BELL COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Thousands of protesters gathered across the country Saturday morning to demonstrate against President Donald Trump and his administration, including several protests in our local community.
The demonstrations, which many protesters called "No Kings Day" or "A Day of Resistance," aimed to call out President Trump's actions as the leader of our country.
"Trump really has made himself this king, right? He wants to go back to these old days where no checks, no balances," one protester said.
"He's in charge. Nobody can tell him what to do, and I think we're all here to fight that and show him like this is this is not what America is. This is not the country we are," Hailey Shanahan said.
In Bell County, streets outside the courthouse were filled with protesters. 25 News spoke with Hailey Shanahan, who said her background in social work motivated her to participate.
"Social advocacy is so important, right? There are so many people in this country being mistreated by their skin color, where they're from, I don't like seeing that, and I have two young children. I don't want them growing up in a world like this and seeing how people are treated," Shanahan said.
Counter-protesters, including Abhiram Garapati, who immigrated to the United States 25 years ago, also attended the demonstration.
"I'm an immigrant who came here legally 25 years back. We have a great country here. The other side is trying to destroy our values. They're trying to create violence, create havoc in our country. We have a duly elected president, Mr. Trump. He was elected by the people," Garapati said.
Garapati believes other immigrants should come to the country through legal channels, as says he did.
"We need to support ICE. We need to support our police. We need to support law enforcement. That's the fundamental bedrock of our country and our constitution," Garapati said.
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