West Virginians Protest Across State; Six Arrested In Morgantown

A year after President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, West Virginians across the state joined in on a national protest movement. 

Demonstrators in Charleston, Parkersburg and Huntington braved the cold Tuesday to demand an end to what they called the authoritarian policies of the Trump administration.

In Morgantown, six protesters, including three local pastors with the Moral Mondays movement, were arrested outside of the offices of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito. 

Officers with the Morgantown Police Department notified the group that the building manager wanted them to leave and asked they relocate to the sidewalk downstairs. Protesters refused, instead remaining outside of Capito’s offices singing protest songs like “Which Side Are You On?” and “Everybody Has A Right To Live.”

“While a portion of the group complied and exited the building voluntarily, several individuals refused to leave or coordinate peacefully with authorities,” the Morgantown Police said in a press release. “As a result, six individuals were arrested and charged with trespassing. The City of Morgantown and the Morgantown Police Department recognize and support the right of individuals to protest peacefully. All demonstrations must be conducted in accordance with applicable laws and policies.”

Pastor Stephen Lowe was one of those arrested. He said he and others have tried for more than a year to have a direct conversation with Capito on issues like health care and food security.

“These are basic asks of our representatives, that they take care of the people they are elected to represent, and that they listen to the people that they are elected to represent,” he said.

The demonstrators at Capito’s office want her to fight against cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP in the One, Big Beautiful Bill that they said will disproportionately hurt West Virginians.

“Folks here, in the coldest months of the year, are struggling. They’re struggling to afford food. They’re struggling to keep the lights on, to keep the heat on, they’re struggling to afford health care,” Lowe said. “And a lot of the decisions that have been made by this administration and have been endorsed by our own representatives have come back and hurt folks here in West Virginia.”

The six protesters were released a few hours after their arrest.

Free America Walkouts

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In Charleston, about 50 demonstrators with the Free America Walkout convened on the steps of the state capitol. The Free America movement urged citizens across the country to walk out of their offices, schools, homes, and businesses at 2 p.m. to declare a desire for a Free America as called for by the Women’s March national organization.

Sara Lindstrom, president of United West Virginia and one of the protest’s organizers, said she wants to advocate for her Constitutional civil rights.

“The more we are under this administration, the more those things are eroded,” Lindstrom said. “We’re trying to stand up against that and give some pushback.”

Lindstrom and the Free America movement are organizing around the belief that women are still treated as second-class citizens, a situation that is worsening under a growing authoritarianism.

Demonstrators did not limit their criticisms to politicians in Washington. Amy Brennan of Cross Lanes said West Virginia legislators are concentrating on the wrong things during their 60 day regular session.

“We need clean water, we need a living wage. We need housing. We need child care. We need public education, foster care, LGBT protection, health care,” Brennan said. “We do not need 10 Commandments in the classroom. We do not need guns in the schools. We don’t need ivermectin. We don’t need any more bathroom BS. We don’t need a war on woke, DEI and gender. ”

Tuesday’s protests are the latest in an ongoing series organized by a variety of national organizations including the Women’s March and the People’s Action network. West Virginians previously participated in national “No Kings” and “50501” demonstrations in February, June and October, as well as more localized protests against cuts to federal jobs and programs.

Back in Morgantown, Free America demonstrators gathered at West Virginia University’s student union before marching to the Monongalia County Courthouse downtown.

Student organizer Aliyah Pelley said the increasing violence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under President Trump is one of her most immediate concerns.

“He has been trying to strip away many people’s rights, many groups of people,” she said. “He is being very outrightly racist to most of the country right now, and I think a lot of people are forgetting that it won’t take long before he targets somebody else.”

Pelley is heartened to see the close to 100 people who came out to demonstrate in Morgantown, and said more organizing and reliance on community will be important when – not if – things get worse.

More protests are planned this weekend at the state capitol and at an ICE facility in Poca.