Marty Packer, right, lines up protesters for a photo at the beginning of the rally at City Hall. Some 100 people turned out to protest a recent ban on travel from seven majority-Muslim countries.

Protesters line the sidewalk in front of City Hall.

There were fewer supporters for the ban but they stood out with flags across the street.

A pro-Trump rally began on the corner of Main and Marshall before moving closer to City Hall.

<

>

A Trump supporter joined the rally to express his opinion, which was that no Muslims should be allowed into the country as a safety measure.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Some 100 protesters gathered at City Hall on Saturday afternoon to express their objections to a recent executive order that banned travel into the United States from seven majority Muslim countries.

Across the street, a much smaller group that was no less passionate waved American flags in support of President Trump's travel ban.

It was dueling chants and songs for about two hours until the frigid cold cut the rallies short.

Resident Marty Packer had organized the City Hall standout through a Facebook event with the help of his daughter. He'd been there last weekend with a few others and thought more people would like to be involved.

"Trump's actions against refugees finally upset me more than I could stand," he said as motorists blaired horns in support. "I was tired of just sitting down and grumbling to myself and my friends."

An executive order signed on Friday, Jan. 27, had prohibited the entry into the United States of most people with passports or travel from seven nations — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — for 90 days. Refugees were banned for 120 days. The seven nations had been identified for terrorism by the Congress and the past administration and limitations were placed on visa waivers related to those countries in 2015.

The restrictions put in place on Jan. 27, however, seemed to cover a wide swath of travelers, including green card holders (legal American residents) and refugees who had cleared the hurdles to receive visas, particularly Syrian refugees who were barred indefinitely.

Protests and confusion erupted in airports across the nation as travelers were held up by security and legal immigrants placed on planes and sent back. The order is said to have affected between 60,000 and 100,000 visas, including for people who are studying, working, attending events, or just visiting in the United States. Exceptions began to be carved out at the beginning of the week and Homeland Security lifted the ban after a federal judge put a temporary halt on the order.

There have been several protests in the Berkshires over Trump's statements or actions, including one on Wednesday in Williamstown. More than 300 people indicated interest in Packer's rally and at least 100 showed up over the two hours beginning at noontime.

"I'm standing up for the people who can't stand up for themselves for the most part," said Andrew Baillargeon, a student at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. "People like the LGBTQ community, women in general, and minorities."

The handful of Trump supporters who also showed up with signs and flags backed the president's actions.

"Do we sit here and pick and choose between which one is good out of 500? What if one's bad?" asked one man, holding a sign that said, "No more Muslim refugees/No more sharia law." A fellow protester had one that recalled the terror attacks on 9/11.

The Trump supporter didn't know any Muslims but he didn't believe they could adapt to American culture.  

He declined to give his name but said he'd lived all his life in North Adams and was a proud union member. "I'm not afraid of Donald Trump taking away any of my benefits," he said, adding Trump had met with union "bigwigs" early on, "and from what we were told it was pretty great."

The president has done more than any other in just his first two weeks, he said. Maybe the other protesters weren't worried about the country's safety, but he was, and so was the president.

"I'm an American. I'll fight for America," he said. "I love America and I want my child to grow up in safety, that's all and I have a right to say it."

For Packer, who has Jewish heritage, however, the ban raised the specter of a deadly past bigotry.

"I've read enough history to know that this is similar to things that have happened in the past ... and this time they're coming after Muslims instead of Jews," Packer said. "It's been the Jews, it's been Italians in this country, it's been Polish people in this country, it's been Japanese ... I don't want to see it happen again here and I surely don't want to see this ...

"It seems to be the nose under the tent to me."

He believes there's more than enough safeguards in the vetting process. While acknowledging others might be wary, Packer said, "I'm willing to take some risk of my own personal safety for people that are obviously in harm's way. I just disagree with Trump completely on that and quite a few other issues."

Traffic was heavy through the Marshall/Main/Hadley intersection during the rally. The ban protesters appeared to have more support based on tooting horns and waves, but a more than a few drivers also offered some thumbs down or yells of "Trump!"

The City Hall crowd cheered to motorists, chanted "Love Trumps Hate," and held signs; City Council President Benjamin Lamb waved a large American flag. On the other side, a yellow "don't tread on me" was waved at motorists.

There might have been some chanting to and fro but the dueling protests were peaceful; a couple from the City Hall protest stopped to speak with Trump supporters and hands were shaken.

"I'm here to meet up with my community and to connect, to love and to share a message of love and kindness," said Betsey Marr as the protest slowly broke up.

• Most Read

• Most Comments

• All News

• Blogroll

• Photos