Democrats protest on Weston County courthouse steps; Newcastle mayor urges peaceful exercise of First Amendment

Members of the Weston County Democratic Party gathered on the steps of the Weston County Courthouse in Newcastle to protest and hold signs while Newcastle Mayor Tyrell Owens urged those assembled to exercise their First Amendment rights peacefully and warned against outside agitators.

Newcastle Mayor Tyrell Owens said he hoped “everybody will exercise their first amendment rights peacefully and not cause any problems in our town.” He added he did not want “agitators [to] come in and do any damage or destruction in our beautiful courthouse and, cause any problems on our main street in our small rural town in Wyoming.” Owens told Walter Sprague, reporter for the Newsletter Journal, that “all of our law enforcement entities in the area are aware that the protest is going to be going on, and, they'll be monitoring the situation.”

Protesters lined the courthouse steps holding signs with messages such as “Cherish freedom, democracy, free speech,” “No kings,” and “Save America.” Deb Pia, identified by the reporter as a former mayor, said the protest grew from an effort she described as the “50 51 movement” and that the group had held demonstrations earlier in the winter. “We just want democracy for people,” Pia said.

Pam Penfield, identified in the reporting as participating with the Democratic Party, said simply, “We're very sad,” when asked what message she wanted to give the public. Gary Wilson, also among those holding signs, said the protest message was “Freedom, democracy, and truth” and repeated, “No kings.” Other attendees expressed broad complaints about federal policy and economic inequality; one protester, identified in the transcript only as a resident, said, “I'm most worried about Mexican Americans.”

The reporter recorded the gathering as peaceful, with participants of varied ages and several familiar to local residents. The demonstration included calls about taxation and concerns for older residents; one speaker later described activities at a local care facility, saying residents “play [bingo] 3 times a week” and that the facility was “a good place to be.”

There were no formal actions or votes recorded in the transcript of the on-site coverage. The event remained a public demonstration monitored by local law enforcement, according to the mayor’s remarks.

Walter Sprague of the Newsletter Journal concluded on-site coverage by identifying the location and the organizing group: “reporting from Newcastle, Wyoming at the party Weston County Democrat party protest at the courthouse on the steps.”