UMATILLA COUNTY — A parade of roughly 30 vehicles, many outfitted in pro-Trump flags and signs, honking horns and waving American flags, departed Milton-Freewater for a parade across Umatilla County.

The parade, which was Saturday, Oct. 24, was billed as a rally in support of President Donald Trump, law enforcement and other first responders. The event wound through Milton-Freewater to Umatilla by way of Weston, Athena, Adams, Pendleton, Echo, Stanfield and Hermiston with parade participants honking and waving to people in each town.

“They do a lot for us, they protest us, they hold up our Second Amendment and our First Amendment,” said Jill Litzsinger of law enforcement officials.

Litzinger, of Hermiston, and Valerie Bradley, of Umatilla, were among those key in organizing the event. The pair, who are affiliated with the Greater Hermiston Republican Women, said they wanted to find a way to show support for the president and law enforcement officials.

“We love our president and we just want everyone that feels the same to get together and share the love,” Bradley said.

While organizers believe light snow and below freezing temperatures kept some people away from the rally, they said they were pleasantly surprised by the turnout.

“We were really happy with everything considering the weather,” Bradley said. “A lot of people showed up.”

Suni Danforth, the chair of the Umatilla County Republican Party, was among those participating in the parade and said, to her, the event offered an opportunity to show support for conservative voters throughout the county.

“It’s bringing the people together,” she said. “We’re in our election right now and it’s showing the county people the support that is here.”

Danforth added that she believed it was important to show support for law enforcement officers, first responders and military members and their families in light of recent rhetoric surrounding the defunding of police departments and civil unrest in cities, such as Portland.

“We have this defund police movement going on and that’s not going to be good for anybody if that gains ground,” she said. “We really need to support our police and all of our first responders.”

While the parade was slow going, oftentimes traveling at speeds well below the posted speed limit on Interstate 84 and Highway 11, Litzsinger said she worked to communicate with city and county law enforcement of the potential increase in traffic and plans for the parade.

“I talked to most of them, I let them know,” said Litzsinger of the various law enforcement offices. “I knew that there would be issues with traffic.”

Despite the slow-moving traffic, interactions between the parade participants and bystanders remained fairly limited. As the parade made its way through downtown Pendleton, several people emerged from businesses to cheer on or watch the parade of cars.

“I really didn’t see many people, but when we did go by and honk they waved,” said Litzsinger. “It’s cold, so not a lot of people were out.”

Litzinger, Bradley and Danforth all said they hoped to be able to do a similar event in the future and saw it as an interesting way to engage the entire county.

“It’s not just about the Republicans, it’s about the conservatives and this is a nonpartisan event,” Danforth said. “This is to support our president and support the police.”