by Will Bishop

Near the beginning of summer in June, crowds estimated to be in the thousands gathered in Eureka as part of the national No Kings protest campaign. Now, as summer comes to a close, a small but dedicated group of locals still remain, many of whom started long before June. Turnout for this Saturday’s demonstration was modest, but the dedication on display was very clear.

Felicity Barstow, one of the protestors present, called for persistent action even in the face of apathy and adversity.

“We’ve been here almost every Saturday since March, this isn’t just today’s effort — it’s an every day, every minute effort,” Barstow said, seated directly beneath the courthouse flagpole. “It’s really sad what’s happening here. We’re losing our freedoms and people are scared.”

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, some expressed their hesitance to appear for this weekend’s gathering. 

“I’ve been protesting now since earlier this year and today was the first day I felt really anxious to be here,” said Stephanie Schultz, a class of ‘79 Humboldt State University alum who majored in psychology and minored in art history. 

Amidst a national atmosphere of worsening political violence, it’s become difficult to keep such anxieties in check. Still, Schultz emphasized the importance of showing up and standing for a de-escalation in political tension. 

“Our president is not a leader, he is not unifying us,” Schultz said. “We need to calm down the noise level and the conflict between various groups.”

The causes on display were diverse, with many drawing attention to broader more fundamental issues with American society and foreign policy. While the protest was primarily geared toward rallying against the Trump administration, several could be seen holding signs or flags emblazoned with “Free Palestine” — as well as one large banner for Black Lives Matter. 

“I’m here to combat fascism, both in this country and abroad,” said James Schultz, son of Stephanie Schultz. “As an Arab American who has been concerned about Palestine for many years, I was worried it was gonna get to this point. And as far as this country -– last ten years I’ve been saying we would get to this point with corporate oligarchy, with freedom of speech being taken away.”

Notably, James Schultz was one of very few people in the crowd who wasn’t of a much older demographic. The crowd consisted almost exclusively of grey-haired older folk, with essentially no young people in attendance.

“It’s mostly old people, there’s not even a handful of young, twenties, thirties,” said Lightning Larkin, his Free Palestine flag swirling in the air overhead. “They should be out here like they were in the sixties — it was all young people, and now it’s old.” 

Nonetheless, Larkin was encouraged by the turnout.

The event organizer for this particular gathering, a woman who goes by KT, expressed her frustration at the complacency seen among progressive communities. 

“There’s been a lot of apathy, and a lot of people just, ‘oh this isn’t bothering me,’ especially in Humboldt because we’re in a bubble,” KT said. “And so L.A. is almost like a whole other country to a lot of folks, but our state got invaded. And that just breaks my heart.”

These protests occur every Saturday from 12 p.m. until 2 p.m. outside of the Humboldt County Superior Court on the corner of Fifth Street and I Street in Eureka.

Bio: Will Bishop is a Cal Poly Humboldt journalism major. He is prone to writing essays about things that bother him, and fictional works about things that also bother him but in different ways. A highly bothered individual, and a lover of cinema, music, and large trees/rocks. He can often be found in the woods, dancing to bring down the sky.