Saratoga Springs advocates grab attention with banner above highway

CLIFTON PARK — Local activists called for former President Donald Trump’s arrest by displaying a banner above I-87.

Wednesday morning, local advocates for democracy from the group Molotov Tampons stood on the Grooms Road bridge looking over Interstate 87 at exit 8A in Clifton Park.

The women held a banner for morning traffic to see which read “Arrest Trump Now” in large red letters on a yellow Gadsden “Don’t Tread on Me” flag.

“If it were any of the rest of us we would have been arrested by now,” pro-democracy advocate Linda LeTendre said. “That’s just on the witness tampering. They would be at our doors last night. And a president is not above the law. It’s important to do this kind of stuff now because this is exactly what he wanted to make illegal.”

The group planned this demonstration to coincide with the ongoing Jan. 6 hearings taking place this week LeTendre said.

The women set up on the bridge around 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. Thousands of drivers passed under the bridge and the group’s bright yellow sign. Cars showed their support for the cause with horn beeps and hand waves throughout the morning.

“Especially amidst the ongoing Jan. 6 trials, and the affirmation that we’re receiving as to everything we thought was devolving on Jan. 6 and the imminent threat to our democracy,” advocate Robin Dalton said Wednesday. “Understanding those details, hearing them from the committee and watching those hearings puts it into perspective how fragile our democracy is, and how important it is to use every avenue possible to protect our democracy, fight back against fascism and reclaim our future.”

A lot of people are taking in the information from January 6 their own as individuals, Dalton said. She explained it is important to remind people there are like-minded people out there.

“There are other people that share the outrage, that share the disgust, that share the passion for our country is important,” Dalton said. “We have all been so isolated in this experience.”

LeTendre said she lived through the Watergate scandal. She explained President Gerald Ford pardoning President Richard Nixon after the Watergate incident led to the current way presidents are not held accountable in the U.S.

“We should have held [Nixon] accountable,” LeTendre said. “And it led to a whole bunch of actions that presidents have gotten away with because we don’t hold them accountable. And if we don’t hold Trump and his people accountable then democracy is done. We’re done here. Democracy is over. So we’re trying to raise awareness, we’re trying to be public about this.”

People hanging up banners and raising awareness about this should be happening all over the country to hold Trump accountable, LeTendre said.

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned by her government,” LeTendre said. “And right now for these people to still be walking around we are all being scorned by the government.”

The Molotov Tampons is a women’s political organization with a men’s auxiliary group, LeTendre said.

“I don’t care what your party affiliation is, I don’t care how you identify yourself, this has nothing to do with that,” Dalton said. “This is so much bigger than our own political ideologies or positions or platforms. And I think the way it’s unifying people and the diversity of political thought that has come together. Because we know we have to come together to fight back against something this powerful is really inspiring.”

All are welcome to the group if you believe in democracy Dalton said. There are a number of actions anyone can take if they are concerned too the women explained, such as calling or writing their elected representatives, and the Department of Justice.

“Its whatever way you feel comfortable expressing yourself,” Dalton said. “Whether that’s five minutes to make a phone call, 10 minutes to old a sign on a corner, deciding to help get people registered to vote. Informing people with as much truth as possible, we know its really hard because there’s no one place to go to to get accurate information anymore.”

The group encouraged anyone who has not watched the Jan. 6 hearings to watch them.

“It’s a bipartisan committee,” LeTendre said. “And they have laid it out piece-by-piece. Its almost like its insurrection and treason for dummies, really they laid it out, and you’ll understand how serious this situation is. We came very close to having a dictatorship on January 6, we’re still hanging on by a thread.”

The group’s early-morning use of the sign above the highway was able to catch the attention of thousands of motorists Wednesday morning, but signs can potentially create a distraction according to New York State Department of Transportation assistant director of communications Glenn Blain said.

“The safety of the traveling public is always the top priority for the New York State Department of Transportation,” Blain said in a statement. “Federal law limits signs to those that are for highway purposes. Moreover, the placement or display of banners on bridges over highways creates a distraction to motorists and is hazardous.”