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Volunteers are gearing up to mobilize in three Boulder County communities this weekend to protest the actions of the Trump administration, according to online materials.Rallies are planned in Lyons, Longmont and Boulder on Saturday as part of an event that organizers are calling, “Hands Off! National Day of Action.” Organized by advocacy groups, the event has inspired nationwide protests against what participants consider targeted attacks on government benefits and civil rights, according to the Hands Off! website.
Demonstrations are being coordinated in every state, including 36 in Colorado as of Thursday afternoon, according to the website. More than 1,000 demonstrations are expected to take place nationwide on Saturday, according to the event registration site Mobilize.Local protests are planned in Lyons from noon to 2 p.
m. at Third Avenue and Main Street; in Longmont from 1 to 2 p.m.
at Sixth Avenue and Main Street; and in Boulder from 1 to 3 p.m. at Table Mesa Drive and South Broadway.
In Lyons, rally coordinator Cathy Rivers said she anticipates that a large crowd will gather on Saturday. She described the Lyons community as “small but mighty.”“We’re a very active and very connected community,” Rivers said.
“We take care of each other. We, by and large, respect our differing opinions. I feel like this is another aspect of that community consciousness that we have here in Lyons.
”Rivers said she has been holding similar rallies in town for the past two months. Starting in February, Saturday gatherings in downtown Lyons have drawn an estimated 60 people, including some who come from outside Lyons to participate, she said.The rallies have been coordinated by Rivers as an extension of her group, “Lyons Neighbors 4 Democracy.
” The group is committed to peaceful opposition to the “autocratic, oligarchic and tyrannical” policies of the Trump administration, according to its mission statement.Rivers said the plan for Saturday is to keep the demonstration upbeat and joyful.“The biggest tool we have at this moment is to show up with our numbers and our voices,” Rivers said.
Rivers has lived in Lyons for 26 years. She formed “Lyons Neighbors 4 Democracy” this year, but the idea has its origin in a similar group she started when the Iraq War broke out – “Lyons Neighbors 4 Peace.” Rivers said some of attendees of this year’s rallies were also participants in her original group two decades ago.
“There are a handful of people who were doing it then and are joining us again, which is so cool,” Rivers said. “We’re very proud of ourselves that we’ve still got some kick left in us to do stuff like this.”The Boulder rally has over 1,100 online registrants as of Thursday afternoon, according to event organizer Paula Mannell.
In Longmont, rally participants plan to march along Main Street for the demonstration. A few speakers are scheduled to make remarks. Longmont event organizer Lynette McClain said that more than 1,000 people have signed up for the rally on Mobilize as of Thursday.
“When we decide we’re going to do something, we usually do have a really good turnout like this,” McClain said. The Longmont community also rallied on International Women’s Day last month. That demonstration, also held at Sixth Avenue and Main, had over 250 online registrants.
McClain said the point of Saturday’s rally is to let the administration know that residents are unhappy with its actions.“We’re ready to fight back,” McClain said. “Colorado is really good at turning out.
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