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People of all ages and dogs marched from the federal courthouse, several blocks down to Olive street and back to Eugene City Hall to protest various Trump administration policies and actions.
This story was updated at 11:15 a.m. Oct. 20 include information from the Eugene Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Thousands took to the streets of Eugene on Saturday, Oct. 18, to participate in a nationwide protest against the Trump administration.
The second “No Kings” rally was once again peaceful. Protesters started at the Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse, made a loop through downtown and ended at Eugene City Hall. Eugene Police Department made no arrests, according to public information director Melinda McLaughlin.
There were minor verbal tiffs with irritated drivers and a counterprotester, according to Lookout Eugene-Springfield’s reporting and eyewitnesses, but the moments did not escalate past yelling and other protesters stepped in to maintain calm. Trios of Eugene police on bicycles were stationed around the protest site.
Similar to the first No Kings rally — on June 14 — there were protesters of all ages, and many brought dogs and babies along. Inflatable animal costumes were popular, including dinosaurs, a zebra, a starfish, an alien, a chicken and a unicorn.
Leslie Adair sported a blow-up panda suit and Sheril Driftmyer wore a shark equivalent. They said they got the costumes to spread positivity and joy.
“This is my first protest, my first inflatable. I’m super excited,” Adair said.
While there were many new protesters who did not attend June’s demonstration, a Eugene police spokesperson estimated the crowd size at 3,500 to 4,000 participants, significantly less than June’s crowd estimate of 6,000 to 10,000 people. Police and organizers differed on their count.
Signs expressed protesters’ fatigue, with messages like “I’m tired of making signs!” and “No sign is big enough to list all the reasons I’m here.”
Whitney and Del Randall spoke about what they called “outrage fatigue.”
“I hope that people don’t stay complicit in what’s happening and that they also don’t become too desensitized,” Whitney Randall said.
She had their 8-month old baby, Ren, when Trump took office, and Randall was relieved her baby was a boy, because she believes men have more privilege under the current administration.
“It sucks to feel that way,” she said.
A man in his mid-40s with a Turning Point USA hat, referring to the conservative political organization, and a Charlie Kirk shirt yelled, “God bless you, God bless Charlie Kirk” into the crowd from the sidewalk as people marched to City Hall. He refused to give his name.
He exchanged insults with several protesters who jeered him but told Lookout Eugene-Springfield he was there to support Christianity, Turning Point USA and conservatism and see what protests are actually like. He said people misunderstand Charlie Kirk supporters.
“There’s no hate, there’s no fascism, there’s none of that,” he said. “I don’t have any of that in my body.”
He said he was surprised at how peaceful the protest was because of how he’s seen them portrayed in the media, and he appreciated the peace.
Mario Lobo Hernandez, 81, born in Honduras and now a U.S. citizen, came in support of the Latino community, many of whom feel targeted by the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.
“I don’t like what they are doing right now,” Hernandez said, speaking about immigration officers he said he had seen out in the Eugene area. “They don’t want to talk to us. They are hunting us.”
Hernandez has lived in Eugene for 47 years. He said he was stopped by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers a few months ago in the parking lot of Fred Meyer off of River Road. They were in an unmarked car with California plates. They asked Hernandez where he was from, his name and how long he had been living in the country.
When asked whether ICE officers can operate in grocery store parking lots, ICE public affairs officer Chrissy Cuttita said operations are “focused and strategic.”
“Guided by its mission to protect America through criminal investigations and enforcement of immigration laws, ICE conducts operations using data-driven intelligence and discretion,” Cuttita wrote in a statement to Lookout on Oct. 20. “As a federal law enforcement agency, it is not unusual to see ICE conducting operations in public as part of its efforts to ensure compliance with the law while safeguarding communities and upholding national security.”
When Hernandez told them his information, he was left alone, but he knew that others have not been so lucky. He has several Latino friends, also citizens, who didn’t come to the protest out of fear of being detained. Hernandez printed out a copy of his passport to keep in his backpack, just in case.
“I’m not afraid,” he said.
