Rally against ‘dictatorship’ to be held Saturday in Pocatello
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POCATELLO – Community members will once again rally on the sidewalks of one of Pocatello’s busiest intersections to protest the actions of the executive branch of the United States of America.
Following last month’s “Hands Off!” rally in Pocatello protesting President Donald Trump’s administration, its local organizers have set up another rally to take place on Saturday. This will start at 11:30 a.m. at Caldwell Park, before protesters march down Center Street and rally at the intersection of North 5th Avenue in front of the Bannock County Courthouse.
“This is billed as a country-before-party event. So it’s wide open to Republicans, Democrats, independents, whoever feels that we are now going in the wrong direction, that we’re going in the direction of a dictatorship or an oligarchy,” said Elmer Martinez, an organizer with Southeast Idaho Citizens for Democracy.
Although the April rally was part of a national day of action, which saw around 1,200 rallies across the country, this protest was organized independently of others. About 1,000 people showed up at the previous Pocatello rally to express their grievances with the administration.
RELATED | About 1,000 people attend ‘Hands Off!’ rally in Pocatello
“I was anticipating maybe 200 or 300 (people),” Martinez said. “So I was surprised by the turnout in one sense, but I know there’s a lot of frustration out there in the community. So in another way, I wasn’t surprised at all.”
Martinez said that he wants people to have an outlet to protest because he’s continued to hear from people who regret voting for the president as his administration has gone on.
“Many of them are saying this is not what they supported him for. … The impacts are very negative for many of them or for their kids or grandkids. So they’re just kind of realizing they made the wrong choice, and (want) to have a way to kind of participate in slowing down or stopping this move to authoritarianism,” Martinez said.
Martinez didn’t observe any behavior he considered unsafe at the Hands Off! Rally, and said this one would be a peaceful protest like that one.
“One of the priorities for us is that this is a peaceful event. … We’re asking people to pay attention to the traffic, be conscious of others, not to engage with anybody else that might be counter protesting … (and) be safe and not engage,” Martinez said.