EDITOR’S NOTE: See below for the LIVE video of the rally. The Pioneer was there on the street and the estimates of 500 attendees are conservative; participants lined Hwy. 101 from Hoquarton slough up to First Street, around the Veterans Memorial (with dozens of Veterans in attendance!) and down the other side – over 500 people – the most for any rally in Tillamook. All locals – I recognized many faces … watch for yourself.
By Romy Carver
Last Saturday, April 5, 2025, we held a Hands Off rally in Tillamook, and I was one of the organizers, through Indivisible Tillamook Coast Action. It was amazing! To our delighted shock, over 500 people showed up at our rally! This is by far the largest protest or rally I have ever seen in Tillamook. Smiles everywhere and plenty of enthusiastic response.
Before the rally even happened, some MAGA folks were complaining in local Facebook groups about us exercising our First Amendment right to free speech. It’s funny how a certain group of people loves to talk about “freedom” until it’s the freedom of people they don’t agree with.
After the event, following the MAGA playbook, the critics announced that:
1) The protesters were from out of town
2) We were all being paid
I already knew this was going to happen, because let’s face it, these folks regurgitate the same ridiculous conspiracy theories over and over. So when we opened the rally, I decided to have a little fun.
I asked the crowd, “Raise your hand if you are a liberal from the big city, and are being paid by George Soros.” One hand went up, from someone I watched grow up right here in Tillamook, and we all laughed. I asked them to please share it with me when they got rich.
Then I asked, “Raise your hand if you live or work in Tillamook County, and you are here because you want to be here today, and you aren’t being paid a dime.” Of course, almost every hand went up, along with a rousing cheer.
Here’s the deal, for anyone interested in the truth: we had a team of AMAZING local people who sacrificed their own money and time to make this a organized, safe, and fun event. We had snacks, water, and lots of cool things. We had a cadre of volunteers who monitored the event with radios and helped with traffic crossings. Two of our volunteers baked treats and brought them. People spent their own money for sign making supplies, and donated a ton of things. None of them were paid a dime. They stepped up because they are hard-working, respectable community members who believe in upholding the Constitution and the rule of law.
Since we started the group in late November, I have personally spent my own money to buy a wide variety of things. Never got a check from George Soros. I did, however, get reimbursed for part of it, thanks to a donation made by one of my childhood teachers.
Now, let’s talk about the “out of towners” who supposedly dominated our rally. Both the other lead organizer and I were born and raised in Tillamook County. We both have deep roots here and know many local people. We both walked the parameter of the rally on Saturday, monitoring the event. And we both saw TONS of people that we personally knew.
In addition, I have the receipts because we created sign in sheets, several pages of them. And guess what… they were local names and phone numbers. I knew quite a few of them personally, and several of the others had very familiar names. They came from all corners of the county. As we began to assemble at the waterfront, it gave me excited goosebumps to see small clusters of people walking toward us in all directions, carrying their signs, ready to protest! No “bus full of flatlanders” pulled up to the event. Just good, caring Tillamook County people. Good job, Tillamook County!
In fact, in the November 2024 election, only 7,971 registered voters in Tillamook County voted for Trump. The remaining 13,549 either voted for other candidates or not at all (this is from the Tillamook County Clerk’s website). So many more people didn’t want Trump for President than wanted him, and comes as no surprise to me that Tillamook turned up in large numbers.
The event went incredibly smoothly for such a huge group. There was a three-person counter-protest, which was fine with us, because honestly, we are there to defend THEIR rights too. We are all Americans. We had many veterans in our group, and a sea of American flags.
At least two of our volunteers are master recyclers and brought garbage bags and tools to clean up after the event, though there was very little to clean. People pretty much stayed off the grass because we asked them to, and tried not to interfere with traffic and business access. We had crossing guards to keep everyone safe. We made sure this was a family friendly event, and when we heard one small group using profanity in a chant, we asked them to stop and they immediately complied.
I can’t say the same about the few who drove by and screamed obscenities, flipped people off, and blew black smoke out of their trucks, but they were the minority. Most people who engaged with us were honking and cheering in support. It was such a positive event.
I am immensely proud of the fun, lighthearted, and polite atmosphere. People had a great time and we all look forward to our next event.
Indivisible Tillamook Coast Action is a local, nonpartisan group that takes action to protect women’s rights, defends civil liberties, and maintain a society based on human dignity and the rule of law.
We protect our students in public schools from extremist agendas, and we resist attacks on libraries.
We hold our local leaders and elected officials accountable for decisions that affect all of us, because an attack on one of us is an attack on all.
