It didn’t matter if it was drizzling or raining or how gray the sky was. Over 50 people turned out in what Indivisible San Juan Island called an “Emergency Pop-up” protest at the courthouse Jan. 6.

“We braved rain and fascism today with our Pop-Up AKA Emergency Protest, which we put together on a day’s notice after Trump’s latest distraction of bombing Venezuela. Ironically, rounding up a dictator who has oppressed the Venezuelan people for decades, but with no Congressional approval from our government,” Debbie Fincher, Indivisible member, said. “Many US citizens see Trump’s desire to rule us like a dictator, so nearly 50 community members stood together in solidarity over the course of the hour to show our disapproval with our current administration’s abuse of power.”

According to Fincher, approximately 99% of those walking or driving passed showed support by honking horns, waving, cheering and giving the thumbs-up signal. At one point, when traffic was particularly heavy due to an unloading ferry, some residents pulled over and joined the protest.

“We the People are not getting our needs met by this administration, yet they want to run another country? We can’t help but see this as yet another distraction to the release of the Epstein files,” Fincher told the Journal, “We know it will be up to We the People to defend democracy. The Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House, but don’t seem as interested in defending the Constitution as they once were. The time is now to stand up, speak out, and ensure freedom for all people, so that’s what we, Indivisible San Juan Island, are doing. We hope others will join on January 20 at 2 p.m. for the Free America Walkout.”

The Journal also spoke to Tamera Besler, another Indivisible San Juan member. Besler is a vet herself, serving 10 years as an active military personnel, she said, and serving another 16 years in civilian service. What Trump and his administration have done all along, Besler said, is atrocious, adding “by invading another country and taking their leader is crossing the line, and I think it’s even more solidly turning the rest of the world against each of us as individuals. I’m very disappointed and even ashamed. It’s very distressing.”

When asked about the argument that Nicolas Maduro was a brutal dictator who needed to be taken down, she responded, “I would agree with that, but there’s a proper way to do it. There’s international law to follow, as well as working with Congress and getting approval and following the law.”

Congress, Besler continued, has been saying all along that they don’t know how to stop his behavior, “but if they don’t know, they’ve got to figure out something. Keep a normal rule of law, [stop] being nice. It’s not working with him. I guess I’m hoping that something is going to be done internationally, because I don’t think our own lawmakers are going to do it.”

Lt. Tom Eades, retired from both the San Juan Sheriff’s Office and the San Juan Island Fire Department, told the Journal that he was there because he is legitimately concerned about the future of the country. “I feel that it’s my responsibility to speak out and make my opinion heard. Otherwise, we’re just going to get trampled and plowed under. We need to get our current president out of power, because he has no intention of leaving willingly. ” Congress, he added, needs to do its job. “They’ve allowed him to walk all over them, and they need to recognize that it’s endangering the country. They’re allowing him to do what he wants, which is to his benefit, and not doing anything for the remainder of the country. So they need to come to that realization and take action to fix the problem.”

Eades is also concerned about the current Supreme Court. “They need to step up and start acting on behalf of the American people.”

When asked what his response to the arguemnt that Maduro was a brutal dictator that needed to be removed, he replied, “I do agree with that, but I also feel that it’s the responsibility of the country, Venezuela, to deal with their problem and they’re using that part of it as an excuse to try to legitimize which, by Trump’s own admission, the entire reason that he went in is to seize the oil.”

That admission, he said, means the brutal dictator argument doesn’t hold water. “It’s nice from the standpoint that it gets Maduro out of the country. It isn’t totally fixing the problems; it’s installing a new problem. It’s been pointed out that by taking that action, it sets a precedent that makes any other fascist dictator around the world say, ‘Hey, I can just walk in and take over somebody else’s country.’’”

He also vocalized concerns that Trump will follow through on his threats to Greenland, Cuba, Iran, Colombia, Mexico and even Canada. “His group of cronies in the cabinet and all are totally down with that. Stephen Miller in particular has been very vocal that, you know, we’re in charge, and this is how you govern this by brute force and and I think it’s, at the very least, it’s a huge embarrassment for me as an American to be representing that kind of point of view.”

San Juan Islander and protest attendee David Robison told the Journal he is disgusted with Trump and the Trump administration’s disregard for the rule of law. He pointed out that America has a long and ugly history of meddling in Central and South America, as well as a few other countries, none of which have turned out well.

“It’s pretty clear that it … is clearly about the oil revenues that Trump hopes to get. We don’t need to be burning more oil. We need to be burning less oil, due to climate change and other types of pollution, and it’s just going to benefit [owners of] oil stocks. It is not going to benefit the Venezuelans. It’s not going to benefit most Americans who don’t own stock.”

Robison responded to the question of ousting a brutal dictator by saying, “Maduro was/is not a great guy, that’s clear. So that makes it a little less awful, but it’s not our job. Trump campaigned on the idea that we were not the police of the world. We would not be getting into foreign involvements and spending our tax money on these foreign interventions.”

In fact, Trump has bombed seven countries during the first year of his second term, and Robison pointed out, he’s threatening more, including Cuba, Mexico and Greenland.

When asked whether he was concerned Trump would follow through, Robison said on the one hand, he will blow smoke till he’s dead, and on the other hand, “I worry about what he says and what he threatens to do. I don’t get too worked up about it, because that’s part of his goal: to get people spinning around and freaking out over things that haven’t actually happened. But the reality is, when things do happen that we need to stand up and show that we object.”

Due to that, continued protests, even a national strike, are, according to Robison, helpful and good ideas.

“I would hope that people would realize that they need to continue to make noise. Some of the direct actions against the ICE kidnappings, I think, have been super effective, both to let the government know that it’s not popular and to let other Americans know how to be brave, because it takes huge bravery. People are showing that [bravery] and that’s very heartening to see. It gives me hope.”

Heather Spaulding/staff photo.

Heather Spaulding/staff photo.