Signs and balloons.
Wow. What a crowd.
EAST GRAND RAPIDS -- Between 1000 - 2000 people gathered in John Collins Park along Reeds Lake to protest the appearance of President George W. Bush, far more than police officials expected.
East Grand Rapids Director of Public Safety Mark Herald told 24 Hour News 8 the unusually large number or protesters was unexpected, but not unruly.
It would be impossible to count- they were in the park, up and down the street toward Gaslight Village, in front of the high school... just everywhere.
Ray McGovern points towards the "aircraft carrier" on Reeds Lake. He was joking.
Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst who once confronted Donald Rumsfeld in a press conference about the conduct of the war, was the main speaker at the protest, organized locally by the group Activate GR.
Many students from both East Grand Rapids High School and Aquinas College were at the protest, shouting their displeasure about the US war in Iraq. The crowd was loud, banging drums at one point.
Make (Heart) Not War
There were a wide range of ages there- lots of kids to be sure, but plenty of older people too.
And lots and lots of cops.
Security was very visible, but the demonstration was peaceful. Many of the crowd moved from the park to the front of the school in an effort to glimpse the president as he left. A scroll was unrolled with a list of Americans who died in Iraq.
In the front of the school. George saw this as he left, assuming he didn't have his eyes closed. Which is a big assumption.
More pictures located here. Will be adding more later...
WOOD's story on the speech itself is here.
Beautiful day. Was very happy to be there.
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