think our First Amendment rights are at risk, and if the First Amendment goes down, every other amendment will go down.”
Christian County resident Victoria Keith helped organize Saturday’s rally, which was the third anti-Trump demonstration in Hopkinsville this year. The first rally, called a “Hands Off” protest, drew a few dozen people in April. The second rally, in June, had approximately 150 protesters. Saturday’s event attracted the largest group so far.
“It’s bigger than I expected. People are energized,” said Keith.
It appeared no counter-protesters attended. Several motorists waved and honked horns in a show of support as they drove past the protesters. A few drivers expressed their opposition and shouted “Trump” through an open window. The rally remained peaceful.
Protesters stressed several reasons for their opposition to the president’s policies, including aggressive immigration policies and actions by federal agents working for ICE, concerns that the president is mounting an authoritarian challenge to three co-equal branches of government, and apprehension that their free speech rights are in danger.
Retired educator Bonnie Lynch, of Hopkinsville, said she wanted to be present to have her say about the current state of the country.
For her, the rally in Hopkinsville and two dozen other Kentucky communities was proof “that people are standing up.”
RELATED: Kentuckians turn out at peaceful ‘No Kings’ protests across state
“We do not need a dictator. We don’t need somebody making all of the decisions for our country. There are supposed to be three branches of the government,” said Lynch. “This man wants to be a dictator, so he has control of all the agencies, and that’s not the way our constitution even reads.”
Lynch said she’s concerned President Trump is dismantling the form of the federal government.
“We don’t want a king. We don’t want a dictator,” she said. “We should have three separate branches of government, and they all should be functioning individually — not dependent on him with him in control of all the branches.”
“No Kings” organizers estimated that at least five million protesters turned out for 2,600 events across the country.
In the days leading up to the protests, U.S. House Speaker Michael Johnson, R-Louisiana, and others critical of “No Kings” called the demonstrations “Hate America rallies.”
In Portland and elsewhere, protesters have worn inflatable costumes of animals and cartoon characters to show that they are not violent.
Colleen Schadewald, of Trigg County, wore a Porky Pig costume for the Hopkinsville rally. She said she picked it because it is a playful nod to Trigg County’s country ham heritage.
“We are not angry people all the time,” said Schadewald. “We just want our country back.”
Geneva Parris, an attorney from Cadiz, brought an America flag to the Hopkinsville rally — a choice that was practical, because the flag was handy, and also meaningful to her as a way to counter Republican messaging about “No Kings” rallies being anti-American.
“I think our founding fathers and mothers would really disagree,” with criticism of the protesters, she said. “They threw tea in the harbor. They did all sorts of things … they acted against the king and his hand-picked administrators and governors, every which way they could, including marching and gathering together.”
Protesting is “the most patriotic thing you can do,” said Harris.
“I will defend the right of anyone to protest …. people should be able to do it without fear,” she said.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
