Concerns over fascism unite the community

RAPID CITY – Many residents representing wide-ranging views came together on Saturday April 5, to participate in the National Day of Action to protest a wide range of Trump administration policies.

It began as a rumor with few details about who the organizers were as it appeared there were at least several events, starting at different times and locations.  There were some grumblings on Meta leading up to the day of protest as some commenters were asking why organizations can’t work together since the information seemed scattered and there didn’t seem to be one main organizer. But it turned out, many organizations were working together.

Hands Off! coordinators said the protests involved a coalition of more than 150 grass roots organizations all across the nation. According to updated reporting on Wikipedia the coalition included civil rights organizations, veterans, women’s rights groups, labor unions, and LGBTQ+ advocates. They had three demands:  an end to the billionaire takeover and the “rampant corruption of the Trump administration,” an end to cutting Medicaid, Social Security and other programs workers rely on and to stop “attacking immigrants, trans people and other communities.”

Local groups participating included Turn SD Purple, Pennington County Democrats, Lawrence County Democrats, the South Dakota Chapter of the National Organization of Women, and 50501: The People’s Movement, a partner to Hands Off!.

50501 was also sponsoring nationwide rallies which were scheduled to overlap with Hands Off!.  50501 is a grassroots effort to unite communities across the nation against oppression, dictatorship and threats to democracy.

In Rapid City, the Hands Off! rally began at 11a.m. at Founder’s Park. Parking lots along Omaha Street began filling up with cars and trucks and people from all directions began to line both sides of Omaha Street. They were carrying signs in protest of a wide range of Trump administration policies – cuts to healthcare and government agencies, immigration raids, potential harmful changes to Social Security, tariffs, billionaires interests being served over the interests of the people, public lands, environmental regulations, veterans services, Elon Musk’s interference, federal layoffs, Project 2025 – but the one issue that moved people to exercise their right to peaceful protest was a concern over growing authoritarianism.

As the crowd grew, Rapid City police who were standing nearby intervened only to advise people to stop crossing the street.

Karen Pettigrew said there were so many reasons to come and protest. “I’m tired of being lied to all the time. And that people believe it is really worrisome.”

Holding his sign high, Scotte Burns said it was very popular. “People at the print store loved it so much, they printed it for free and signed the back of it so they could be here because they couldn’t come.” His sign read ‘F-47’ above a black swastika encircled by red with a line through it. “This is renewing my faith in the human spirit,” said Burns as more people were joining the protest, “I mean look at this.”

Bonnie Wince was holding a sign that read ‘Make lying wrong again.’ “It’s a shame that we even have say it. I don’t understand how they can get away on media and people are allowing it and supporting it. I don’t understand it.”

The Standing Strong Grandmother’s Group came to support the cause. “I just feel with all the craziness that’s going on with Trump. We want to stand against that and to stand against fascism,” said member Mable Ann Eagle Hunter.

The 50501 rally began in front of City Hall at noon, joined by Indivisible Rapid City. “It was really an amazing turnout,” said Indivisible representative Angela Johnson as she tried to speak over the din of honking horns from passing traffic. “The people are pissed. We’re tired of the congressmen not listening to us and just doing Donald Trump’s bidding. Everything is being trampled on.”

Johnson spoke about lawmakers who say what Trump is doing is a mandate by voters. “He barely won, by 1.7 percent, that’s not a mandate. Nobody mandated their country being destroyed by tariffs that are out of control. Besides that, he has been lying non-stop his whole career. They are willfully ignorant. Nobody mandated he mess with social security. Nobody mandated our veterans being under attack. Nobody mandated the loss of all these government services. They have eliminated Meals On Wheels. They have eliminated the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).”

Johnson was referencing Trump’s action this week to gut the federally funded initiative created in 1981 to help vulnerable families pay their electricity and gas bills.

Pastor Jonathan Old Horse from Woyatan Lutheran Church spoke to a crowd that was straddling 6^th Street at Omaha across from Memorial Park between City Hall and Senator Mike Rounds’ office. Old Horse noted all of the veterans that were present, and the nation-to-nation promises that had been made. “They signed their name promising to defend this country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And we took that time to uphold the values and the virtues that that flag was based on. For an American Indian to even say those things, it’s a hard thing to swallow. But our ancestors had made an agreement with the Americans that if this country was ever attacked, we would come to their aid. As a veteran of the United States of America and an American Indian I am terribly appalled at what is going on. The way that our veterans sacrifices have been disrespected. The way that our grandparents fought in World War I and World War II have been disrespected by allowing people into that office that have no respect for the people of this country. They don’t honor their oath. We are a country that honors our oath.”

There was a handful of counter protesters for Trump who were holding signs and there were a few drive-bys giving the one finger salute. But mid-way through the even they were outnumbered.

Rough estimates are that between 600 and 800 people protested in Rapid City and thousands turned out in Sioux Falls. However, it seems to have had little impact as U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune who said they won’t stand in the way of Trumps tariffs. He told reporters on Capital Hill on Monday, “I expected some turbulence in the stock market, I think everybody did. This was a change in policy, a consequential one, but I think we got to let it play out and see what ultimately happens not only in the near term but in the longer term.”

Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington State and Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa introduced the Trade Review Act after Trump announced the tariffs. The TRA would make tariffs imposed by Trump or any future president, disappear after 60 days if not approved by Congress. But Thune, who is in charge of the chamber’s legislative schedule, said that the bill has no future after the president said he would veto the bill.

The next National Day of Action is April 19^th.

(Contact Marnie Cook cookm8715@gmail.com)

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