300 stand for 3rd ‘No Kings’ protest

Three hundred people on Saturday bundled into their winter coats and braved below-freezing temperatures to gather at WKFL Park in Homer for a third “No Kings” protest, organized by the Homer Women of Action. Demonstrators carried signs outside for two hours in solidarity with similar events happening nationwide, protesting the Trump administration and ongoing immigration raids.

Signs carried by protestors called for the abolishment of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and highlighted the Jan. 7 shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer and the Jan. 24 shooting of Alex Pretti by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. One sign posted next to WKFL Park read, “Hate will not make us great.”

Local resident Roger Minton said that Saturday’s “No Kings, No ICE” protest was his first.

“It’s a good crowd today, hopefully an inspiration for the rest of the country,” he said. “Minnesotans have sure stood up — we can follow their example. Our country is at a crossroads now of whether we’ll lose our democracy or not.”

Homer Women of Action’s Sandra Garity said that she was “thrilled” with the number of people who came out “to have a voice.”

“Enough is enough,” she said.

Other Homer Women of Action members agreed.

Evelyn Waltenbaugh said she was glad to see local demonstrators come out to support Minnesota. Maureen Daher said that more people “need to continue to wake up.”

“What’s happening in Minnesota can happen anywhere,” Paula Riley said.

For information on upcoming events in Homer, visit www.homerindivisible.com/home or find the Homer Women of Action on Facebook.