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Protesters meet Pence before area appearance

WHEELING — Russian interference with free and fair U.S. elections topped the list of concerns expressed Thursday by protesters at Oglebay Park.

About 35 individuals assembled near the entrance to Wilson Lodge, which hosted a visit by Vice President Mike Pence.

Those concerned citizens held signs sporting messages such as “How many rubles for our democracy?” and “Love not hate makes America great!”

They also chanted slogans including “Trump is Putin’s puppet” and “Not my president” as people planning to attend Pence’s appearance streamed into the park.

Rosemary Ketchum organized the protest for Marchers Ohio Valley Empowered.

She said the participants ranged in age from 7 to 72 and included a variety of people who are concerned about the direction the nation is taking.

“We believe the Trump administration has really bungled the domestic and foreign policy decisions it has had the opportunity to make,” Ketchum said.

Ketchum said the protesters were chiefly concerned about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Some of them even believe that President Donald Trump was complicit in those Russian activities — or at least ignored them when it became obvious they had occurred, Ketchum said.

According to Ketchum, the group worked with the Wheeling Police Department to ensure members would be allowed to hold a peaceful demonstration at the site. The West Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union also provided legal observers to help guarantee members’ rights would not be violated.

Romeo Livingston, 9, of Wheeling was one of the youngest participants in the demonstration.

“I’m here because there is a lot of stuff wrong with the world because Donald Trump is president,” he said, citing concerns about immigrant families being separated from their children and global warming as some of his biggest worries. “I’m here to change the world.”

His mother, Julie Blake, and brother, Jamarri Livingston, 7, were also present. Blake said she has four children, and they follow the news as a family and discuss political issues right in their living room at home. She decided to bring two of her children to the protest because she would rather “do something to help the situation” than get into a “Facebook war” with those who have different viewpoints.

Another Wheeling resident, J. Arnold Roxby, said he is concerned about the Trump administration’s involvement with the Putin administration.

“Russian interference in our democracy is a core issue for me,” he said, noting he believes a foreign power influencing our elections is one of the most dangerous things that can happen.

Mollie Kennedy, community outreach coordinator for the West Virginia ACLU, was one of a handful of legal observers. She said things had been peaceful at Oglebay and that her organization has received more requests to participate in such events since Trump took office.

Jeri DeLong of Shadyside said she is worried that “democracy is dying.” She said 182 million people failed to vote in the 2016 presidential election.

“We have to fight for democracy,” she said. “It’s not free.”

David Frey of Fairbanks, Alaska, was present as well. He was in the local area for a family reunion when he heard about the Pence visit and decided he needed to speak out.

“Our government is deteriorating right now,” Frey said. “Donald Trump is morally deficient. The administration is eroding our way of life.”

As members of the group sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” and chanted “This is what democracy looks like,” Blanche Rybeck of Wheeling said her family has a history of activism. She said her great-grandfather left Lithuania to escape Russian control and that her grandparents camped out at Oglebay before it became a park to try and convince city officials to accept the land.

“America has meant so much to my family,” she said. “I feel that not making a strong statement about protecting our American values — freedom of religion and the press — is unacceptable.”

Wendy Bogers of Wheeling agreed, adding that she “has more reason to protest than not to protest.” She said she is particularly concerned about Trump’s policies regarding health care because she has Stage 4 breast cancer.

“I am a walking pre-existing condition,” Bogers said. “Trump’s policies on health care and his attacks on Obamacare are detrimental to the average American. I believe Trump represents business, not people.”

West Virginia State Police Capt. Ron Arthur had several troopers posted near the protesters helping Secret Service agents and other law enforcement officers to screen people and vehicles at the entrance to the Wilson Lodge parking lot.

He said the demonstration had been “very peaceful.”

“The state police is politically neutral,” said Arthur, who is based in Charleston with the agency’s special operations branch. “We’re here to keep everyone safe and to uphold all the laws of West Virginia.

“Days like this make me thankful to be a West Virginian,” he continued. “We see the problems all over the country, but here people can have different viewpoints and still get along. Everyone has been very cooperative and respectful. We’re here to protect everyone, regardless of what they feel or think.”

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