Second Amendment supporters took to downtown Lewiston Saturday, vowing to protect local businesses from potential looters. But the looters never came.
Protect LC Valley’s rally began at 11 a.m. in Brackenbury Square. The LC Valley Black Lives Matter protest in Kiwanis Park also took place at 11 a.m.
According to Protect LC Valley rally organizers, attendees came to prevent looting and rioting in the area. Many were armed with guns, vests and walkie talkies. According to the group’s Facebook page, they planned to keep an eye out for potential destruction or violence from protestors participating in the BLM Peace Rally.
“We will gladly keep our distance away from the protesters’ area and personnel in order to not cause tension,” the page said. “Many concerned citizens in our group will be using their Second Amendment right for self-defense.”
A mile away, over 1,000 people attended the LC Valley Black Lives Matter protest.
“This is not a trend,” JeaDa Lay, organizer for the BLM protest, said. “This is not just a hashtag. You’re seeing a revolution.”
The protest joined a series of other demonstrations following the death of George Floyd. Floyd, a Black man, was pinned under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer for eight minutes and 46 seconds.
The police officer, Derek Chauvin, has since been charged with second degree murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter.
The original Facebook event for the BLM protest in Lewiston had over 1,300 responses before it was taken down. A post on the Facebook page claimed one of the original organizers no longer wanted her name affiliated with the event.
“The other host wanted the involvement of the Lewiston Police Department and their help to coordinate the date,” Madison Winn, another organizer, said. “We didn’t want this.”
When reached for comment, LPD Lieutenant Jeff Klone said the department and city support both groups’ right to assemble.
“Both groups have agreed they are not going to try and incite any kind of violence or trouble,” Klone said. “We’re not planning to have any extra officers called in and we’re not going to be standing around in riot gear or anything like that.”
The BLM protest’s Facebook page stated the organizers permit had been revoked by the city. But after contacting city officials, a series of text messages served as a permit.
Winn said they got in touch with Idaho’s American Civil Liberties Union to help with the situation.
“We were still going to go through with it anyways,” Winn said. “I think the large number of attendees scared the city. That is valid, but protesting is America.”
The Lewiston Police and Nez Perce County Sheriff drove past the protest along Snake River Avenue several times but did not have a presence on the ground. The junction leading from Snake River Avenue to Main Street had been blocked by LPD.
Some individuals expressed their support for the armed residents, saying they were thankful for the protection.
Brad, a Lewiston resident who declined to give his last name, said he thinks the goal of both parties is peace.
“We just want to make sure everyone is safe no matter what,” Brad said. “We’re just here to reassure everyone that we’re not just going to sit back and let our town get destroyed.”
Ross Keller, a Lewiston resident who works at the Clearwater Paper Mill, said he didn’t think the display of weaponry was meant to be intimidating.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a show of force. It’s a show of our Second Amendment rights,” Keller said. “We’re not going to allow any local businesses to be destroyed, but I don’t think they are going to cause trouble anyway.”
Both the LC Valley Black Lives Matter and Protect LC Valley groups remained peaceful, but some felt the armed demonstration seen in downtown was unnecessary.
Two Lewiston residents, Brittany Ulbright and Robyn Britton, came to downtown Lewiston to watch the Second Amendment protestors over lunch at Brava’s.
The two protests were scheduled to be an 18-minute walk apart, according to Google Maps. However, as members of the armed group spread out to make sure they covered the downtown area, some strayed close to the levee despite agreeing to hold their rally at Brackenbury Square.
“It’s kind of unclear why they’re out here,” Ulbright said. “I don’t know why they feel they would need to protect anything.”
Britton said this might be the first exposure some Lewiston residents have had to the Second Amendment activists in the community.
“A lot of people aren’t really from this area, like the college students, and they’re not used to seeing or knowing about the different bike crews we have in Lewiston,” Britton said. “The bikers are very supportive of this town, and they’re usually very peaceful too. But this could just scare people and I really hope it doesn’t.”
One person at the rally, Logan Michaelson, said he’s a member of American Patriot Three Precent. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Three Percenters, as they’ve been nicknamed, are an antigovernment militia movement.
Michaelson said he didn’t agree with what happened to George Floyd.
“We’re here to protect our community,” Michaelson said. “We love this town, and if you talk to anybody up and down this road they’ll say ‘all lives matter.’ But that doesn’t mean Black lives don’t.”
The BLM protesters gathered together on a hill facing the park and listened to a few guest speakers before they began marching along the levee.
“I’m so happy to see in this valley that there are so many people that will no longer just sit beside and let our brothers and sisters of color, our Indigenous people, die without any justice in the hands of the police,” Rebecca Miles, a Native American guest speaker, said. “I’m so happy that this valley is no longer tone deaf to those issues.”
Miles said people are watching the police through technology for abuse of the power they have in their communities.
Another guest speaker, Mikailah Thompson, said Lay asked her to speak because Black people should talk about Black issues.
Thompson talked about what not supporting the BLM movement means and how white people can use their privilege to support the Black community. She said when Black people are killed, it means their families don’t matter.
“I’ve faced a lot of racism in this town,” Thompson said. “It was very overwhelming to see the crowd of people come through and just to know my town does have my back.”
Angela Palermo can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @apalermotweets.
Christina Cardwell
Proud of you Lewiston!!! Glad to know the 2nd Amendment still means something. I think a lot of the protests there were from out of town. I think it makes sense to be prepared to protect your community based on what we have seen all over the Country.