Aug 25, 2025 By Garrett Neese 3 min read

Alarmed by what they’ve seen as a swerve into authoritarian rule, dozens of Fayette County residents turned out for Saturday’s Fayette Against Fascism protest in Uniontown.

President Trump’s move to send more than 2,000 National Guard members into Washington, D.C., is one glaring example, said Paula Coville, a member of the Democratic Women of Fayette County and its protest organization group, which put together Saturday’s event.

The Pentagon is also readying plans to mount a similar operation in Chicago, which state and local leaders are opposing.

“It looks like he’s trying to create a police state across the entire United States,” she said. “That’s a fascist. That’s an oligarch. That’s someone that’s not for the people; he’s against the people.”

James Clark of Lemont Furnace pointed to Trump’s pardon of more than 1,500 people convicted after the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. He was also incensed by the arrests and raids being carried out throughout the country by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

“I don’t believe they’re police at all,” he said. “I just think they’re some of his thugs.”

Tombstones lining the sidewalk of the George C. Marshall Plaza spelled out the losses people mourned since the start of the second Trump administration.

Some spoke to concerns about a dictatorship – “R.I.P. Democracy 1/20/2025,” or “R.I.P. Freedom of Speech.” Others addressed steep cuts to federal programs. Trump’s spending bill enacted in July cut Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding by nearly $190 billion through 2034. Others pointed to cuts to the Veterans Administration, which have included a net loss of 2,000 registered nurses.

In her career as a mental health worker, Nicole Marietta of Uniontown said she has seen the way the administration’s cuts have created fear and uncertainty.

“I think that’s the biggest thing, is that all of these policies that have been happening, people just don’t know, and so a lot of anxiety for people is just skyrocketing, and it’s sad to see,” she said. “You don’t have an answer, because we don’t know if it’s going to get any better.”

Saturday’s rally was the latest in a series the group has held throughout the year.

Roxane Connors of Masontown has come to the protests regularly since the spring. A retired kindergarten teacher, she said she couldn’t be idle as the rights of veterans, women, children with disabilities and other groups were “wiped out.”

“It just kills me to see what’s going on with them taking away stuff, and the kids that need things, especially kids that are autistic, special needs,” she said. “I can’t sleep at night. It’s just a terrible, terrible thing, and this is my way of standing up and not being silent. I can’t just sit at home and do nothing.”

Coville hoped Saturday’s protest motivated people to vote Democratic – first in November to retain state judges, and then in next year’s midterms to retake control of the U.S. House and Senate.

She hopes that will lead to a third impeachment of Trump, this one successfully removing him from office, she said.

“We want him out,” she said. “We don’t want him in for the full four-year term. We’re shooting for midterms.”