OLEAN — Demonstrators returned to Lincoln Park on Saturday afternoon, using the Fourth of July weekend to draw focus on their opposition to the policies of the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.

People began gathering before the appointed time of 1 p.m. in the park on the sunny afternoon. Dozens of people came together, despite it being a holiday weekend when many are on the road or with family.

Concerns by participants were expressed in the multitude of signs and flags. Lois Hilton spoke for many with her sign, “I want a real democracy with integrity, love and compassion.” Another sign read, “Make America kind again.”

One woman attended with her young daughter and said, “I’m very worried for my daughter and my grandfather, who’s in a nursing home. What will happen to them if  public education is destroyed and health care compromised. I work four jobs and still couldn’t cover their costs.”

Brittany Binz of Olean said she wants to challenge U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-23rd District, and she is working on collecting the 15,000 signatures needed for nomination in 2026.

“My grandmother said, ‘The squeaky wheel gets the attention,’ and running for office is my way of calling attention to the need for a new representative who speaks for all of  us,” she said.

Binz noted that the next gathering of people in the Olean area and the Southern Tier — “The  Good Trouble” — is planned for July 17, from 4 to 6 p.m., in Lincoln Park.

Jessica Davis, an organizer of local demonstrations against President Donald Trump and his political allies, said she has been involved to protect the children and the LGBTQ population. She added that she believes cuts to Medicaid will hurt the middle class, the elderly, infants and the disabled, while also possibly harming the future of Olean General Hospital.

Jil St. Ledger Roty, an attorney from Franklinville, said, “The whole administration is anti-human. People are being picked up and deported without trial, funding is being set aside to create concentration camps, it’s unfathomable in a democracy.”

A man showing the Mexican and Canadian flags said he brought them to illustrate that countries that were our friends before the last election have been alienated by Trump and his administration.

Perhaps turning out in a counter-demonstration, a lone man with an American flag stood on the curb near the crosswalk beside city hall. Also Saturday, a pickup truck with a large Trump sign circled the Union Street and State Street roundabout, the driver honking the horn.

Nationwide, organizers had called for more protests against the Trump administration in the wake of the targeted bombing of Iran’s nuclear weapons development sites in June as well as recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings, including the 6-3 decision effectively ending blanket, nationwide injunctions by federal judges at the district level. Opponents Trump fear the ruling gives the presidency unchecked power to make changes in policy or funding without approval from Congress.