A mass demonstration outside M&T Bank Stadium is planned Saturday as President Donald Trump visits Baltimore for the annual Army-Navy football game.
The protest, which organizers are calling “Baltimore, a Community Resisting Tyranny,” is loosely organized by Free State Coalition (FSC) and hosted by Be the Change Baltimore. Demonstrators plans to line the sidewalks around the stadium to send their message that U.S. troops and public servants swear allegiance to the Constitution, not to a tyrant. There is also a mutual aid drive to collect non-perishable food and winter hats and gloves.
“Baltimore refuses to be silent in the face of authoritarianism,” Amy Lee, media liaison for FSC wrote in an email to Baltimore Fishbowl. “Protest is not un-American, but fascism is; this country was born in dissent against tyranny. We want to send a message to our neighbors who are feeling isolated and afraid to speak out: you are not alone. This is not normal, not okay, and if we work together, not America’s future.”
The protest on Saturday is grassroots and community-driven, Lee explained, with individuals and informal groups coming together for a common goal. Attendees will include neighbors, activists, faith leaders, veterans, students, and other community members.
The Army-Navy game presents a fitting backdrop for the protest, given Trump’s attendance. (The U.S. president does not always attend the yearly game, but it is a strong tradition that began with President Theodore Roosevelt back in 1901.) This year’s game comes amid escalating military tension between the U.S. and Venezuela as Trump announced the seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker on Dec. 10, and bipartisan anger over the military bombing of fishing boats off the Venezuelan coast.
“The Army–Navy game embodies the best of America’s military tradition: service rooted in constitutional loyalty,” Lee wrote. “Many of us, like thousands of our fellow Americans who have served in uniform or public service, have sworn an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. There is nothing more patriotic than keeping it.”
Lee quoted Samuel Adams, who said, “If ever a time should come when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will need its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” This warning against allowing power to fall into dishonorable hands shows the Founders’ understanding of how easily corruption can take hold at the highest levels.
“Baltimore stands with the patriots across this country who are confronting fascist violence en masse in big cities like Chicago and in smaller communities like Kenner, Louisiana, where a brave clerk just refused to feed ICE goons,” Lee wrote. “We’re in solidarity with service members, public servants, journalists, immigrants, and communities who have been targeted or threatened by state violence.”
The “Baltimore, a Community Resisting Tyranny” protest includes both short- and long-term calls to action. In the long-run, the organizers are calling on people to stay engaged: vote, organize locally, support mutual aid efforts, protest, call their representatives in Congress, and resist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On Saturday, they are collecting non-perishable food and winter hats and gloves to support neighbors struggling through the winter months.
The protest takes place on Saturday, Dec. 13, from 1:30–3:30 p.m at M&T Bank Stadium, located at 1101 Russel St., Baltimore, MD.
There is nothing ‘grass roots’ about the organization behind this protest. Of course, protesting isn’t un-American. But impinging on and, for many, ruining a sports event is. Very selfish and they are doing more harm than good for their cause.
Apparently, you don’t understand the American project. It is our sacred right, indeed duty to protest authoritarian leaders who seek to destroy our country and abuse our neighbors. Next they will come for YOU. This is more important than a game.
Leave politics out of sports. Where were you, in the last 4 years, when the rehearsal for a police state was being conducted? Rampant censorship on all media, small free enterprise closed down, and people being fired for refusing to take an untested non-vaccine. You are being used.