POCATELLO — In what’s being called one of the largest protests in Pocatello’s history, over 700 local residents assembled outside of the Bannock County Courthouse on Saturday in the name of democracy and anti-authoritarianism.

The local demonstration was part of a nationwide day of action that saw similar protests held in other Idaho cities and nationwide to peacefully battle back against what organizers are calling the United States’ slide toward dictatorship.

The sea of protesters assembled at Caldwell Park around 11:30 a.m. with hundreds of signs covering a wide range of issues. Some of the signs were critical of the Trump administration, its recent tariffs, income inequality and the rise of oligarchy in America while other signs voiced support for Social Security, Medicare, veterans, public lands and freedom of speech.

Local resident Elmer Martinez, one of the primary organizers of the grassroots protest, delivered a compelling speech at the Caldwell Park pavilion surrounded by hundreds of people who showed up to participate in the protest.

Richard Stallings, a former Idaho congressman, also spoke, voicing concerns about the direction of the country and also mentioning the town hall meetings he’s held across the state.

The demonstrators then proceeded to march to the nearby Bannock County Courthouse, raising their voices in unison with call-and-answer protest shouts and slogans. For hours the protesters, ranging from young children to the elderly, waved their signs while standing along the streets outside the courthouse.

The Pocatello protest joined nearly 1,200 similar events Saturday held across all 50 states that were organized by a variety of civil rights organizations and groups.

“I think the overall impetus for this was that people do not want a dictator,” said Martinez following the Pocatello protest. “They do not want an oligarch running our country. They’d rather have power given to the people instead of a very select few who happen to be filthy rich or are egomaniacs and want just power. The people that turned out here were very passionate. They’re pissed off about what’s happening to our country and to our government. They cared for a lot of different issues that they were carrying signs about and overall the concern was that our country is going in the wrong direction.”

Martinez continued, “Everybody really got into creating their own signs for their particular concerns. People brought the American flag out to show that we are patriots too. We care about the flag. We care about the country as much as anybody else does. People were just jacked up. They were ready to be here. We had many people in their 90s that were here and I know three of them came together. That kind of tells you what kind of concern and care is out there about our country.”

Protester Steve Neiner, a local resident who is a steward with the American Federation of Government Employees, relayed his concerns about the things he’s been seeing regarding the Trump administration and Congress.

“I think for me, in my role as a federal employee, I’m really concerned with the recent efforts to just randomly downsize the government under the veil of efficiency or reducing waste, fraud and abuse, which has been grossly exaggerated to this point in time,” Neiner said. “Yes, the federal system could be more and more efficient, but there really hasn’t been a well thought out plan on how to make it better. It’s been very random. People’s livelihoods have been really impacted. People need their jobs to pay bills and support families and there’s been multiple examples of federal employees who’ve been federal employees for a number of years losing their jobs and now they’re insecure. The same social support programs that would help folks in situations like this are also likely to be targeted for reduced funding. The goal of our democracy and our capitalism is to lift people up, not just the wealthy or the few wealthy at the top of the system, but all of our people.”

The local League of Women Voters also attended the Pocatello protest to assist individuals who wanted to register to vote.

A small number of counter-protesters with pro-Trump administration signs and flags were also present but were quickly surrounded and obscured by demonstrators carrying their own signs.

Aside from a few angry passing motorists, the event appeared to be held without incident, achieving organizers’ hope that it would be a peaceful gathering.

“I’m most proud of the fact that people turned out,” Martinez said. “It’s easy to sit home on your couch and just bitch about things, but to actually come and try to make a difference and the passion that people had, I was very pleased with that. People are waking up. The thing that I mentioned to them is that you can’t just go leave this rally, go home and forget about it until the next rally. You have to do things in between. You have to talk to people. You have to write to your congressman. You have to let people know what you care about and what’s important. I challenge them to find ways to make a difference.”

Martinez continued, “Pay attention to the people you elect, what kind of morals and character they have. Research the issues so you can talk intelligently to people and defend your stance. Be able to defend your stance, but read, research, learn as much as you can and then get out there and make a difference.”