Hundreds in Conway take part in anti-Trump protest

BY DAYMOND STEER

THE CONWAY DAILY SUN

CONWAY — An estimated 800 people thronged Conway Village last Saturday as part of a national day of action to push back against President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk’s threatened cuts to Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and education.

It took place at the same time as about a thousand other rallies nationwide, including 15 others in New Hampshire, from Concord to Colebrook to Portsmouth to Keene.

“Hands Off!” was the theme. National organizers, representing a coalition of about 200 national and local organizations, said interest grew in recent weeks as the administration further gutted worker rights, imposed policies expected to raise prices, closed Social Security offices and took away funding for other popular programs.

Local organizers, including Andy Davis and Siena Kaplan-Thompson of Tamworth, Alexander Templeton of Madison and Megan Chapman of Albany, organized the local protest.

Last week, Trump announced a tariff plant he said would prevent Americans from being ripped off by other nations, but it also sent the stock market tumbling, making a dent in people’s retirement accounts.

The first big rally held in Conway on March 4 brought out nearly 300 residents from across Carroll County and beyond. While at the protest, the Sun asked Davis why Saturday’s event drew a larger crowd.

“People have had a few more weeks to adjust to the current reality, and people are angry,” said Davis. “People are scared about the loss of services and the loss of a constitutional reality that they’ve known all their lives, and they’re ready to do something.”

Conway Police Chief Chris Mattei said there were no arrests during the protest, but officers did have to remind participants to use crosswalks and stay out of the roadway.

The protest lasted two hours and was held in rainy conditions, with overcast skies giving way to showers as the day progressed.

Steve Bamsey of Conway was among those disturbed by Trump’s actions. “Our current direction is we are no longer involved in doing what’s right for the country as a whole,” said Bamsey. “We’re only concerned, or rather, some people are only concerned with a very select few, and that’s the rich.”

Not everyone agreed. A few pickup truck drivers/riders and other vehicles displayed Trump signs and honked as they drove through the Four Corners.

Larry Vigus of Madison leading one corner of the crowd in a chant of “I say Trump, you say felon.”

Greg Huang-Dale of Fryeburg, Maine, brought his banjo and played Sixties protest songs like “We Shall Not Be Moved.”

“I sing because I think it gives us energy,” said Huang-Dale. “We need to come together, and we need to support each other.”

Protester Quintan Flint of Stow, Maine, told the Sun, “I have a lot of people who are at risk because I have a lot of friends who are girls. I have a lot of friends who are in the LGBTQ+ community, and if their rights are being taken away, I’m going to protest that. They deserve to be able to control their own bodies. They feel they should be able to love who they want to love, and they shouldn’t have any of their rights impeded by the government. They shouldn’t have any Social Security or anything taken away either when they’re adults.”

R.A. Oram of Freedom, 82, was

upset that Trump attended a golf event rather than the dignified transfer of the bodies of four U.S. soldiers killed in a training exercise in Lithuania.

“He’s a draft dodger,” Oram said of the president. I can’t believe that any veteran would support this person, which is the reason why I’m in my camouflage to show my 28 years of service to the government.

“I was in the United States Army. I can’t understand how any veteran can support this guy, aside from the fact that he disrespects people at Arlington and just what he did last weekend.”

Gabrielle Watson of Tamworth said people are upset that the Trump administration is funneling wealth to the ultra-rich.

“They’re taking all the money out of our pockets — things that keep us fed, things that keep us safe, things that make our homes warmer — all of the benefits are being taken away right now, and it’s also so they can give a massive tax break to the billionaires who are now running our government,” said Watson.

Carroll County Democrats Chair Ed Butler of Hart’s Location summed up the protest this way: “I think that this is a wonderful expression of everyone’s fear and fury.”

daymond@conwaydailysun.com

Sun reporter Tom Eastman and InDepthNH. com’s Arnie Alpert contributed to this article.