HERMISTON — Presidents Day is typically a low-key holiday in the United States, but Monday, Feb. 17, saw protests around the nation, including in Hermiston.

The subject of the protests was the Trump administration and the actions taken in the early days of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

“It’s not my Presidents Day,” Fred Pearson said.

Pearson was among more than a dozen people holding signs and waving to motorists at the corner of Gladys Avenue and Highway 395 at noon Feb. 17. The Hermiston resident found out about the National Day of Protest on Facebook and didn’t hesitate to take part even as the rain came down.

“It’s a national movement,” he said.

Jeff Farmer said he came out to join the protests because of what he sees as the rule of law being ignored by Trump, especially the Trump administration questioning the authority of the courts.

“How is this OK?” he said.

Farmer’s wife, Rhea, said she was concerned about people’s basic rights being threatened by actions taken by Trump.

“We’re losing our human rights,” she said. “It’s an attack on the institutions that take care of people below the poverty level. Women’s rights are being threatened.”

Farmer said she also is worried for her granddaughter, who is gay.

“What protections will she have — she’s getting married and I’m concerned for her,” Rhea Farmer said.

Farmer said about 30% of the vehicles passing by have been supportive, either by honking or giving the thumbs up.

Gary Quick said he was pleased with the support the protest was getting from passing motorists.

“There’s more support than I expected,” he said.

Quick said he’s worried about what he sees as an erosion of checks and balances, and he, too, fears Trump is ignoring the courts and the rule of law.

“Trump is going outside the government process,” he said. “We gotta do something. We have to stand up and resist all this.”

Dave Gracia of the Hermiston Cultural Awareness Coalition said he worries what Trump will do in a second term.

“He’s put his sycophants in power and everybody that’s going to be a follower and nobody that is going to challenge him,” Gracia said. “That’s even scarier than the first time around. He’s going to push his agenda no matter what and go around the courts.”

Gracia also is concerned about the birthright citizenship issue that Trump is challenging.

“He’s going to forgo the rights of a lot of people,” he said. “Everything he’s doing is for the rich again at the expense of the poor. That’s totally unacceptable. He’s chipping away at the deficit at the expense of the poor people.”

Patty Nance, pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Hermiston, said she is worried about the power Trump is giving to billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, which has fired thousands of federal employees. She’s also concerned about the nonprofit status of churches.

“I am out here because I am absolutely terrified what Donald Trump and Elon Musk intend to do with the nonprofit status of churches,” Nance said. “I’ve been reading a few things that have me worried.”

Molly Hansen was among the protesters in Hermiston who worries about budget cuts made to vulnerable groups.

“I really don’t like what’s happening,” Hansen said. “I understand we need to cut the budget, but it’s the manner in which we’re doing it.”

She said she is concerned with the power Trump has given to Musk and the swiftness at which he is cutting the size of the federal government.

“I don’t believe a private citizen should be given that much authority,” she said. “That’s kind of scary to me.”

Hansen said she is worried about the future of democracy.

“What scares me is the movement where they’re changing things where there’s one individual who has sole authority over everything.”

She, too, is concerned about the checks and balances of the three branches of power.

“It’s all tipping one way,” she said. She said she supports programs that help the community and doesn’t like what she sees.

“Some of the cuts they are making are going to have a big impact on a lot of people,” she said.

Lavon Starr Meyers said she worries about the end result of actions taken so far by Trump.

“Reckless government is a path to destruction in my opinion,” she said. “I don’t think it’s in anyone’s interest to handle our country’s problems the way they are being handled now.”

She said Trump is blaming immigration for a range of problems that have many causes and vulnerable people” are an easy population to demonize and many obstacles prevent them from defending themselves effectively.

“That’s why I’m lending my voice to support this cause,” she said. “For a people who have as much right to a stable life as I have – a right I did nothing to earn.”