About two dozen cars and motorcycles, with drivers waving American flags showing their support for President Donald Trump, drove around Valencia Saturday evening as part of a parade in support for the president and law enforcement and opposition to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The event, which started on Citrus Street by the Westfield Valencia Town Center, is the first of several upcoming parades planned for every Saturday until Nov. 3, according to organizers Cindy Josten and Gabrielle Su.
They were among a group of local residents who participated in similar events outside of the Santa Clarita Valley, but when they noticed there were none locally, they organized events in support of law enforcement and Trump.
“We started saying, ‘Hey, we need you in our community; we need it here in our town, because we were going elsewhere,’” Josten said. “So now we’re trying to get us to make noise in Santa Clarita, instead of going to Ventura.”
The goal, they said, is to encourage more Santa Clarita Valley residents who support the president and law enforcement to say so without having to worry about retaliation.
“We want more people to get more people to express their views and not be afraid to say that they support, you know, one side or the other,” said Josten.
Among attendees was resident Catie Martinez, who said she was participating to show support for a president who hasn’t received respect throughout his term.
“I myself didn’t like Obama, personally, but I still respected him as my president,” she said. “But Trump, I do respect him and I love his policies.”
The group also voiced support for recalling Newsom, criticizing his leadership throughout the pandemic. They would like to see the state government prioritize reopening schools for in-person instruction, places of worship and nonessential businesses, they said.
“He doesn’t seem to care at all what he’s doing,” said Su. “It’s affecting everybody else and it’s not affecting him (or) his children’s schools.”
The group is expected to meet every Saturday for similar events and collect signatures to recall the governor.
