‘Trump Parade’ in Lexington brings out vehicles decked in flags, anti-Trump protesters
While vehicles decked out with flags flooded Lexington’s New Circle Road for a ‘Trump Parade,’ protesters gathered to stand against them.
The supporters of President Donald Trump drove around New Circle between about 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., many of whom were spread out among regular traffic. The members of the parade honked their horns, and waved American flags and and flags emblazoned with Trump’s logo or likeness. Many held up four fingers, calling for four more years of Trump in office.
About 25 protesters stood near the corner of North Broadway and New Circle Road with signs, chanting at the Trump supporters as they drove by.
Alisha Kattara, a protester with LPD accountability, said that the protesters came out to oppose “Trump’s America,” because it doesn’t include everyone.
“Our president is blatantly racist, he’s sexist, he’s homophobic, he’s transphobic, and we’re standing against them,” Kattara said. “The fact that these people are able to come out here and show pride in a racist is not okay with us, and we’re going to stand up for ourselves and people like us who think that’s wrong.”
While Trump supporters and protesters yelled at each other and some profanities were thrown back and forth, there didn’t appear to be any physical confrontations between the two groups.
Katarra and protest organizer April Taylor both mentioned that they believed the Trump supporters were being treated differently by police than they would if the roles were reversed and the protesters were the ones on parade.
“We feel like if the shoe was on the other foot and that was us doing it, they would have shut us down by now,” Taylor said. She noted that, at least in the area near protesters, no one in the parade who was hanging out of windows or sunroofs had been pulled over for disregarding traffic laws. If the roles were reversed, the protesters would have been “over policed,” she argued.
Lexington police Lt. Chris Cooper said that police did see some traffic hazards and addressed them, but that no citations were given during the parade or protest. Officers were out to help minimize traffic problems and addressed issues where they could, he said. There were two minor collisions during the parade and some traffic impact due to the volume of vehicles on New Circle Road.
The LPD Accountability protesters came out Sunday because they want to see Trump and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell out of office. The group also wanted to support Black Lives Matter and express disapproval of immigration policies and how the COVID-19 pandemic has been handled, Taylor said.
“These people don’t think we’re equal,” Kattara said of the parade members. “These people think we’re less than them, and they’re cool with that because the president won’t say white supremacists are bad. There’s not good and bad people on both sides, a white supremacist or racist is bad.”
Organizers for Trump Parade set out their reasons for the event on Facebook.
“We’re going to peacefully parade around New Circle Rd in support of our country, our Law enforcement & our Great President,” organizers wrote on the event’s page. “Be encouraged, follow the law, be safe & have a fun patriotic end of the festive weekend!”
This story was originally published October 11, 2020 at 6:06 PM.
