A protest against the Trump administration is happening across the nation on Saturday, April 5, and there will be one in Cortez, too.
Organizers described it as a “peaceful mass activation in defiance of the Trump-Musk billionaire takeover and the Republican assault on our freedoms and our communities,” according to an article by the Washingtonian.
Bigger cities across America are preparing for thousands to demonstrate.
“It’s not just Colorado or Southwest Colorado – this protest is nationwide, and it’s generated because there’s such concern about what’s being done by the administration,” said Karen Sheek, president of the League of Women Voters of Montezuma County.
The local Hands Off! protest is set to start at 10:30 a.m., rain or shine, in the Welcome Center parking lot in Cortez.
Protesters are asked to park on side streets or at the Rec Center – to leave spaces for tourists at the Welcome Center – and to bring signs and wear red, white and blue.
From the Welcome Center, protesters will march down Main Street and convene on North Market Street to listen to a few speakers.
Sheek said they’re still securing the speakers, and that they’ll talk about different things happening federally and how it impacts us locally.
“How much of this can’t be fixed, even if they realize they’ve made a mistake? What damage is irreparable?” she questioned. “In my perspective, part of the purpose in doing this is to make everyone aware of these things, and how everyone is in jeopardy.”
Cuts to Medicaid, for instance, threaten our rural hospital. Workers with “outstanding evaluations” are being fired, she said.
The federal cuts “won’t hurt the Elon Musks and Donald Trumps of the world. If I had a billion dollars, I wouldn’t have to worry about health care or Social Security either,” said Sheek.
“That was very partisan,” Sheek laughed. “But if it was a Democrat doing these things, I’d say the same thing.”
Protesters are asked not to engage with anyone that may taunt or harass them during the march.
“This is a peaceful gathering and we’re exercising our right to assemble and freedom of speech,” Sheek said. “What they’re doing (at a federal level) is troubling, and it’s time for the American people to wake up.”
