The fine art of protesting Trump, part 2
My traffic cone experience, 3/2/26
I planned to protest at the Trump statue today for an hour, as I did once before. I have flyers promoting my proposed ordinance that any presidential statue on public property in Rapid City has to have a traffic cone on its head IF that president was a convicted felon. So, I brought along a traffic cone to make the point for the ordinance (so far, Trump is the only president this ordinance would apply to). I also had a sign that said “Trump is a felon” on one side and “Trump starts wars” on the other. I got there about 9:55.
The statue is on a corner, so there is plenty of space to walk back and forth without bothering any pedestrians. So, I stuck the cone on Trump’s head (it’s got a rubber base so it can’t hurt the statue) and started slowly walking back and forth. One guy across the street gave me the finger and yelled something at me. Several cars honked when they went by. Another guy stopped at the corner and told me I couldn’t have the cone on the statue. A guy from the group that promotes downtown Rapid City parked, walked over, and took the cone off. I said you can’t do that, I’m protesting and that is part of the protest. We argued a bit and finally he said, “I’m just going to put the cone here and leave.” I told him I’d be gone by 11 and he can check. So I put the cone back on and continued protesting.
A few people walking by thanked me. A group of 3 women and a baby came up to take photos with the statue. I asked if they wanted the cone off. They said yes, so I took it off and stood out of the way. When they were done I put the cone back on.
A guy stopped and said I was defacing the statue and took the cone off. I said that’s my cone and I’m using it for my protest. He said you can protest all you want but you can’t deface the statue and I’ve called the cops. I said I’m not defacing the statue, I’m just protesting and that is a prop I’m using. By this time I had my phone out so I took his photo. He said I can’t do that to the statue but I could wear the cone, and he put the cone on my head. Peeking out of the cone, I took his photo again. He said he called the cops and they were coming. I said good, and took the cone off. I did not try to put the cone back on the statue and preferred to wait for the cops. The first time I did this protest, someone actually STOLE the cone, but a cop saw what happened and they tracked the guy down and got him to bring the cone back.
Finally a cop came. I explained what I was doing and the purpose of the cone, and gave him a flyer explaining the proposed ordinance. He refused to read the flyer but I explained it briefly. He said I can’t put the cone on the statue because it’s defacing public property. I said it’s not hurting the statue at all and will be gone with me when I leave. It’s a prop for my protest and an illustration of the ordinance. The original dude, meanwhile, was talking to somebody else on the phone, and said the police supervisor was coming. Jeez, I thought, all this for a short protest.
the dude who called the cops
The supervisor came and said I can’t put the cone on the statue because it’s defacing public property. I asked which ordinance that would be. He said many ordinances. He said I’d be arrested if I put the cone back on the statue. We argued for a few minutes, then he went and sat in his car nearby, watching.
Meanwhile, the cone was just sitting beside the statue. The guy who called the police left about this time I think.
Some women came over from the restaurant across the street and said they saw the whole altercation with the man who put the cone on my head. They seemed to consider that to be assault. We talked a bit and they thanked me for protesting. A bit later another lady walked by and we talked for a bit. She said I should talk directly with my council member about my proposed ordinance, and thought it was a waste of city revenue to have the police supervisor watching me to see if I put a cone on a statue. A few other people came by and we chatted about my proposed ordinance.
So now I have to find the city ordinance that applies to protesting with a traffic cone, and whether it’s a legal ordinance that would restrict my method of protesting. Stay tuned.
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