Abortion rights protesters block Lansing's July 4 parade near capitol

LANSING — Abortion rights protesters blocked Lansing's July 4 parade Monday from proceeding, and it eventually was canceled, as many proclaimed there's nothing to celebrate Monday.

"It's the Fourth of July and is supposed to be a day of independence, freedom, day to celebrate America and the things about this country," protester Kelsey Snyder said. "Right now, there's not really a lot we're celebrating when you're a woman and rights are being stripped across the country."

As the parade was set to start at 11 a.m. at the intersection of Capitol and Michigan avenues, protesters from in front of the capitol walked onto the street to stop police from proceeding up Capitol.

Organizers of the protest had discouraged blocking the parade on the event's Facebook page and at the scene.

Several thousand people, including both abortion rights and anti-abortion protesters and parade viewers, were downtown ahead of the parade Monday.

Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said police knew the crowd was going to be large with two protests coming together and confirmed organizers assured police early Monday they won't disrupt the parade.

Monday's protest was one of many in Lansing and across the state since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Thomas Dobbs, state health office of Mississippi and named defendant in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Chief Justice Samuel Alito wrote the opinion, stating the Constitution doesn't specifically guarantee a person's right to abortion.

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"Nobody's being violent. Nobody's being aggressive," Snyder said. "So, if people can't watch some fire trucks go down the road, then there's bigger fish to fry."

Lansing couple Georgiann and Kyle Hess agreed.

They attended so their children could see the parade and said it's an "upsetting time for our society" and sympathized with protesters' rights.

Kyle Hess was more disturbed by reactions of nearby parents shouting for protesters to be run over as kids stood by. He wasn't bothered by the protest and didn't think the holiday was ruined.

"There's a lot of major incidents with people using cars to murder people, so that's kind of distressing," he said of the comments.

Hess declined to state his stance on the message of the protest, but said it made him rethink why parade spectators were there Monday and what they were standing for.

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Protesters cannot "hinder traffic," Sosebee said, who was in plainclothes for the parade. He said the parade was called off about 11:45 a.m. as protesters kept the procession blocked and moved along its route.

Police initially closed Allegan and Ottawa streets, parts of Walnut Street and parts of Capitol Avenue for the parade. Only a few vehicles remained after that and provided their own short parade.

Neither Sosebee nor Mayor Andy Schor asked police to remove protesters from the streets.

"I am not going to put the officers in a position where they are going to be dragging people out of the street," Sosebee said. "I'm not going to do that, as the chief. If they want to sit in the street and disrupt everybody's Fourth of July and these kids that came in to celebrate the 4th then that's on them."

Youth coach and community leader Ashley James invited the protesters to meet with her and speak about their plans. She said she doesn't oppose their message.

She said the protest did more than disrupt the parade; it stopped the work many in the community do with women who have to seek family planning care, some of which can include abortion clinics.

"It was almost like you just plan to come to complain, versus, 'This is what I think should happen. These are the steps we want,'" she said.

Some watching the protests likely couldn't relate to the message and sympathize with what many were shouting, James said.

"If I'm wrong, I would love for those people to come find me, and tell me why they were here specifically besides to interrupt the parade because I saw nothing," she said.

There were a number of reproductive freedom petitioners stationed throughout the Capitol lawn. Aaron Mahoney said he and some of the other volunteers collected about 500 signatures Monday.

"We know Roe v. Wade just got overturned, and in the future, they're talking about getting rid of gay marriage, gay rights, bringing back sodomy laws," he said. "We were angry, and it's time to make our voices heard."

Fireworks are scheduled for tonight, Sosebee said.

The city will launch fireworks from Oak Park at dusk and the Lansing Lugnuts plans a show after the game against the Great Lakes Loons. Sosebee suggested people watch from in Adado Riverfront Park for the best views of both displays.

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Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at (517) 267-1344 or knurse@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @KrystalRNurse.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Celebrations, protests clash on July 4 in Lansing