A Black Lives Matter protest scheduled for Aug. 29 in downtown Morgan Hill was outnumbered by a counter-demonstration in support of President Donald Trump, law enforcement, reopening of public gatherings and other causes.
About 200 people from throughout the South Bay attended the counter protest, billed as a “Take America Back” rally. They stood at the northeast corner of Dunne Avenue and Monterey Road, in front of the Community and Cultural Center. About 20 Black Lives Matter protesters stood on an opposite corner.
The two groups appeared to be mostly amicable toward each other. Morgan Hill Police officers pulled over a vehicle that sped past the pro-Trump rally with a passenger holding a handmade “BLM” sign out the window.
The Take America Back demonstration included a number of speakers who chanted into a loudspeaker as rally-goers waved Trump-Pence and American flags, as well as signs supporting police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Republican Party. The group then marched single file north on the sidewalk on Monterey Road to Main Avenue—through the city’s downtown—and back to the CCC.
“I’m here to support the cause,” said Gilroy resident Steve Holland, who was waving an American flag in front of the CCC. “I believe in freedom of speech, and I support the police. Vote red in November.”
Robert Howell, a founder of the conservative Tea Party of Silicon Valley in 2010, attended the Aug. 29 rally in Morgan Hill with a “Don’t Tread On Me” flag and Trump-Pence flag.
“The Morgan Hill Tea Party is still very active, and I’m here to support them,” Howell said. “The bottom line is, I support freedom and justice.”
Some of the Take America Back protesters were focused more on the Covid-19 pandemic and the state’s efforts to try to reduce the spread by closing “non-essential” businesses and limiting public gatherings.
“We are really opposed to the way the shutdown has been handled,” said Paulette Altmaier. “People are being thrown into poverty, months behind on rent, people are unemployed.”
Altmaier and her husband Richard Altmaier traveled to the Aug. 29 rally from their home in Cupertino. Both held signs that read, “Poverty is also a pandemic.”
“The governor has not considered the economic cost, the damage done, the lives lost by things other than Covid,” Richard Altmaier said.
Many of the protesters were not wearing face masks, which are required in Santa Clara County. Health officials have said that wearing masks can help reduce the spread of Covid-19.
An Aug. 28 press release from Gilroy resident Georgine Scott-Codiga said the Take America Back rally was organized by Gilroy-Morgan Hill Patriots, Liberty Volunteers, Values Advocacy Council, One California and other groups.
“We are calling for the Silent Majority of America to rise up and make your voices heard,” reads the press release. “We are a republic, not a democracy. America’s elected officials were elected to represent all its PEOPLE, not just one party. By failing to represent us and accurately report current events, both the media and elected officials have failed in performing their duties.”
The Aug. 29 Black Lives Matter protest was announced on social media a few days earlier as a demonstration against racial injustice. The demonstration moved from the intersection of Dunne and Monterey to the CCC amphitheater, where attendees sang and played music.
