To the editor:

I want to commend the people who organized the No Kings rally in Fort Dodge on June 14. Participants were peacefully exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. Unlike the mischaracterization given by The Messenger’s coverage of the first protest in May, the only “angry” people I experienced on June 14 were mostly young, white males in trucks or muscle cars who kept trolling the intersection and hollering out of their windows at protestors. There was also the white, middle-aged couple in the white, Subaru Legacy who yelled obscenities as the woman showed off her middle finger to the crowd as well. Are those who protested fed up? Absolutely. Are they vocal? You bet. But they were not the ones spewing anger.

Kim Helmick

Fort Dodge