Nearly a thousand Villagers and area residents braved the cold and took to the streets to protest against the violent actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The demonstration took place Saturday morning on County Road 466A near the Colony Recreation Center.
A large number of the cars which passed the line of protesters honked horns in support of the demonstrators.
Minnesota natives John and Kathy Baufield, who have lived in the Village of Hadley for 13 years, said their friends and family members felt targeted by the government’s ICE agents actions in Minneapolis. Kathy said she was “proud of how the people have come together” while her husband John said that “they were energized by the protest movement.”
Karla McCarey, who resides in the Village of Dunedin, proudly wore her Minnesota sweatshirt as she waived her sign, which proclaimed “Giving Thanks for Free Speech.”
She said it’s time for Americans to stand up for democracy.
“I believe we need to make America kind again and we are not going in that direction. Democracy is important and we have to stand up for it now,” she said.
The McCareys are members of the Democratic Club of the Villages Rally Committee which called for the demonstration.
Village of Waters Edge resident Crystal Sleker held up a sign which declared, “I refuse to be ruled by fear.”
She said she had never protested in her life. But she said she was compelled to join in the demonstration because she is “appalled by the cruelty going on in my country and I just want to do my part to make a difference.”
There were plenty of signs on display at the demonstration:
