TRUMP TRAIN TAKE OVER
President’s supporters rally downtown, along Tuolumne County streets
Supporters of President Donald Trump took to the streets of Tuolumne County on Saturday for a vehicle parade followed by a rally in downtown Sonora’s Courthouse Square.
Roughly 200 people gathered around the park Saturday afternoon waving Trump signs, flags and expressing their enthusiasm for the 45th president of the United States, who was recovering some 2,740 miles away at Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
“I’m scared to death, I love my president,” John Mullins, of Twain Harte, said about Trump’s diagnosis. “I’m worried for him, but I know he’s strong and going to pull through.”
Trump returned to the White House on Monday after being discharged from Walter Reed and was expected to be monitored in the coming days by an on-site medical team.
Despite the specter of Trump’s diagnosis, the event on Saturday was all about celebrating the president and supporting his bid for reelection on Nov. 3.
Nikki Spahn, of Sonora, started organizing the event two weeks ago largely through Facebook and said she was inspired by a pro-trump boat parade that was held on Lake Tulloch on Sept. 19.
The parade started about 2 p.m. in Columbia and went through Jamestown, the township of Tuolumne, Soulsbyville and East Sonora before concluding in downtown Sonora about 4 p.m.
Fliers were handed out to participants stating that it was not organized or sanc
tioned by any official organization and urged people to obey all traffic laws and be respectful of everyone in the communities they passed through.
Spahn said she informed California Highway Patrol, the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office and Sonora Police Department ahead of time about the event. She said one CHP officer told her he estimated there were 400 to 500 vehicles involved.
The upcoming election will be the first time that Spahn, 39, has voted.
“It’s too important,” she said. “What’s going on in the world with COVID, the forcing of vaccinations, the legalizing of abortion, pedophilia.”
Trucks flying Trump flags drove up and down Washington Street blaring their horns throughout the afternoon, while a PA system at the park blasted songs like “If You Have a Right to Burn My Flag (Then I Have a Right to Kick Your Ass)” by country artist Creed Fisher.
Several local elected officials were also spotted talking with people at the rally, including city councilmen Mark Plummer and Matt Hawkins, county supervisors Karl Rodefer and Anaiah Kirk, and county supervisor candidates Jaron Brandon and Cody Ritts.
Marsha Beaty, of Columbia, said she attended the rally to show her support for Trump and was confident that he would soon recover from the coronavirus.
“The guy is very strong, he has no comorbidities, he’s actually two years older than I am,” she said. “It just is what it is. He will come out of this with his wife.”
Some people from outside of the area came to Tuolumne County to participate in the parade and rally on Saturday, as well.
Erica Rogers and her daughters, Kendra, 16, and Kaylee, 14, said they came from Hughson after hearing about the event through Facebook and are familiar with the area because they have a cabin in Sonora.
“We’re all supporting America,” Erica Rogers said. “This is what a peaceful protest is supposed to look like. This is supporting our country.”
Steve Leontie, a business owner in downtown Sonora, said he didn’t understand why the city would allow such a large event to take place when it recently decided not to hold the annual Historic Downtown Sonora Christmas Parade on Washington Street as usual due to the pandemic.
The parade helps support businesses such as Leontie’s by drawing thousands of people to the downtown area on the night after Thanksgiving, though this year is planned to be a drive-by parade through residential streets.
City officials recently said that Caltrans would not approve a permit to shut down Washington Street, which is part of Highway 49, until Gov. Gavin Newsom lifts restrictions on such large gatherings.
“If this is allowed, then why are we going to disappoint the children of Sonora by not having a Christmas parade?” he asked.
Officer Steve Machado, of CHP’S Jamestown office, said the agency wasn’t involved in the planning or execution of the parade, though they had a presence in case there were any counterprotesters.
Machado said he was told that they did not have to get any permits for the parade if they obeyed all of the traffic laws.
Sonora Police Lt. Glenn Roberts said the department worked closely with CHP and had one unit monitoring the event.
Roberts said they received calls from several people complaining about the traffic and had a report they were investigating about two people who threw eggs at vehicles, but there were no physical confrontations or violence.
“For as large as it was, everything went very, very smooth,” he said.