We are so glad we attended. I think there were about 2000 in attendance but I have not seen anything official. Many of the attendees were on the sides where it was shady. The stage and acoustics were great and there were 2 screens for those in the back and sides to see the stage better. By and large all were excellent speakers. There were some great signs and the crowd was very friendly and interactive. Dropkick Murphy, a Celtic punk band played about 30 minutes. It was rousing, interesting music. The lead singer had just returned from Ukraine where a group of veterans drove a bunch of ambulances into Ukraine. The average life of an ambulance in Ukraine is 11 days.
A woman came up to Craig and asked if he was from Nashville. Laura, from Murfreesboro, had seen him at the April 5 protest. Laura was not a veteran but most men in her family were vets and she came to DC in support of all of them. I loved her sign. She will be protesting in Murfreesboro on the 14th which is a very active protest community. I hope we can grow similar activism in Robertson County.
Tammy Duckworth gave a great speech as did Adam Kinzinger and Conor Lamb, both former congressmen.
The highlight of the rally for Craig was getting his picture taken with Adam Kinzinger. Craig caught up to him as he was leaving and said “I want to take a picture with you?” and Adam said “and I want to take a picture with you.” Class.
The man below drove down from Brooklyn leaving at 5 AM and said he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
It was disappointing that there were not 20K persons at the protest given how many veterans are in easy driving and public transportation distance from DC but it was a start. The focus was on stopping loss of support for VA and other services that support veterans. The proposed cuts are shameful.
Soldiers swear to protect the Constitution, not a President.
There is much work to be done!!!
Here is a link to the entire rally https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaDBxEkEVsA&t=11507s
Tamara Unleashed 