Snow or Shine, Highway 252 Bridge Demonstrators Share Message
Hundreds of cars pass under the bridge at 85th Avenue and Highway 252 in Brooklyn Park every day. Twice a week, drivers can look up to the intersection’s walking bridge and see a protest — regardless of weather.
Carol Welton and her husband, Brad Welton, began coming up to the bridge in late October. Carol said she heard of other protests and thought this bridge in her neighborhood would be a good place to do it. Her group has swelled to up to 30 members at a time.
Bridge protestors can come with a range of perspectives. but this group is focused on calling out Trump administration policies.
“What is happening is just terrible across politics… Rules for one person and not for another, we just can’t stand it,” said organizer Carol Welton. “There’s not one thing. It seems like every time we turn around, they’ve done something else.”
Their signs range in messaging, with some saying things like “resist,” “families belong together” and “impeach the clown show.” Another protester waves a Minnesota flag. Another has a sign that asks people to honk if they “love America.”
Anecdotally, many different bridge protests have popped up across the Twin Cities over the last year, many over busy roads like Interstate 94 and Highway 100. Just north of Brooklyn Park, Carol Welton said she knows of a group in Champlin that has gained over 100 participants at a time.
As the group meets on the bridge, they hold up signs and wave at passersby. The responses range from honks in apparent support, to shouts of disagreement. Welton says she’s happy to see a response.
“We’ve gotten a lot of waves and honking, and we try to wave and engage them,” Welton said.
A group of protesters wave to Highway 252 traffic with its signage.
First Amendment Rights
Brooklyn Park police are well-versed in protests. Inspector Matt Rabe said his department hasn’t gotten any calls about bridge demonstrations. That said, these demonstrations are legal.
“We’re aware of some of them, but the truth is, they’re not causing a problem. They’re not causing a hazard,” Rabe said.
He said walk bridges, like the one the Weltons frequent over 252, are a safe place for people to demonstrate, particularly because they don’t run the risk of going in the freeway.
“Our jobs, simply, is to protect peoples’ First Amendment rights. And what we ask of the public is that they don’t create a public hazard,” Rabe said.
Keeping It Up
Most of the signs last Wednesday protested ICE activity. Though White House border czar Tom Homan announced a drawdown on ICE agents in Minnesota last week, this group has no plans to draw down its protests. Since they began in October, the Weltons say they’ve updated their messages as the year went on.
“It’s been real easy to change the message, because it seems like every day, every week, there’s something new we gotta deal with,” Brad Welton said.
For him, it’s important to keep showing up for what they believe in.
“There’s a saying that kind of goes to the effect that: ‘When they came for these people, I said nothing. Then they came for these other people, and I said nothing. And then they came for me, and there was nobody there to speak for me.’ And that’s kind of the core of what brings me out here,” he said. “I do know it’s impacting a lot of people negatively, so I just felt I needed to do something.”
After a stretch of sunny days in Minnesota, this week’s group stood on the footbridge, pelted by wind and an unexpected snowstorm. That didn’t keep them from hanging their signs and waving. Snow or shine, the Weltons said they will keep making their voices heard.
“I think we’ll be here until the midterms,” Brad Welton said.
This group meets on Monday and Wednesday afternoons on the 85th and 252 bridge.
Half of the protestors display signs, facing northbound traffic on Highway 252.
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