Displaying items by tag: protest

Roughly 750 protesters, according to organizer Stephen Kaledecker, gathered at the Chipotle on W. Market Street Tuesday night, voicing their displeasure with the results of the 2016 Presidential Election. 

"Trump Protest, Akron" was the name of the Facebook group that organized the rally just about a week in advance. As protests have been organized across the nation, a group of friens with aligning political views got together and created the public event. Before they knew it more than 2,000 people replied with either an RSVP or a "maybe." With numbers like that, Kaledecker says they had no idea what to expect. 

The event officially began just after 11 p.m. Tuesday night as the group rallied and then set off on a march down W. Market St. The inital plan, according to the Facebook page, was to march to the University of Akron campus. Plans changed, however, as Kaledecker said they did not want to disrupt the residents of the area. When asked why they scheduled the event from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. on a Tuesday night, he said, "Our voices and our feelings don't stop at 8 o'clock at night." He went on to say, "We're not going to rest until our voices are heard." 

The collective voice of the "Trump Protest, Akron" group was heard down W. Market to S. Valley and then back to Chipotle from just after 11 p.m. Tuesday until about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. The best part of the protest: Everyone remained peaceful. Akron Police, while present, stayed relatively quiet and let the protesters say their piece; as long as they stayed on the sidewalks of W. Market. The reason the group did not need a permit was because they planned to stay on the sidewalks, and they did.