Supporters and opponents of President Donald Trump are holding rallies in Mid-Missouri on Saturday to mark the anniversary of Trump's inauguration.
The Missouri Republican Leadership Initiative is hosting a rally at noon Saturday in the State Capitol in Jefferson City. The rally will show the president "Missouri's appreciation for everything he has done in his first year in the Oval Office," an event description on the website Eventbrite states.
Scheduled speakers include U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and State Treasurer Eric Schmitt.
The president will not be in Missouri for the event, the website notes.
The event description calls on the president's supporters to invite their friends to the event and to continue to "make America (and Missouri) great again."
The event is expected to conclude about 3 p.m.
People interested in attending the rally can register at eventbrite.com/e/celebrating-the-first-anniversary-of-president-trumps-inauguration-tickets-41285059725.
The Missouri NAACP and other organizations are sponsoring a Solidarity March and Rally on Saturday in Columbia.
The event, to be held at the Boone County Courthouse Square, 705 E. Walnut St. in Columbia, is to honor the one-year anniversary of the Women's March on Washington (held Jan. 21, 2017), according to the NAACP. Issues it will address include civil rights, education, foreign policy, health care, the economy, the environment and many more, according to a news release.
Jefferson City Area Indivisible, a group of Mid-Missouri activists working together to oppose "the President Donald Trump agenda and to create positive change," has chartered a bus to take people from Jefferson City to Columbia for the rally. The bus has 48 seats. Riders will gather at 11:30 a.m. at the North Jefferson City Recreation Area, 927 4th St., leaving at 12:15 p.m. Riders will be charged $10. For reservations, contact Tony Smith at [email protected].
The rally is to begin at 1 p.m. with speakers and music.
A 10-block march is to begin at 1:45 p.m., loop through downtown Columbia and return to the courthouse. The rally will continue until about 3 p.m.
Scheduled speakers include Michela Skelton, candidate for Missouri House of Representatives District 50; Nikki McGruder, Diversity Awareness Partnership; Ed Weisbart, Physicians for a National Health Program, Missouri Chapter chairman; Angela Speck, University of Missouri director of Astronomy; and others.
"It is our hope to voice our dissent regarding the direction our country is headed and leave attendees with a positive message for change and how they can be a part of it," the news release states.