Lacey protesters cause ‘good trouble’ in honor of John Lewis Day of Action

Roughly 250 protesters lined both sides of Martin Way East between the Interstate 5 north ramp and the Martin Way Park and Ride Thursday evening to rally in honor of the late Democratic congressman John Lewis on John Lewis Day of Action.

Between 1987 and his death in 2020, Lewis represented Georgia’s 5th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is famously remembered for his leadership during the Civil Rights Movement.

In addition to participating in sit-ins and non-violent protests across the south, Lewis was a key organizer of the 1965 March on Washington and the first Selma to Montgomery march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge which culminated in Bloody Sunday, as law enforcement attacked Lewis and other marchers.

Thursday’s demonstration was organized by members of Olympia Indivisible, a volunteer group that advocates for democracy and social justice.

According to a July 15 news release, the demonstration was intended to be a “peaceful sign wave” to stir up “good trouble,” a theme inspired by Lewis’s famous saying, “... get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

One of the protest’s organizers, Mike Whaley, said participants were encouraged to protest about any issue of their choice.

“We put out a notice if anybody would like to come and help us celebrate the life of John Lewis, bring your favorite issue to protest against. There’s so many issues… We didn’t limit it in any way,” he said.

“You could bring something about, you know, the public schools or ICE or the big bill or food security or anything like that.”

From 5 to 7 p.m., protesters waved signs with all sorts of messages garnering honks from passersby. One demonstrator dragged a cardboard cutout of President Donald Trump across the sidewalk for people to step on.

Ed Woodford, a protester at Thursday’s event and an Army veteran, said he attended the Day of Action because he believes President Donald Trump has disregarded the Constitution through his leadership.

“He’s [Donald Trump’s] basically throwing the Constitution out,” Woodford said. “The military took an oath to defend the Constitution … not to defend the president, but to defend the Constitution. And that’s what they need to do.”

This story was originally published July 18, 2025 at 2:43 PM.