Two protests coming to State College Saturday, part of nationwide efforts
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WTAJ) — Two protests are coming to State College this weekend, both claiming to be part of larger nationwide efforts.
State College is a 'community that's very engaged politically' according to Mayor Ezra Nanes.
'People are passionate not only about this community but about this nation,' Nanes said.
The two protests are No Kings and Kick Out the Clowns. According to the website, No Kings is a 'national day of action and mass mobilization in response to increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption from Trump and his allies.' Kick Out the Clowns also claims to be a nationwide effort with the goal of hosting a record-breaking number of community circuses across the country to 'reflect the absurdity of the MAGA regime.'
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'I think across the entire nation, people are standing up for things that they believe in,' Nanes said.
When asked if they were taking any extra steps like an increased police presence to prepare for the protests, the State College borough said Penn State Police would be the organization to reach out to instead since the demonstrations would be taking place on university property. In a call with the university police, the dispatcher said that handling protests is more of a State College issue, so Penn State Police will not be seeing an increased presence Saturday.
Nanes believes the protests will not turn violent.
'This is a peaceful movement. People are here to express their views and show a powerful sense of unity. I do not expect anybody to do anything but protest peacefully,' Nanes added.
Gov. Shapiro issued a statement June 12 ahead of the demonstrations. In it, he says his administration will 'remain focused on keeping our communities safe and ensuring all demonstrations remain peaceful,' and that they are in contact with 'local officials and law enforcement all across the Commonwealth.'
No Kings is expected to start at 1 p.m., and Kick Out the Clowns will start right after at 2 p.m. At this time, WTAJ is unaware of any counter-protests popping up in response to the protests happening Saturday.
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