A local group is planning a silent demonstration this Saturday in downtown Fayetteville to protest actions by the Trump administration that they believe are anti-Democratic and infringe upon the civil rights of Americans.
The “Stand up for Freedom” rally will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. along Hay Street near the entrance of Segra Stadium. It is being organized by a Fayetteville Resistance Collection, a non-partisan group of residents from the Sandhills region “united in opposition to authoritarianism.” The coalition emerged this summer as a response to the recent federal government turmoil, protest organizer Jeff Defant told CityView. Organizers want to promote awareness about what they consider are unlawful overreaches of executive power, ranging from ICE arresting people without due process to mass layoffs of civil servants and slashing of core governmental services.
The rally coincides with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers Game on Saturday.
“The theme for game night is Stranger Things, and we want to highlight the ‘strange things’ that are going on in this country with the loss of due process and civil rights, funding cuts, those sorts of things,” Defant said. “Our goal is to help people see that these things aren’t obscure political discussions, but that they are real concerns that impact them directly.”
Protestors plan to stand in lines outside the stadium to raise awareness about the issues, carrying flags or signs referencing the country’s foundational principles of freedom and democracy, Defant said. They want to shed light on issues affecting local residents, like funding cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and natural disaster aid that has been repeatedly denied by FEMA since Trump took office, including for Hurricane Helene.
“Cuts to government funding have meant that people in the area who were affected by hurricanes going all the way back to Matthew, and God-forbid any hurricanes that come through this season and moving forward, aren’t getting the aid and relief funding that would otherwise be coming to them,” Defant said. “One person I spoke to living in Lumberton has been waiting since Hurricane Matthew for her roof to be replaced and was informed last week that there was no longer any funding.”
The Fayetteville Resistance Coalition, which is composed of individuals and civil rights groups who took part in the “No Kings” protest in June, is especially concerned about ICE raids that involve arresting people without due process, a practice that has sparked lawsuits. The group is also protesting ICE arrests and detainments of American citizens, including a U.S. Army veteran in California in July. Earlier this spring, ICE deported three children who were U.S. citizens with their families to Honduras.
“These aren’t the gang members and criminals we were promised,” Defant said. “These are everyday Americans going about their lives … We saw ICE at Dodger Stadium. There’s no reason ICE couldn’t show up at the Woodpeckers game — ICE was in Durham recently. We could see our own friends, neighbors, family members impacted by this and have no recourse. And that’s not the American way.”
Defant said organizers have planned the Saturday protest to be informational and non-violent.
“We are just coming out to raise awareness,” he said. “We believe that Fayetteville is a community of people who are dedicated to the rule of law, the Constitution, the American way. And so we just want people to know what our concerns are. Nothing more, but nothing less.”
Government accountability reporter Evey Weisblat can be reached at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608.
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