A group of Democrats rallied in Diamond Park before marching down Butler’s Main Street on Friday, Oct. 4, to make their voices heard ahead of the presidential election and former President Donald Trump’s return to the Butler Farm Show grounds.

Around two dozen members of Butler PA Women for Kamala Harris held up signs Friday to amplify support for Harris well as LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights.

Friday’s attendees made up less than 1% of the growing grassroots group, which has over 1,500 members, according to organizer Heidi Priest.

“We care about women’s rights, we care about equality, we care about LGBT folks in our community (and) the Black people in our community,” Priest said. “We want everyone to feel safe. All of our (rally) signs reflect that.”

The group formed in early August, and exists in contrast to Butler County’s predominantly Republican voter base. State statistics indicate 57% of voters in the county are registered Republicans.

“You definitely get a lot of pushback,” Priest said about being a Democrat in a sea of Republicans. “People want you to kind of go with the status quo. When you don’t, they get upset.

“But the problem is, there’s more people in this community than just the ones that talk real loud and the ones who support (Trump),” she said. “So I feel that women in this community and the minorities in this community need to be represented.”

In Diamond Park, Sarah Curran, a demonstrator from Butler, held up a sign that read “Trust women” with QR codes linking to court documents accusing Trump of rape.

She said she is voting for Harris in November to support women’s rights and other issues, including public education funding.

In Diamond Park, Priest addressed the crowd before they began walking down Main Street.

“We deserve to be heard and we are going to fight against injustice,” Priest said. “As many of you know, tomorrow in our town, there will be a rally in support of former President Trump. We’re here today — we’re here to shine a light on an ongoing struggle for equality, justice and respect for women everywhere.”

“Everyone here plays a vital role as women,” she said. “And allies standing with us, we cannot remain silent when our bodies — when our rights — are threatened. We deserve equal pay for equal work. We deserve to make choices about our own bodies ...”

Priest was cut off by applause and a cheer erupted, with a few demonstrators shouting out, “Our bodies, our choice.”

“We deserve a voice in the system that governs our lives,” Priest continued. “Today as we march down Main Street, let’s make our presence known. Let’s show everyone that we are here, and that this is important to us. Whether it’s access to health care, reproductive rights, equal representation in our government — we are here to demand change.”

Priest and Curran said they both have friends and family who attended the Trump rally on July 13 where Trump and two others were injured, and Corey Comperatore, former chief of Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company, was killed.

“The first thing that went through my head was, are my friends OK?” Priest said. “You know, the people I love — are they OK?”

“It was just a mess — from the beginning to the end,” she said.

They said they hope everyone is safe on Saturday.

Joshua Swaney, of Chicora, who attended Friday’s demonstration with his wife and young son, said Butler County seems split across the political spectrum.

“Being considered more of a red county … we’re just the same as all throughout America,” he said. “Not everybody views the same thing in the same way. I think, in the end, we all do get along still. Sometimes it just gets a little heated.”

He described the violence of July 13 as “disgusting.”

“We should never have anything like that happen, not to either party,” Swaney said. “People are allowed to have their own views and they shouldn’t have to die.”

After the shooting, he said there was a tense energy to Butler County.

“Like everybody’s on eggshells,” he said. “People are scared that violence will come out just for speaking your mind.”

Curran said she avoids talking about politics with family members across the political spectrum.

“It’s just because we love and care for each other outside of that identity,” she said. “And I know for me, this is not my entire identity, and I hope for them, it’s not their entire identity.”

Following the attempted assassination at the Butler Farm Show grounds, Curran said the atmosphere in the community was riddled with anxiety.

“Everybody was afraid of what was going to happen,” she said. “I also think it was a good time for us to organize and come together.”