Supporters, protesters to gather near MCAS
American citizens exercising their right to free speech tend to gather wherever President Trump goes, whether to voice their support of his agenda or oppose the Republican’s positions and policies.
People from both sides were expected to converge Tuesday at the Yuma County Fairgrounds just north of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, where Trump is scheduled to land in the early afternoon for a short stop before departing to a large campaign-style rally in Phoenix.
Doug Jennings, co-chairman of Yuma County Indivisible, said the group will be hosting a protest at the fairgrounds beginning at 11 a.m.
“We are having a peaceful protest. We are a group of volunteers, and we are trying to curtail Trump’s agenda of racism, authoritarianism and corruption,” Jennings said.
Uncertainty arose Monday night about whether the parking lot will be open and exactly when Trump would arrive.
Jennings said he would likely leave the protest’s time at 11 a.m., “because if we keep changing the time around, people will give up and not even bother to come out.”
Yuma Police Department Sgt. Lori Franklin said Monday gates were installed at the fairgrounds parking lot “a while ago” and is now generally closed unless there is an event. Its closure would not be related to Trump’s visit or the protests, she said.
Plane-watchers used the same lot, which is under Trump’s expected flight path, when another Air Force One plane brought President George W. Bush to MCAS Yuma twice, in 2006 and 2007.
“When he comes in he’ll be coming in kind of low. We’ll be holding signs and wearing bright green, florescent T-shirts. If he can’t see the signs, he’ll definitely see the T-shirts,” Jennings said. “We’ll definitely be seen from far away.”
He was unsure of how many people might attend, though it had been received positively on Facebook. “With these events, you can get anywhere from 20 to 100,” he said.
Jennings said water will be available, plus at least two people trained in first aid and CPR should anyone begin having problems due to the heat. There will be a police presence at the event, he said.
Ken Darby of Yuma, leader of the “Yuma Arizona Supporters for Donald Trump 2016” Facebook group, invited the public to come to the fairgrounds at noon to greet Air Force One, and had also been planning to use the fairgrounds parking lot.
As of late Monday he was unsure of where the event
would be, except that he hoped it would be someplace near the flight path, and able to counteract the message of the protesters.
“We just want to be sitting out there with an American flag and (say) ‘look, Air Force One.’ And we don’t want the only thing seen is these protesters, showing this is what Yuma, Arizona, thinks of our president. Because obviously, Yuma County voted, not overwhelmingly, but enough (for Trump),” he said.
Updates about the protest and rally may be available today on the Facebook pages for both groups.