Dean Green leads the crowd in a chant of “No Kings” at the No Kings protest on Saturday in front of the Lawrence County Courthouse. (The Ironton Tribune | Mark Shaffer)

‘No Kings’ protest held in Ironton on Saturday

There was a protest in Ironton around the Lawrence County Courthouse to protest President Donald Trump’s policies on Saturday afternoon.

And despite the dire warnings on social media warning to “stay OUT of Ironton” because “these are the ‘protesters’ that are shooting cops, destroying police cars etc.” and that “just as was prophecied (sic), civil unrest and lawlessness was here,” it was a very mild protest, with signs decrying Trump and occasional shouts of “no kings.”

There were a couple extra police officers on duty, parked across from the courthouse, but nothing happened that required legal intervention.

There were no counter protesters across the street from the courthouse. Most of the counter protesters were in cars driving by. One woman had a Trump flag and yelled at protesters as the driver was using his cell phone to video the crowd as he drove. A black SUV circled the blocks a couple of time with the stereo blaring Kid Rock’s “Devil Without a Cause.” The SUV had a large flag on it that looked like an American flag, but had camouflage colors instead of red, white and blue.

More people cheered than jeered, but most people drove by looking confused as to what was going on.

As for the protest itself, it was organized by Southeast Ohio Unity Project, a group of people from Lawrence and Scioto counties that had concerns about policies and decided to meet in someone’s living room instead of just online to discuss their anxieties. From that, SOUP was formed and they got a permit for Saturday’s protest. They put it outline what was happening and when.

There were roughly 170 people in attendance, minus the two reporters covering the protest, and the vast majority were from Lawrence County.

“It went pretty quickly. I think it is going to continue to grow as people see they are not alone,” said Anne Artis, of Ironton, adding she was surprised by the number of people there. “I was a little concerned because we haven’t had a protest in Ironton, to my knowledge, since I was a child in the ‘60s. I am very pleased with the turnout.”

Bob McCollister said the reason they were out on Saturday.

“Because we love America, we love this country. We believe in this country, but to love America, you have to love all of it,” he said. “You have to love the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but it can’t be just one of them. It has to be all 10. And the first amendment protects our right to do this.”

The “old social studies teacher,” as he called himself, said they are worried that thousands of people in Lawrence County are about to lose their healthcare and a host of other issues.

“We see the U.S. military, at this moment, being politicized in Washington, D.C., at Fort Bragg the other day,” McCollister said, adding they see the federal and state government chipping away at “the very foundation of American democracy. So, we are here to show that there are people willing to peacefully stand up for what we believe is right.”

As 6 p.m. drew close, the crowd walked around the block to stand on the steps of the courthouse.

As Artis was talking to the crowd, she said “oh, here he comes again… black smoke man” as a large black jacked up truck went by and “rolled coal” so black soot from the exhaust went over the crowd. The counter protester has become locally famous for driving by and rolling coal at the twice-a-month “Hands Off” protest in Russell, Kentucky.

The crowd was led in a rendition of “We Shall Overcome” by McCollister before the crows left.