Tempers Flare as Political Parade Goes Through LG Neighborhood

Both Sides Accused of Provoking Argument, Three Residents Call Police; PD Investigating

For the past few Saturdays, local supporters of President Donald Trump’s re-election have held a parade, dubbed the Fayette County Trump Train, through La Grange and surrounding areas.

This past Saturday afternoon, a disturbance arose as the parade traveled through the Northpointe neighborhood in La Grange, with both sides accusing the other of uncivil behavior.

La Grange Police Chief David Gilbreath said three people called police Saturday during the parade. One was a resident on Monroe Street who complained about honking horns, squealing tires, sirens and vehicles running stop signs.

Later, when the parade passed through the Northpoint neighborhood, Gilbreath said two others called police to accuse a man in the Trump Train of yelling racial slurs at residents in the predominately minority neighborhood.

Gilbreath said organizers of the Trump Train told police that some people in the neighborhood pointed their middle finger and verbally accosted the Trump supporters in the parade.

He said neighborhood residents reported that a man in the parade yelled racial slurs back at the residents and allegedly told them to “Go back to Africa.”

Gilbreath said police officers arrived after the disturbance and did not witness the incident. He could not confirm what exactly was said between the two parties. If true, Gilbreath said he condemns the language and attributed it to “ignorance.”

“I don’t think you can blame it on the organizers,” Gilbreath said regarding the alleged racist language. “The organizers said they didn’t know it happened.”

He did question the group’s decision to ride through Northpointe. Gilbreath said organizers reported that a friend of theirs lives in the neighborhood and asked to see the parade.

Gilbreath said organizers were also going to “get rid of the bad apples” among Trump Train participants.

The Fayette County Trump Train Facebook page says the group plans to continue their parades every Saturday until the Nov. 3 election.

“The organizers assured me that the purpose of the Trump Train is to bring positive awareness to the public of the importance of voting this November,” Gilbreath said.

Several photos and videos of the Trump Train in La Grange appeared this week on Facebook, which show vehicles festooned in flags. At least one of the vehicles had flags with messages that read “F--- Your Feelings” and “Make Liberals Cry Again.”

Organizers of the Fayette County Trump Train declined to speak on the record. They wrote the following on the group’s Facebook page Saturday night: “If anyone is shooting the finger at us or saying ugly things DO NOT retaliate or yell obscenities at them. Just act as though you didn’t see or hear them or simply say God Bless You. We are not about confrontation or acting out in a bad manner. We will NOT tolerate hate speech or starting anything with anyone. We have been having fun doing this and can’t let one or two people ruin it for us.”

The Record did speak with two women who rode in the parade and two other women who live in the Northpointe neighborhood. They offered to tell their sides of the story under the condition that they remain anonymous.

One woman who rode in the Trump Train said the parade was largely peaceful with the exception of that one incident. The woman said she was at the front of the parade and did not hear any such remarks, nor did she believe anyone in the group yelled racial slurs during the parade.

“Everything escalated on Facebook after the whole Trump Train,” she said. “That’s where all the threats, name calling and Africa talk was. It’s all on Facebook.”

She described the events in Northpointe as she saw them: “A couple of Biden supporters got really vile and out of hand with vulgarity, threats and child endangerment,” the woman said. “We just told them, ‘God bless you,’ and continued on our ride as if nothing even happened.”

Regarding the alleged child endangerment, the woman said a little girl got out of a car as the parade drove by and began waving at the cars when another woman grabbed the girl and told her to get back into the car.

“She pushed the little girl in the car, slammed the door and turned back around and began filming us, all the while shooting the finger at us and yelling awful things,” the woman said.

She shared photos of the woman filming the parade with a cell phone, following in a car and gesturing to the parade with her middle finger.

“If they want to have a Biden Train, do it,” she said. “We will wave at them and encourage them.”

One of the women who lives in Northpointe said the Trump Train passed through the neighborhood twice that morning.

“They rode through the first time and didn’t make any noise at all,” she said. “But I guess when they noticed they weren’t getting the attention they wanted, then they came back. It was loud.”

The woman said the cars were honking their horns. She said one vehicle had a police siren and police lights going off.

“Some of them were being polite, just waving, but then this one lady waved at me and I didn’t wave back, so she flicked me off,” she added. The Northpointe resident claimed the woman in the parade then cursed and said a racial slur.

“Then there was this guy with a bull horn, and he was yelling the N-word,” she said. “It’s sad. We’re in 2020 and my kids, age three, five and ten, have to hear something like that.

“I understand we all have dif ferent political views, but when it comes to being a race thing, that’s when it’s wrong,” she added.

A second woman in the Trump Train said she was riding in a vehicle just ahead of the man accused of the racist remarks. She said she did not hear any such remarks from the man or anyone else in the group.

Another woman from the neighborhood said she sent her three kids inside their home when the disturbance began.

“We did nothing,” the woman said. “They came to where we live, where our kids are comfortable playing outside. I sent my kids inside because I didn’t want them to be around that. It’s not right.

“I stood up for myself, I told them ‘f--- you,” she added. “They had no right.”

She said the man who told neighborhood residents to “Go back to Africa” later messaged her on Facebook and reiterated those comments. She shared the man’s message with the Record. It included curses and then said, in part, “You don’t like who your president is take your a-- back to Africa.”

No criminal charges have been filed related to the incident as of Wednesday. Gilbreath said he was forwarding video of alleged traffic violations to the city attorney for possible prosecution.

Gilbreath said he warned parade organizers about breaking traffic laws and city ordinances regarding noise. Gilbreath said they would be ticketed if police witness it. He added that the person with the police siren and lights in the Trump Train was not affiliated with law enforcement.