A colorful crew if protesters lined the intersection of Highways 93 and 35 in Polson Saturday, waving signs and banners opposed to what participants describe as the autocratic leanings of President Trump.

Although organizers say around 265 people registered for Polson’s event, an estimated 325 people showed up.

KoLynn Sinclair of Polson, a retired captain in the United States Public Health Service, wore her uniform. “I am here because I swore an oath to the United States of America. I did not swear an oath to a king,” she said.

She was especially concerned about recent cuts to the Public Health Service, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We are the healthcare backbone, we are the scientists,” she said. “We are the ones that staff after hurricanes, after American crises. Losing a force like that is losing our freedom.”

The protest in Polson was among nearly 30 held in Montana Saturday, and more than 2,100 that cropped up in towns and cities across the United States. It was held on the same day as a massive military parade in Washington, D.C., in honor the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, and coinciding with the president’s 79th birthday.

One woman’s sign read: “Who spent $45 million of our tax dollars to celebrate his birthday?”

Cheryl Wolfe clutched a brightly colored banner and a sign with a fanged rattlesnake, evocative of the “Don’t Tread on Me” symbol, that read, “We said no kings.”

“I’m here to defend our democracy,” she said.

Two recent news events sparked her concern and outrage. The first was when Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed from a news conference last Thursday with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles. He was shouting questions at Noem about the Trump administration’s decision to send the National Guard and Navy troops to quell protests in L.A. against immigrant arrests and deportations.

The second incident was the murder early Saturday morning of a Minnesota legislator and her husband, and the shooting of a second legislator and his spouse. Both are believed to have been politically motivated.

Jeff Smith, whose sign said “No one is free without the rule of law,” said he was there to champion due process, “the basis of democracy,” and protest the use of military force in Los Angeles. “That strikes me as being just way out of control,” he said. “He’s pushing chaos now.”

Others at the protest spoke about the rights of migrants, who are being rounded up and deported by officers with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Service (ICE).

“I took an oath on the Constitution when I became a naturalized citizen. And I take that very, very seriously,” said Elisabeth Mollica, who came to this country to escape Soviet-era repression. “I am just one of many but if I don't do my part, how can I help others do their part?”

Another woman was born in Mexico and immigrated to the U.S. 23 years ago. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants who came to that country from Lebanon. “I think all the world is covered by migrants from one place to the other. That's the richness of this country – the mix,” she said.

She also spoke of the importance of migrant labor to the U.S. workforce and economy. She said the majority of Mexicans in this country help harvest, transport, distribute and cook our food. “They are taking care of hospitals, sick people, and teaching our kids – what is wrong with that?”

Eugene Beckes of St. Ignatius is concerned that Trump’s rhetoric about making Canada “the 51st state” and amped up border security have worsened relationships with the U.S.’s northern neighbor. He said Canadian friends, even those with dual citizenship, are afraid to cross the border. “They’re afraid something might happen,” he said.

He also mentioned the erosion of due process, and Sen. Padilla’s treatment “by a bunch of thugs … That should not ever happen to any private citizen in this country. Ever.”

Donna Maughlin said two carloads of Sanders County residents had driven to the protest. Her concerns include “how the country's deteriorating and how people are not aware of it and don't understand it or believe it.”  

 She was particularly worried about Medicaid cuts proposed in the president’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” and their potential effect on residents and healthcare facilities in rural counties.

“Whoever it is that just collapsed over there, they're going to have a hell of a bill,” she predicted, as an elderly protestor who had fainted was helped into an ambulance. “And chances are, they're a Medicaid or Medicare recipient.”

Connor Holt, a young man from Bozeman, was in the area visiting family. “We wanted to make sure that we came out for this day, no matter where we were in Montana,” he said. “It's just refreshing to see so many people out here.”

He said he was there for his generation, but also for future generations. “We don't want them to be sucked into a life of authoritarianism with no freedoms.”

A young woman, Skyla Nelson, declared that “Donald Trump needs to get out of office, simple as that.” Asked why, she replied, “because he’s putting laws on our bodies that he has no right to.”

The response from the steady stream of cars and trucks passing by seemed mostly positive, with choruses of honking horns and thumbs pointed up. Of course, there were middle fingers pointed upwards too, and a few diesel trucks “rolling coal” – or dense black soot and diesel fumes – over the protesters.

Sinclair, the retired Public Health Service officer, was undeterred. She attended the demonstration with three of her PHS peers. 

“We need to let them know that many of us are supporting this cause,” she said. “We need to keep standing up.”

    A crowd estimated at more than 300 waved handmade signs and American flags during Polson's version of the No Kings protests that swept the nation Saturday. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
  

    Cheryl Wolfe held a sign evocative of the "Don't Tread on Me" flag during the No Kings protest in Polson. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
  

    Protesters line both sides of Hwy. 93 and the intersection of Hwy. 35 for 90 minutes Saturday in Polson. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)