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Group to include Olean in July 4th weekend protests against Trump
OLEAN — The group Local Organized Protest/Actions is planning to join a national call for protests over the recent U.S. bombing of sites in Iran’s nuclear weapons development program — an action that opponents of the Trump administration call an illegal act of war.
The protest in Olean is set for noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at Lincoln Park, according to the Indivisible website listing for the local event. Nationwide, The Women’s March and other groups are organizing protests on the Fourth of July in a push to “Free America” from President Donald Trump and his political and economic-policy allies.
The planned protests follow nationwide mass events on June 14 hosted by the umbrella group No Kings organization on Flag Day, coinciding with Trump’s birthday and a parade in Washington celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. More than 400 protesters turned out in downtown Olean for the No Kings event that day, while protests were also organized in Wellsville and Bradford, Pa.
“The demonstration will voice strong opposition to the recent bombings of Iran,” Local Organized Protest/Actions stated. “These attacks were acts of war and only Congress has that right. Trump has once again ignored the Constitution.”
Protesters will also decry “the horrible decisions” handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, including the 6-3 ruling effectively ending blanket, nationwide injunctions by federal judges at the district level. Opponents of President Donald Trump fear the ruling gives the presidency unchecked power to make changes in policy or funding without approval from Congress.
“In the wake of the latest controversial rulings by the Supreme Court … concern, outrage and calls to action are spreading across the country,” Local Organized Protest/Actions states. “These rulings, many of which roll back hard-won civil rights protections and increase the reach of unchecked executive power.”
The Indivisible website lists upcoming anti-Trump and anti-Republican events across the Southern Tier as well as Western New York and Western Pennsylvania.
