By Bridget Manley, publisher
If you’ve driven through Broadway during the morning this spring, you likely saw an unusual sight in that part of Rockingham County – an anti-Trump protest organized by a small but determined group of veterans.
Broadway resident Willie Short watched the news for several months after President Donald Trump’s second inauguration with sadness. When ABC temporarily removed late-night talkshow host Jimmy Kimmel from the airwaves following remarks over the death of Charlie Kirk, Short decided to take action.
It began modestly. In September, he organized a protest. Short stood alone on South Main Street in Broadway, holding protest signs. By the second week, Broadway resident George Payne joined him. Later, a few others also joined.
“The first day I received more positive than negative [feedback],” Short said. “People would drive by, smile, give a thumbs up, say thank you. People have come by and given us hand warmers, brought us donuts, coffee. People have people supporting us.”
Short holds his protests in the morning. From 7-9 a.m., Short and the other protesters set up their many signs protesting the war in Iran, supporting school funding and advocating for redistricting in Virginia.
They display signs remembering the lives of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, two protesters who were both killed by ICE agents in January. They play music and wave at passing cars.
Payne said he joined Short because he didn’t want to look back and realize he didn’t do anything.
“I want my grandchildren to have the same rights that my mother had before this administration, or that my late wife had before this administration,” Payne said. “Those rights are being taken away.”
Broadway resident Steve Yoder decided to join Short in his protest after seeing him while on his way to school. Yoder, a teaching assistant, was “reeling from everything going on,” so he stopped to have a chat with Short.
“I went home and told my wife, ‘There’s a guy protesting Trump out on Main Street in Broadway, can you believe it?’” Yoder said. “She said, ‘Who’s with him?’ I said, “Nobody! He’s by himself!’”
So, without knowing Short before he stopped to chat, Yoder joined the three-times-weekly protest. The consistency helps make a difference, Yoder said, even in his own life. He has started to attend more protests and is stepping into leadership roles with the county Democrats.
An Army and National Guard veteran, Short protests in front of the Veterans Memorial on Broadway.
“We, as United States citizens and veterans who took an oath to the Constitution of the United States, have a right to protect that Constitution,” Short said. “That’s what veterans are supposed to do.”
Where Short stages his protests is significant not only because of the memorial, but also because he wants students to see him as they head to school.
“This area here is so pro-Trump,” Short said. “It’s scary to me that if the kids didn’t see anything at all, where would they be?”
As Short and the protesters wave at cars, they receive many honks of support, but they also face several negative reactions.
They have been yelled at, cursed at and seen some middle fingers. One man even came down and started pulling up the protest signs, then tried to spit on Short.
“I have been called every vile name in the book,” Payne said. “From race traitor to communist to socialist, to ‘Get out of the country, you don’t belong here.’ I served 21 years to defend the Constitution of the United States, and now I’m watching it being destroyed.”
As a result, Short and his team armed themselves with cameras just in case things got out of hand.
But he has also lost friends because of the protest. A member of a community motorcycle club, Short was expelled from the group for protesting.
“They said that I made them look bad,” Short said. “And I’m thinking, ‘You are telling a 10-year veteran he’s making you look bad because he’s standing up for the Constitution?’”
All the men agree that after Trump’s second election win, they felt they had to step off the sidelines and take action.
“I had to find ways, because if not, I sit at home, I get depressed, and wonder where this all ends,” Yoder said. “I can’t look back and say I sat on the sidelines when the kinds of things that are going on now are going on.”
“We are just trying to get a message out that the country needs help,” Short said.
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