Protests and rallies for and against everything from political candidates to social causes have long been a part of downtown Warsaw’s history.
On Saturday, for the second time this month, the cause was concern for the actions and policies of President Donald Trump with 55 people counted at the “Stop the Cuts” rally at 12:45 p.m. The event was scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. The rally on April 6 was a “Hands Off” protest.
Cathy Wesolek was at Saturday’s rally with Jeff Stueve.
“We’ve worked with immigrants, we’ve worked in education, we’ve visited national parks - just pretty much everything that’s being gutted,” Wesolek said.
Stueve added scientific research.
“I think the wrong people are benefitting from this administration. It goes against my faith beliefs even. Not that I agree with everything on either side, but this seems pernicious to me,” he said.
Vonnie Netzley said, “I’m just really concerned about the state of our democracy, and our democracy is so fragile, and we are just, I think, in a crisis.”

    Vonnie and Zach Netzley hold up their signs at Saturday’s rally. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

She had the Statute of Liberty on her sign because “she stands for democracy and, also, welcoming immigrants. I feel like the United States has always - or a lot of the time - been like a beacon of hope for everyone and we’re just confusing that status. I just feel like it’s really sad.”
Netzley said she decided to stop “doom scrolling” and come out to the rally because of that. Doomscrolling is the act of spending an excessive amount of time reading large quantities of news, particularly negative news, on the web and social media.
She had been unaware of the rally in Warsaw on April 6 and went to the one in Goshen that weekend.
“I was glad to hear that Warsaw had one, and then when I noticed they were having another one, I was like, ‘we’ll just go to Warsaw.’ It’s closer to home and I know more people, I know a few people out here,” Netzley stated.
The topic of immigration brought Rachel Pace, Warsaw, out to the rally. Her shirt said, “Immigrants are not criminals but the president is.”
Pace said, “I’m definitely (here for) immigration, and all of the cuts that Elon Musk and DOGE (are making) I think that’s concerning.”
She thinks there’s been too many cuts too fast without oversight.
“Nobody wants corruption in government or wasteful spending, but I think it needs to be done properly, rather than just come in and cut huge amounts of our budgets out - making cuts to things that we don’t even realize is going to be an issue later on,” Pace stated.
A lot that is happening with the national parks also is concerning, she said.
One Winona Lake woman, who did not want to provide her name for safety reasons, said there was not just one issue that brought her out.
“It’s a lot of them. It’s not a left or a right issue anymore, it’s a right or a wrong at this point. And what the government is doing is wrong for marginalized groups and the people. They’re not fighting for the people anymore,” she said.
The issues listed on her sign included national parks, Social Security, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, etc.
Saturday’s rally was the second one she attended.
“It’s part of the 50501 Movement, so I just follow the different organizations that put on these movements and try to stay involved as much as I can,” she said.

    Cathy Wesolek (L) and Jeff Stueve (R) participate in Saturday’s rally at the Kosciusko County Courthouse in downtown Warsaw. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

Not only did she grow up in Winona Lake and calls it home, she said no one paid her to be there.
“I didn’t have to take time off work to be here. I’m here, taking time out of my weekend, to fight for my rights and the rights of others,” she stated.
Robert Osbun, Kosciusko County Democratic Party treasurer, said, “I’m here to push back against the dismantling of our essential services, like Veteran Affairs, Medicaid - people depend on those services for their healthcare - so we want to protect those.”
He said the tariffs that Trump has enacted, some of which he has since paused, are killing the United States.
“Trump promised lower prices on day one, but all he’s done is raise prices. The tariffs are a tax on everybody, and we just can’t afford that right now,” Osbun said. “The tariffs are reckless, they’re mindless and Trump doesn’t even know what he’s doing.”
Another big issue for him is the deportation of people without due process.
“Think of those people sitting in that jail in El Salvador. They have no idea what’s going on with their life,” Osbun said. While Trump says there is a reason, “he won’t go to court and prove it. So I’m here for them - those people who are wasting away in El Salvador prisons.”
Don Guthrie, Democratic Party vice chairman, said the two rallies this month weren’t a party event. A separate organization held them.
“But the main thing that we want to focus on is the negative impact that the Trump administration is having on our community,” Guthrie said. “We’re pro-democracy, pro-Constitution and anti-violence.”
Retired, he said he’s lost a “huge amount” of money in his retirement since Trump has kicked off the tariffs against other countries.
“So, the country’s lost trillions and trillions of dollars, and he keeps going back and forth with these tariffs, and who are they helping? Nobody. And he’s so indecisive about them. They’re not good for the country. They’re not good for farmers, the bio-medical industry here ... and so it’s just going to have a real negative impact on the community. The tariffs are bad,” Guthrie said.
Everyone wants strong borders, including Democrats, he continued, but “all we want is to follow the law, for the process to be Constitutional.”
He said there are three branches of government - the executive, judicial and legislative - and “we want to make sure that all three branches are represented.”
He said Musk and DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) should have legislative oversight, but there’s been none.
“That’s just not the way it should be done,” Guthrie said, adding that the Trump administration should respect what the court orders have to say.
In a separate event down Center Street from noon to 1 p.m. was a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) “hyperrealistic chicken transport truck covered with images of real chickens crammed into crates on their way to slaughter.” The truck was parked on the south side of Center Street across from Mad Anthony’s Lake City Taphouse to protest the eating of meat and the treatment of chickens.
During the noon hour while the truck was parked, the driver played the recording of the chickens to draw in people’s attention, though it drew in very little attention.
At the truck, people could pick up information on PETA and information on being a vegan.