In Medford, crowds of people turned out under a bluebird sky, from families with young children to senior citizens. They lined both sides of E. McAndrews Road between Biddle Road and Crater Lake Ave.
Protesters blew bubbles, played instruments and carried American flags and signs with slogans like "No king in my country," "Abolish ICE" and "Eggs are expensive because all the chickens are in Congress."
"We should not be afraid of our government. We should not be afraid of our military. We should not be afraid of our police," said Terrie Martin, a leader of ORD2 Indivisible, one of the groups that organized the event. "They're supposed to be protecting and defending us. Instead, we are afraid that they're going to snatch us, detain us, deport us, throw us down and put handcuffs on us, like they did a U.S. Senator this week."
This peaceful "No Kings" protest was organized by ORD2 Indivisible, Women's March and 50501. Similar protests were planned across the region and the country on Saturday, from Redding to Roseburg, and from New York to Los Angeles.
Saturday is the same day President Trump will hold a military parade in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, as well as his own 79th birthday.
Protestor Bonnie Shaffer of Ashland said she's particularly concerned about potential cuts to Medicaid since she has cancer and will need treatment soon.
"I just feel like there's a trap that's closing on us right now, and we have to fight it because it's just going to snag us up," she said.
Medford's protest drew many honks of support from passing cars. Some protestors drove past in decorated cars while carrying signs.
The event also drew a few counter protestors, who drove by carrying American flags and incited yells from the crowd.
A protestor who gave his name as Lucifer, from Eugene, said people of color were "feeling intimidated by what's going on right now." But he said as a Mexican, "That's why I need to be out here even more because I need to be out there to be the voice. I need to be out there to be the courage for them."
The goal, protestors said, was to make their voices heard and bring awareness to what the presidential administration is doing.
"I want the president and his minions to see that small town America can't stand him anymore. It's one thing to have protests like this in an urban area," said Paul Huard of Ashland. "[But] this is deep ruby red Jackson County, and there are thousands of people out here saying 'Donald Trump has got to go.'"
