Beto O'Rourke, Doug Jones leads anti-trump ranges in Tuscaloosa

“Dump Trump” and “Lock Him Up” were among the milder chants, which on May 1st remained from at least three locations in Tuscaloosa when hundreds of demonstrators gathered to express their resistance to the president's appearance at the special opening ceremony of the University of Alabama.

The crowds gathered in the city center of Government Plaza, on the UA campus on the UA campus and another 1,000 or more in the Snow Hinton Park.

The first two of these meetings have come together when around 200 of Alabama members of the 50501 movement and indivisible Northport tuscaloosa-one organization-one march from the Plaza began and others along the 2.3 mileage path and the campus, which was led to a rejected “designed protest”.

After the group was merged on the Butler field of the million dollar band, she then marched past Coleman Coliseum, where Trump entered the stage for an hour and a half after the ceremony's early days.

Due to the last minute scramble for preparation, given the surprising announcements, both events have made changes in planning in the past few days, which led to a certain confusion about when everyone would start. As a result, some showed at the Government Plaza at the beginning of 2 p.m., although the march only started around 5.

The organizers set up a public address system to address the meetings before the central court. At 4 p.m. there was about 180, welded signs and banners, some in costumes. A woman wore the striking long blood-red dress and the white cap from Hulus six-season “The Handmaid's Tale” based on the dystopian novel concluded by Margaret Atwood in 1985, when she was a visiting professor in the English department of UA.

A man wore a rope -bound robe and sandals wore a sign in which “Jesus was not deported”. Other messages quoted the founding fathers and others on the dangers of tyranny and found that the United States were founded to escape the kings and not to choose them. A banner bluntly read “remove, vice versa, reform”.

An indivisible coordinator from Northport Tuscaloosa said that the message was that many Alabamians are not happy with Trump's visit.

“We believe that President Trump has not only granted the nation, but also our community, especially our community,” said Heather Love.

“The University of Alabama (System) is one of the largest employers in the state, and it feels mocked that he will speak here when he took millions of dollars from our faculty, away from people who are divided into these jobs at the university.

“So, we are here to gather to show ourselves that we are not satisfied with what is going on in the country in general, and we are definitely not happy that he shows Alabama as a positive figure ….

“Our elected guides at all levels should all represent us, not just those who agree with them.”

With the support of the state party, the UA College Democrats organized their flood against the tyranny and the same name as a change.

The speakers included students and the youngest graduates as well as three candidates who were currently held by Tommy Tuberville, all before the former US representative of Texas Beto O'Rourke gave a fiery speech, followed by an equally passionate warning by Doug Jones, a former US Senator of Alabama.

At 6 p.m. a lot had valued that had an estimated 1,200 to hear Keynotes at the southern end of the park under the pavilion near the network of climbing ropes, which are known as a space network. As with the other rally, there were dozens of characters, including “hatred will not make us great again”, “Trump's indictment.” Again “,” I am here because I listened to history “and” You know that it is bad when a woman from Auburn is here, for univ. To defend from al! “

The hopeful Kyle Sweetser of the Senate described himself as a former Republican who had to speak after January 6, 2021 when Trump said:

“I decided that I had to do everything in my power to correct this ship in order to speak against the Maga-controlled Republican party, the party that gave up all the principles and values for adoration at the altar of Trump,” said Sweetser.

He voted Trump in 2016 and believed that the candidate appealed to moderate like himself.

“In 2016 he told the LGBTQ community that I would fight for them. 'These were his words.

“But he didn't do anything about it. Instead, Trump has teamed up on a few selected billionaires, abused his power with tariffs and unconstitutional orders and betray the trust of his most loyal supporters, the people in Alabama, the people of the south.

“His authoritarian regime is an anti-constitution. They think they are above the law. They annoy and threaten the press. They are the enemies of freedom of speaking.”

The fever was even higher than O'Rourke performed. He was in Tuscaloosa in February 2024 and had spoken about the fight for voting rights. This amount of about 250 listened carefully and made it so that he signed copies of his book “We have to try: how the struggle for voting rights makes everything possible”, but the group on May 1st seemed more like a resuscitation of the summer church.

“Well! So Alabama looks like this,” said O'Rourke.

He talked about how Texas was inspired by Alabama. Both states considered a deep red and had similar fights. The invitation from UA students was “… the easiest yes, that at all.

O'Rourke paid his own way to Tuscaloosa and received no fee for the appearance because he hoped to meet with similar minds and inspire hope.

“Too many people in this country understand the threat that Donald Trump shows us individually, our families, our community, our constitution, our country.

“But the students of the University of Alabama took action themselves, the future in hand and they brought us together, and that is the leadership we need.

“Are you with me? Roll tide! …

“So, my hat is on every one of you who has appeared today because it is so easy to be tempted by despair, to be depressed and disturbed,” he said, “but you have decided to get up and be counted at this decisive moment of truth.”

The flood of strikers from the White House was designed, he said.

“He wants us to feel hopeless. He wants us to Believe that he has all the power. But let me tell you this. Let me tell you this, in this country, in this great democracy, in this government of, and for the people, the real power, with you, with you, with Me, Every Single Person Who's Come Here Today, And It's Going to Take All of Us, The Biggest, Broadest Possible Coalition of Americans ….

“Who are we? You can ask yourself against all of this, I will tell you what we are.”

Someone in the crowd called: “We are the people!” O'Rourke and other applauded.

He continued: “We are the last and the best hope for this country, just as this country remains the last and the best hope for this earth.

“At this moment of truth for America, our future, our fate and our fortune as a country will define forever. So, Alabama, without pressure, but we cannot (Expletive). If you are with me. We don't have to get through. We can't get through.”

Finally, O'Rourke said: “So remember you have power and we are grateful that you have brought this power here in Tuscaloosa today.

Jones immediately laughed at the crowd: “Sometimes I have the bad misfortune in Alabama that I am always behind a church choir … and now I have to go behind Beto O'Rourke.”

The former senator presented that this event was not a protest, but part of a movement, such as those that inspired the progress of the rights that contributed to ending the Vietnam War.

“And what?” Said Jones. “(These movements) started on the College Campus.”

People are getting more committed, he said when the cuts carve close to the bones.

“Everyone talks about Alabama and all the things that are bad, and we have our share, for God's sakes we have our share, and we still have our share. Most of them are in Montgomery, Alabama,” he said to a laugh, “but we have a couple in Washington, DC, DC”

Jones then has a more hopeful note on the commitment of public servants of Alabama such as Lister Hill and John Sparkman, who helped create rural hospitals, the modern banking system, the Clean Water Act and the Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville.

“We had such a large guide in our congress delegation. Can you call one thing that these (current) people have done these days, except (US Congress Member) Terri Sewell? No, you can't.

“But they still support things like the destruction of the Ministry of Education. Let me tell you something in this country a person who could use the Ministry of Education …”, he lined as the crowd roared.

“I don't even have to end it. It's so a matter of course,” said Jones.

“Let us dissolve. Let us make sure that your voices are heard. Let us make sure that you get engaged. Make sure you get people and speak to your friends and your neighbors. What is happening is not justice.

“And that's why justice has to become louder.”

Achieve Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.

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