20-04-2025
Hundreds gather again in Cheyenne to protest Trump administration's actions
CHEYENNE — Local resident Joe Ramirez has been organizing protests in front of the Wyoming State Capitol since Donald Trump became president for a second time in January, and they continue to gain both traction and attention.
On Saturday, an estimated 200 to 300 people showed up to protest the actions of President Trump and Wyoming's state lawmakers.
'We're getting people together who probably don't think they have a voice anymore, and so I'm trying to provide the voice for them so they can get comfortable in spreading that voice,' Ramirez said.
At the 'No Kings' protest on Saturday, Ramirez assembled several speakers to share their perspective with the attendees. He said he tried to get a diverse set of speakers from different political party affiliations and different generations.
One of the speakers was Matthew Snyder, the chairman of the Laramie County Democratic Party. He said while things will not change immediately after a protest, it is important for people to continually be present.
'The reality is the divisiveness is not what moves the country forward,' he said. 'We need to be positive, we need to be practical, we need to be real about a lot of this stuff. And I don't think that's what's been happening. I think we've been dealing in this alternate universe that I don't understand.'
No Kings Protest
Laramie County Democratic Party Chairman Matthew Snyder speaks during the No Kings Protest at the Wyoming State Capitol on Saturday in Cheyenne. An estimated 200 to 300 people were in attendance.
He said the next step following the protests is to organize around it and take action from there by supporting new political candidates.
Ramirez said he has organized a group called 'meeting of the minds,' where he gathers with several community members after protests to discuss how to move forward and educate the community on how to take further action, including selecting political candidates and organizing town halls.
'This is community action, this is activism,' he said. 'So, we want to grow from that to getting involved in offices and running and supporting candidates. This is the tip of the iceberg.'
Another speaker was former U.S. Senate candidate and former Catholic priest Charlie Hardy of Cheyenne. He wore red pants and carried a red umbrella to protest the American military aid to Israel, as more than 50,000 Palestinians have died since October 2023 as a result of Israeli air strikes, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 31% of which were under 18 years old.
'President Biden said if (Israeli President) Benjamin Netanyahu went past the red line, he would stop sending bombs and businesses to Israel. But nobody knew what the red line was,' Hardy said.
He said another of his concerns is American involvement in Venezuela, saying the United States has been trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government for 26 years and damaging the country through trade sanctions. He spent several years living and working in Venezuela as a missionary.
'You could get a college doctor degree at university in Venezuela for free. You could have medicine free. But why? Because with your money, the government's able to pay doctors, nurses, professors, teachers,' he said. 'But if you keep the government from selling their oil, then they don't have money for that. So, this situation is tough in Venezuela, but it's because of our sanctions on Venezuela.'
Hardy also acknowledged that change may not come immediately as a result of this protest, but said he has hope in younger generations to continue to fight for change.
Cheyenne resident Gary Peterson said he wanted to attend the protest to show Wyoming's elected officials that their constituents are upset.
'You can't afford to stay silent. We've been silent too long. Enough is enough is enough,' he said. 'Due process is a human value, and you and I both could be on the next plane going south if somebody makes a crazy decision.'
Jessie Klein was volunteering at a booth for the Laramie County Democratic Party. He said he is a licensed psychotherapist working in health care in Cheyenne and is concerned with how the Trump administration is approaching health care for veterans, since it plans to slash 80,000 jobs from the Department of Veterans Affairs across the country, including some positions in Cheyenne.
'The federal system right now, they're having objectives pushed to them that are not patient-focused or science-focused, which is incredibly alarming ... we're basically making care for veterans worse, which is really bad,' he said.
Another attendee, Jordan, was representing the Industrial Workers of the World labor union as an at-large member. He said he was raised in Casper and has lived in Cheyenne for six years, and has seen the seen the state and nation decline over time.
'Our material conditions decline here. We have less buying power every year, marginalized people are further marginalized,' he said. '... That's the complete opposite direction, in my opinion, to actually resolving the crisis of capitalism, the crisis of what the working-class experiences on a daily basis.'
Ramirez said he will continue to organize protests throughout the yea, and he hopes to draw more people out to let their voices be heard. The protest Saturday was one of the many 'No Kings' anti-Trump protests that took place across the country, including in other towns in Wyoming.
There was one counter-protester, William Overling, who stood on the outskirts of the protest and spoke with some attendees about their political differences. One protester knocked his 'Make America Great Again' hat off his head, and he called law enforcement. Police came to the protest and left after a few minutes.
