STEUBENVILLE — It’s hard to pin down a single reason why hundreds of area residents turned out for Saturday’s “No Kings” rally.

“People asked about the theme for this event, and I said take your pick,” said Marjie DeFede of the Ohio Valley National Organization for Women while taking a break from interacting with the participants.

“I think there are so many people who have a lot of despair right now, because of the country and the shape we’re in. We have the war, we have immigration problems, we have problems with health care and, more than any of these, we have problems with the economy. At this point, there are so many issues that people care about, and they want to have a voice, but they don’t know how to do that. So, we are the facilitators who are here to help in some way give people a chance to stand up for democracy.”

Saturday’s rally, which was held at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and John Scott Highway, was one of more than 3,000 similar events held across the country to protest the actions of the administration of President Donald Trump and some members Congress. The local event was organized by the local NOW chapter, the Midwest Center for Constitutional Rights and Ohio Valley Indivisible.

“We are gathered here as part of a national movement that has been going on since last year to let people be seen and to give them a place to offer up their message about what they want to do and see happen in our country,” DeFede, a resident of Rayland, said.

The turnout was larger than organizers had seen in previous local rallies. And, as organization pointed out, those in attendance represented a cross-section of people from around the region.

“We’re very encouraged by the number of people who have come out,” said Richard Olivito of the Midwest Center for Constitutional Rights. “Everyone has this visceral, organic thing going on. Everyone has a different view of why they are here, but it all comes together.”

Olivito said the rallies being held around the country could have a big impact. He said the local participants were patriotic people who think their voices are not always being heard.

“They feel that Trump has co-opted patriotism, and that’s why you see so many flags,” Olivito said. “That’s a key thing — people come out with their flags, and they say, ‘Hey, wait — we’re Americans, too. We’re citizens and we believe in this country, too.’ That’s a big part of it.”

Mary Pezzulo of Steubenville said she attended the rally because she was concerned about what she sees happening to children.

“I’m watching social services and grants to places that help children dry up,” she said. “At the same time, I’m seeing billions of dollars being spent on wars that are killing children overseas, and seeing children sent to detention centers.”

She added that the event also served as a way to show that differing viewpoints can be found throughout the region.

“It’s important that everybody see that Jefferson County is not a monolith,” Pezzulo said. “There are all kinds of views here, even though we usually go red. It’s important to us to have solidarity with one another and encourage each other.”

J. David Core of Toronto said the local turnout Saturday was important.

“I think it sends two messages,” he said. “It sends a message to the administration to let them know they are in an uphill battle, and it sends a message to the people who feel they are alone and they don’t have any support from like-minded individuals.”

Among those who helped to organize the event was Tim Reinard. The Weirton resident, a representative of Ohio Valley Indivisible, said the number of participants — locally and nationally — would send a message to the administration.

“History shows that if you can get 3 percent of the population, it is a lot harder for an authoritarian government to take over,” Reinard explained. “So, it we can get 11 million people from across the United States today, then we are well on the way to telling the authorities that we don’t like them.

“It’s important to show the authorities that we don’t accept what they are trying to feed us,” he added. “But, at the same time, it is not the end of the ballgame. We have to get candidates to run and do what we can, not just roll rover and ignore what’s going on. That’s what I see a lot of our present elected officials doing.”

That helps to make the current election cycle important, he added.

Ohio’s primary election is set for May 5, while West Virginia’s primary is May 12. The general election is set for Nov. 3.

Among the names that will appear on Ohio’s primary ballot is Charrie Foglio of Toronto. She’s a Democrat who is unopposed in her bid for the party’s nomination for Ohio’s 96th state House of Representatives seat. Her opponent in the November election will be either incumbent Ron Ferguson of Wintersville or Frank Hoagland of Adena, who are battling for the Republican nomination.

“Look at this crowd — I had no idea that this crowd was going to be this big and so enthused,” she said. “I’m out here to be one with the community that I live in.”

Foglio that the rally gave area residents a chance to heard.

“They can’t get their voice heard through larger means, but they can get their voices heard one by one by standing here, and this reverberates over and over. So, if you took one person and they equaled 100, that’s what we’re looking at, this level of excitement, and this is a great level of excitement.”

She added that education issues are a focus of her campaign, especially funding the public education system.

“I went all the way through public school. From here, you look around and you see what our greatest export is, and those are my nieces and nephews who leave her to go to bigger places to find more promising jobs. It would be lovely to be able to have them stay here.”

Jean Czernek of Weirton said she participated in the rally because she believes in democracy.

“We are in a fascist state,” she said. “I travel the world, and with what the world thinks of us now, we are in deep trouble,” she added. “I don’t know — we might be so far down the rabbit hole we might not be able to fix this.”

She said Americans are facing a simple question.

“Forget Democrats, forget Republicans — do you want to live in a fascist state, or do you want to have rights?” she asked.