NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Hundreds of people sat in silent protest at a Nashville park while President Donald Trump took the oath of office.
Those gathered at Centennial Park on Friday took a 10-minute pause from talking as they declined to watch or listen to Trump’s swearing in.
Organizers led a prayer, sang patriotic songs and read the Declaration of Independence aloud. Obama, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders shirts and buttons were scattered throughout the crowd.
Two counter-protesters nearby broke the silence by shouting religious messages into megaphones against homosexuality, abortion, Democrats, feminism and transgender people. Some event attendees responded by surrounding the protesters and singing them songs.
Bruce Dobie, an event organizer, said the only correct response to Trump’s divisive rhetoric is silence.
Dobie says that in silence, we become stronger.
