A nationwide protest against President Donald Trump’s policies and military parade also took place on the lakeshore.
Between 450 and 500 people gathered in Lighthouse Park in Manitowoc for anti-Trump protests as part of the No Kings event.
Their website describes the protest as a day of defiance, which involves taking action and rejecting authoritarianism.
Protesters first started at the pavilion at the park and heard a speech from Local Pastor Matt Sauer.
Sauer told the crowd, “No to Kings, no to charisma, no to people who believe that they get to make their own rules.”
Sauer also told the crowd that the US has seen what happens when kings and tyrants take over.
“Because kings always come for the people,” he said. “Because tyranny always begins with a promise that we’re going to protect you, and it ends up taking away freedom. The greatness of this country has always been found in the perseverance of its citizens.”
Some protesters walked to the fountain in downtown Manitowoc, while some stayed and demonstrated in the park. Seehafernews.com spoke with Candice, who wanted to make it clear how she felt while doing it safely.
“Very happy to see it coming from Manitowoc because I have always felt a little bit in the minority here in terms of my feelings,” she explained. “But to see these people makes me feel very good.”
The local No Kings Protests were organized by Progressive Lakeshore People, the group that has also coordinated five other anti-Trump protests on the lakeshore. Event Organizer Jill Iverson stated that many messages were discussed on signs by protesters because numerous things were happening. She spoke out against Trump’s military parade happening in Washington, saying veterans across the country like herself aren’t for it.
She exclaimed, “Many millions of dollars spent on what could go to Medicare, what could go to feeding children, what could go to veterans benefits even. Instead, it’s a waste. Our country is not a country that has tanks in the streets, that’s something that a dictatorship does. We are not a dictatorship.”
She also criticized how the Trump Administration and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, have handled immigration. No Kings protests took place throughout Wisconsin, including in Sheboygan, Green Bay, Oshkosh as well as Milwaukee, and Madison.
