Two months ago, more than 500 people gathered for a pair of anti-Trump protests at the Augusta County Courthouse in Staunton, for generations the county seat in a locality that voted 70 percent-plus for Donald Trump for the third time in eight years just back in November.
Five hundred people at an anti-Trump rally in the heart of MAGA country was a lot – the biggest Democrat protest I’ve seen in these parts in 30 years working in the local media here.
No Kings Day: Staunton on Facebook
The turnout at Saturday’s No Kings Day event was easily double that, and I’m guesstimating may have been closer to 1,500, with people packed elbow to elbow on the courthouse lawn and lining both sides of the sidewalk on two surrounding streets.
And, big surprise – there were no counter-protestors, not one.
I say that’s a big surprise after what we saw at the two rallies in April – a local towing-company owner faces a criminal reckless-driving charge after racing within feet of dozens of protestors at the April 5 protest, and two people reported to Staunton Police that a man brandished a gun while in a vehicle in traffic at a stoplight before speeding off at that event.
The April 19 protest saw police arrest an Augusta County man who shouted death threats at attendees.
ICYMI
- Staunton: Magistrate issues warrant in ‘rolling coal’ incident at April 5 protest
- Witness: ‘Agitated’ man in truck brandished gun at Staunton protest rally
- Staunton Police arrest, then quickly release, man who shouted death threats at protest
Notice there that there were no reports of lawlessness involving the anti-Trump protestors at either event.
The hell, you say.
And yet, our MAGA governor, Glenn Youngkin, trying to cosplay the part of strongman, told reporters on Friday, on the eve of today’s protests – more than three dozen were on the schedule statewide – that he was activating the Virginia National Guard to assist local law enforcement with security.
“Let’s be really clear. There will be no violence, there will be no looting, there will be no damage to personal or business property. We cannot allow people to put people’s lives in jeopardy by disrupting traffic or anything along those lines. If you break the law, you’re going to be arrested,” Youngkin said after a public event in Virginia Beach on Friday.
The rhetoric from the governor didn’t come across as him wanting to protect protestors from people who voted for him driving jacked-up trucks at high rates of speed through events, other people who voted for him brandishing guns, still others who voted for him threatening to kill people for exercising their First Amendment rights.
Anyway, we didn’t have any National Guard troops in Staunton, just local police, including, and I was impressed with this, the police chief, Jim Williams, who was front and center throughout, and our local rally went off today with no incidents of any kind – the good news being, our local MAGAs were able to refrain from almost plowing into the crowd, waving handguns and the rest.
There was an incident at the No Kings Day protest up the road from us in Culpeper, where a 21-year-old man, if you can call him that, Joseph Checklick Jr., was arrested on a criminal reckless-driving charge after intentionally accelerating his car into a crowd of people, hitting at least one person with his car.
As was the case in Staunton two months ago, we’re lucky that this genetic loser didn’t do more damage.
I haven’t yet seen Youngkin acknowledge the utter lack of “violence,” “looting,” “damage to personal or business property” or “disrupting traffic” from anti-Trump protestors, or the fact that the only arrest that we’re aware of is a MAGA who tried to run people over in Culpeper.
Glenn: if you’re reading this, send the Guard home already.
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Chris Graham
