By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Protestors are expected to assemble in front of Beaufort’s City Hall at noon on Saturday and then march down Ribaut Road to Bay Street, ending at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in downtown Beaufort.
Saturday’s “No Kings” protest, hosted by Indivisible Beaufort, is the latest of several months of weekly protests and participation in several nationwide protests aimed at expressing their frustration and dislike of the policies being pushed by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The City of Beaufort issued a press release on Thursday, June 12, stating that it was aware of the planned protest and “respects the rights of individuals to peacefully assemble and express their views.”
Beaufort City Manager Scott Marshall said to The Island News on Friday that the City felt the need to put out a press release regarding Saturday’s protest because it is not just a local protest but is part of a nationwide day of protests.
“Because of the attention that it’s getting, we just felt like it was better to let the public know that we’re on top of this,” Marshall said. “We understand there’s a good chance there will be a large turnout for this protest and that the city’s prepared as needed.”
Similarly, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson put out a press release earlier in the week regarding the protests on Saturday, but with a much different tone.
In Wilson’s press release, he stated that his office has seen “reports indicating potential coordinated protests and acts of civil disobedience planned for Saturday,” which is Flag Day and also Trump’s birthday.
The release stated that the attorney general’s office will coordinate with law enforcement to monitor threats and support response efforts against “radical anti-American groups” that aim to disrupt public spaces and provoke confrontation with law enforcement.
Marshall stated that while the City has planned to heighten the police presence during the protest, they are just there to make sure that everyone who shows up on Saturday to protest, no matter what “side of the fence” they are on, can do so safely.
“We have a right to peacefully demonstrate and protest in this country,” said Marshall. “That’s a protected right under the Constitution. So, the job of our public safety personnel here in the city is to make sure that environment exists, no matter what cause you’re supporting. We have a right to assembly and protest.”
Marshall said that he does not believe that the planned protests in Beaufort will get out of control and has not received any indications of the “civil disobedience” that the attorney general’s office spoke of in their release.
“I don’t know the source of the attorney general’s intelligence; that’s his business,” said Marshall. “But I’m not aware of any here in Beaufort now.”
There have been weekly protests held in Beaufort by Indivisible Beaufort for several months now, and Marshall said there have been no arrests and no serious instances of disobedience.
The only issue that they have had with a protester was when one brought a whistle to a protest, which is not allowed because it is an amplified device.
The protester was asked not to use the whistle and stopped using it immediately.
“And that’s what we expect from this community, right?” said Marshall. “We’re not an urban center where we can expect a lot of trouble. Now we’re prepared if that’s the case, but we don’t think that’s going to be the case.”
Since the City’s press release regarding the protest was posted on their Facebook page, it has been met with mixed comments from the community, most are supportive of the city supporting the First Amendment rights of Beaufort citizens and protecting those who want to participate in civil discourse, but some comments have not been supportive with a few going so far as to suggest violence.
Marshall said that the Beaufort Police Department does monitor the comments made on the City of Beaufort’s social media pages, and any comments deemed threatening are looked at by the police department and they follow up on them as needed.
“Whatever the perceived or possible threat could be, they will investigate it,” Marshall said.
The protest will begin at noon at Beaufort’s City Hall and will last for an hour in that location.
At 1 p.m., the protestors will begin to march on the sidewalks and in crosswalks along Ribaut Road to Bay Street, and then they will continue down Bay Street to Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
