Orange County locals and neighbors gathered at Watson Bridge to protest against ICE and President Donald Trump’s administration on Jan. 20.
Protestors waved small American flags and held signs over the bridge that read “NO ICE” and “IMPEACH TRUMP.” Many interacted with students walking the bridge, informing them of their cause.
The demonstration is part of the greater Free America Walkout movement and was organized by an Irvine local who requested to be referred to as Lola. The movement encourages people to withhold their work and resources to make their voices heard.
Lola told New University that this was the first time she had organized an event. She registered as a coordinator on the Women’s March website and posted the notice on Jan. 18. When asked why she protests, Lola mentioned a quote she read online that read “‘I am only one person,’ said millions of people everywhere.”
“That stuck with me because if all of us are saying that then we will never unite,” Lola told New University. “We are not alone.”
According to the Women’s March website, 22 people registered for the event. One of the attendees was a Costa Mesa resident who requested to be called FloMama.
“I was born in a Nazi Germany country in 1942. I lost my family to communist Bulgaria,” FloMama told New University. “I know what dictatorships look like. I’ve lived in a dictatorship country and [the U.S.] is heading in that direction.”
FloMama, a UC Berkeley graduate, has been involved in politics for decades. She calls herself a “cage rattler,” referring to someone who protests or challenges norms to draw attention to overlooked political issues.
“I am so afraid for the United States of America. I’m afraid for our world,” FloMama said. “World peace needs to be our main focus.”
Rev. Dr. Monica Corsaro heard about the protest from her fellow parishioners. She said about seven of them were in attendance, one of them being FloMama.
Corsaro mentioned the importance of the separation of church and state and noted fascism as a pressing issue that more people need to be informed about.
“This is the 250-year experiment that says religion is separate from democracy,” Corsaro told New University. “Unfortunately, our Supreme Court is a theocracy and too much power has been given over to a very small perspective of Christian religion.”
Corsaro is a reverend at the non-creedal Fairview Community Church in Costa Mesa. Corsaro is grateful to be close to UCI because she believes change happens on college campuses.
“32,000 students. Just think if all of you registered to vote here and you voted here, how you could affect policies in Orange County,” Corsaro said.
Corsaro wants everyone to know that there are people that care.
“I’m here today [for] all of us who have felt isolated and that we’re the only ones who care about what’s going on, [so they] can see there’s lots of us that care about what’s going on, and that we’re taking part of this here today,” Corsaro said. “This is going on all over the country to say, we care about our democracy and the democracy belongs to the people.”
Alejandra Rodriguez Zepeda is a News Staff Writer. She can be reached at alejar16@uci.edu.
