Hundreds rally against Trump on Presidents Day in Everett

EVERETT — Cheryl Pearson remembered when her mother took her and her siblings to protests in the mid-60s.

For Pearson, the experiences with her mother stuck with her, and they always felt right.

On Presidents Day, Pearson, 70, joined hundreds of other participants for a sign-waving rally and food drive sponsored by Snohomish County Indivisible.

I just can’t sit at home and not do anything about it,” she said.

Pearson stood with others on the median dividing Broadway near the Social Security office at 3809 Broadway. Dressed in a beanie and orange reflective coat, she waved to motorists while urging many to slow down.

She was hardly alone. Even as the twilight sky gave way to night, participants lined both sides of Broadway, carrying flags or waving signs while music blasted from a nearby speaker.

Also among the crowd, under a canopy near the Social Security office, was longtime Snohomish County resident Bob Bleiler.

“I am 72 years old and retired and can’t sit back and watch all this happen,” said Bleiler, who has become active with Snohomish County Indivisible. “So, I was lucky enough to get involved with the group. Great people, great people, very conscientious and ready, willing and able to roll up their sleeves.

”It’s been a good experience. I talked with a lot of people here today who have never protested before. One gentleman was 68, and I said, ‘Well, we’ll help you get involved.’ So, he was very excited about that. I am so glad to be involved with this group.”

Paula Townsell is a co-leader and community liaison for Snohomish County Indivisible.

“Snohomish County Indivisible has been organized since the first Trump administration, and we are obviously growing tremendously with new friends,” Townsell said. “So, Indivisible has been around fighting the first Trump administration and has re-engaged in even more national activity.”

It was the second protest in less than three weeks by the local progressive group. On Feb. 5, more than 100 people gathered at the Snohomish County Campus to speak out against what they called a “hostile takeover of the federal government” by President Donald Trump.

“When he got brought into office this time, the actions he’s had these first 100 days have been untenable, and we are here to stand up for the community — for those who are being disenfranchised, for those who are vulnerable, who those don’t have a voice and can’t be safe coming onto the sidewalks in Everett,” Townsell said.

The group’s choice of a stretch of Broadway near the local Social Security Administration office was intentional, following reports of the Elon Musk-led Department Of Government Efficiency turning its attention to the Social Security Administration. Forbes, among others, has reported that Musk’s team claims that the agency is “infested” by fraud.

Townsell and her volunteers were happy to see a large turnout along that stretch of Broadway as the sun set on Presidents Day.

“I am overwhelmed by this amazing response,” she said. “It tells me that the people are really engaged and really unhappy about the actions thus far from the administration”

Monday’s event mirrored similar events across the country. Protesters shouted “No kings on Presidents Day” in East Coast cities, according to The Associated Press.

That’s a belief shared by Pearson as well.

“I love this country, and I know President Trump is our president,” Pearson said.

But she believes the current president wants to be an oligarch.

“He wants to be king,” she said.

Michael Henneke: 425-339-3431; michael.henneke@heraldnet.com; X: @ihenpecked.

Aaron Kennedy: 425-257-7444; aaron.kennedy@heraldnet.com