NILES — Hundreds of people gathered on Flag Day at the intersection of 2nd and Main streets to protest President Donald Trump’s policies and actions, citing corruption, lack of due process and fear for the state of democracy.
The large crowd of demonstrators filled an otherwise quiet town with chants, cheers and horns from supporters in passing cars as part of the estimated 2,000 No Kings demonstrations happening nationwide. The demonstrations are meant to protest Trump’s planned military parade and his administration’s actions — the parade also coincides with Trump’s 79th birthday.
“Everything with the Trump administration is extremely alarming,” said Angela Jones, a Niles resident and an organizer of the protests. “I was sounding alarm bells when they announced Project 2025 back in 2023 … and so many people said ‘Not in America, that won’t happen in America — we have too many guardrails.’”
Jones, who works with Coalition 4 Democracy organizing rallies twice a month in Niles (including the No Kings rally) said that now President Donald Trump has come into office with nothing to stop him from doing anything he wants.
Demonstrators were gathered nearly 30 minutes before the protest started at 2 p.m. and stayed nearly an hour after the protest was scheduled to end at 3 p.m. Many of the signs protestors held related to the Trump administration’s deportation initiatives and due process.
“American citizens are being caught up in all this,” said Irving Audiss, a resident of New Carlisle who came to protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies. “They’re going after people who have been here for decades, who have been paying taxes and living, basically the ‘American dream.’”
Audiss also said the irony is that everyone who is not a direct descendent from Native Americans “is an immigrant.”
Attendees appeared to span a wide range of ages, including Jim Bourne, who served as a Marine Corps infantry sergeant in Vietnam. Bourne “is not a big fan of Trump,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we have a fascist running this country,” Bourne said. “And I would like to stop him before he gets to be a dictator.”
Bourne also expressed disappointment in Republican lawmakers, and said “they’re not doing anything” to stop some of Trump’s actions.
More than 200 people registered online to attend the protest, said Jones, who added the expectation was vastly exceeded by their estimated count of 550 people present. The protest also successfully stayed peaceful while counterprotesters lined a nearby corner and pickup trucks revved their engines as they passed by, blowing demonstrators with black smoke exhaust.
Even so, Jones was not optimistic about the protest’s ability to force change in the Trump administration’s actions, but hoped the day’s protests would provide a sense of community for liberals in the area.
“We are fully aware that our standing up, our protests are not going to change the Trump administration,” Jones said. “But our goal is to mobilize and let others know that we’re here, and that they’re not alone — especially in our districts that are very red like this one.”
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Hundreds of protestors in Niles oppose Trump policies, call on politicians to rein him in
Reporting by JOHN FORBES / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
