{"id":22598,"date":"2025-04-19T23:49:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T05:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/demonstrators-rally-in-cortez-against-actions-of-trump-administration\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:15:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:15:24","slug":"demonstrators-rally-in-cortez-against-actions-of-trump-administration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/demonstrators-rally-in-cortez-against-actions-of-trump-administration\/","title":{"rendered":"Demonstrators rally in Cortez against actions of Trump administration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Demonstrators
Demonstrators line Main Street at Madison Street in Cortez holding signs defending health care, Bears Ears National Monument, due process and free speech, and opposing tyranny and DOGE cuts. (Jen Magnuson\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Jennifer Magnuson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

An estimated 340 people marched Saturday on Main Street Cortez to protest the direction of the Trump administration on tariffs, public lands, immigration and other issues.<\/p>\n

The rally, coming two weeks after 600 people marched as part of a nationwide Hands Off march, was organized by the League of Women Voters of Montezuma County as part of 50501<\/a> \u2013 \u201c50 Protests, 50 States, One Movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

As temperatures dropped to nearly freezing at 11 a.m., participants gathered at the Welcome Center in Cortez, bringing donations of food and warm clothing for unhoused residents.<\/p>\n

Michael Williams of Cortez displays his \"Stop the Madness\" sign outside of the Cortez Welcome Center. He said \"Partiotism and concern brought him out today.\"(Jen Magnuson\/Special to The Journal)
Michael Williams of Cortez displays his \"Stop the Madness\" sign outside of the Cortez Welcome Center. He said \"Partiotism and concern brought him out today.\"(Jen Magnuson\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Jennifer Magnuson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Patty Coen of Mancos helped start the rally by leading marchers from the Cultural Center down Main Street, in a county where President Donald Trump received 59.3% of the vote<\/a> and in a state where 87% of GOP voters<\/a> had a favorable opinion of Trump in March.<\/p>\n

They were also asked to bring signs expressing whatever was \u201cmost concerning to them, whether it be public land or what\u2019s happening to our Medicaid,\u201d according to a statement last week by Karen Sheek, the president of the local League of Women Voters.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s march was meant to have a local flavor. Mary Dodd, chairperson of the Montezuma County Democrats, told The Journal<\/em> last week that the rally would take a more \u201cindividualized\u201d approach than the Hands Off protest on April 5.<\/p>\n

Kathe Hayes of Mancos holds her \"Dogs Against Trump button. She attended the demonstration with her puppy, Hazel.(Jen Magnuson\/Special to The Journal)
Kathe Hayes of Mancos holds her \"Dogs Against Trump button. She attended the demonstration with her puppy, Hazel.(Jen Magnuson\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Jennifer Magnuson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIt shows solidarity in a way that fits towns best,\u201d Dodd said. \u201cEach one has its own take on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday, marchers ran with that theme.<\/p>\n

Kathe Hayes of Mancos enlisted her puppy, Hazel, for the rally, and wore a pin labeled \u201cDogs against Trump. Bite me!\u201d Others carried signs reading \u201cLock the felon up,\u201d \u201cStop the madness,\u201d and \u201cHands off public lands.\u201d<\/p>\n

At least one marcher made a reference to the deported Kilmar \u00c1brego Garc\u00eda, who was sent to a Salvadoran jail with more than 250 people last month. His sign read \u201cDeport the dictator.\u201d Another read, \u201cDemocracy dies with no due process.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Mallin of Mancos crashed cymbals together as he marched along with protesters who lamented the state of health care. Behind him, a woman with tongue in cheek and hand on a sign, carried the message \u201cFight truth decay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim Law of Mancos walked the route with the sign, \u201cSave your farms. Dump Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some places used the protest as an extension of \u201cHands Off!,\u201d while others called it a \u201cTesla Takedown\u201d or a \u201cDay of Action.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Around
Around 850 area residents converged Saturday at Buckley Park, where speakers railed against President Donald Trump\u2019s and his administration\u2019s forced removal of immigrants, and about 700 participants marched to 835 East Second Ave., the Durango office of U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, to continue demonstrating. (Christian Burney\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In Durango, about 850 area residents converged at Buckley Park, where speakers railed against the Trump administration and its forced removal of immigrants. About 700 participants marched to 835 E. Second Ave., the Durango office of U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, to continue demonstrating.<\/p>\n

The protest, which Indivisible Durango member Karen Pontius described as a joint Hands Off! and 50501 rally, resonated with thousands like it across the country.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the afternoon, approximately 100 people, including residents of Ignacio and Farmington, demonstrated in Bayfield in a grassroots effort called Pine River Rising.<\/p>\n

Organizers and attendees at the protests said they were motivated to action because of the Trump administration\u2019s lack of due process in deporting immigrants and the president\u2019s suggestion U.S. citizens could suffer the same punishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump takes a (expletive) on our Constitution every day,\u201d resident Amy McClintock said. \u201cHis executive orders are largely illegal. \u2026 He\u2019s a criminal and he\u2019s continuing his criminal behavior in the White House, using our tax dollars for his personal pleasure and gain. His entire regime is fascist and they all need to be kicked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cameryn Cass and Trent Stephens of The Journal and Christian Burney of The Durango Herald contributed to this article.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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