August 14, 2017
President Trump returned tonight to his residence on 5th Avenue and thousands of protesters were on hand to meet him. In the aftermath of the “Unite the Right” tragedy in Charlottesville, VA, a controversial Presidential statement about it blaming “many sides”, and a followup clarification explicitly calling out neonazis, white supremacists and the KKK, many still had their doubts. Racism, white supremacy, fascism, and Trump himself were denounced on handmade picket signs and in chants by the protesters.
“Hands too Small/Can’t Build a Wall!”
Thousands of protesters were met by an army of NYPD officers, concrete barricades, temporary metal fences, and a fleet of gigantic Sanitation Department dump trucks parked on 5th Avenue. When President Trump’s motorcade arrived a few minutes past 9PM the protesters cranked up the volume to 11. Once inside his tower, any hope the protesters had of getting a glimpse of him faded quickly and the throng thinned out over the next half hour. By 10 o’clock only a few hundred remained on hand.
“Whose Streets? Our Streets!/This Is What Democracy Looks Like!”
Brett N. from Brooklyn held up a sign quoting Heather Heyer, the woman run over and killed in Charlottesville on Saturday. “I’ve just had it with him, especially after this weekend,” Brett told the Gazette.
Josh and Danielle came in from North Bergen, NJ. “I’m terrified and I’m gonna speak up for my rights as a woman, as an Hispanic, and for my loved ones,” Danielle said. “The blood flow of Democracy needs the power of protest. Our politicians have misled us and my only option is to give ’em hell now,” Josh added.
Chandra D., a Chelsea resident shared this: “I believe it’s crucial that we make our voices heard. This administration has clearly made it their mission to dismantle the most fundamental tenets of American democracy. We the People must let them, and all who are complicit with this abhorrent, disgraceful agenda, know that we will fight them every step of the way and there will be a price to pay.”
