On Flag Day, June 14th, over 1,000 concerned Americans from all stripes gathered from 10am-noon in front of the historic Ocala downtown square, along both sides of Silver Springs Boulevard for three blocks. This demonstration was just one of over 2,000 protests held around the world in support of democracy and American freedom, attracting over 8 million participants (early count), which breaks the 3.5% rule of how many in a population will trigger a change.
In downtown Ocala, there were very few counter protesters, most notable a group of Proud Boys marched through, but after they assaulted a protester, the Ocala Police Department were quick to cuff the two offenders and escort them off to jail.
Each successive demonstration, beginning with the first on April 5th, has gotten larger and more organized, thanks to the incredible efforts of the Reddit group OcalaBlueDots. They have been taking donations to pay for permits, water for attendees, and have been organizing with the Ocala Police Department and volunteer safety personnel to keep everyone as safe as possible. Other participating organizations included the Meet Up group, Central Florida Peace & Justice.
To join the next event, follow the links above on Reddit or MeetUp, or join the Central Tri-County Indivisible Florida in Lady Lake, or the North Central Florida Indivisible based in Gainesville. We hope to see an Indivisible group assemble here in Marion County in the near future.
