OKEECHOBEE — Large crowds gathered across the country Saturday for the latest round of demonstrations against President Donald Trump.
Millions gathered among some 2,600, pre-planned No Kings locations. In Boston, Chicago, New York protesters spread for as far as the eye could see.
But in the rural Okeechobee, a soon-to-be 76-year-old grandmother stood all alone on a busy corner.
Linda Winner came of age in the tumult of the civil rights and anti-Viet Nam War movements. Not once did she take the streets as so many others her age did.
But on Saturday that all changed when she sought out her own spot to take a stand in defense of democracy. But first she needed to make a phone call, informing her son in North Carolina of her decision.
"I called him to confirm that he knew that his mother loved America," she explained.
"To make sure that he understood that my protest today was not because I didn't love America, but because I did."
Winner said she tried to avoid speaking about Trump or any sort of politics with her son: "Because we just get in a big argument."
After the call, Winner grabbed a poster board sign that read: "No thrones. No crowns. No kings. No troops in our streets" and for the next three hours she stood alone on a busy street corner.
"I just knew I'd be the only one," she said with a laugh.
Winner turns 76 next month, so she planned on demonstrating for three hours.
"I figured three hours would probably be my max," she said.
She said the reaction to her one-women protests was an eclectic mix of honks of support and the occasional middle-finger.
On two occasions strangers dropped off some cold water for her. And in another instance, workers at a nearby restaurant invited Winner to come inside after her demonstration for lunch — on the house.
The closest pre-planned No Kings rallies to Okeechobee were easily over an hour-long drive away in any direction: Highlands, Charlotte, Collier, Lee and St. Lucie counties
"I grew up in the 60s and 70s watching all the protests, and so I said, if I'm ever going to do it, it better be now I might not get another chance," Winner said.
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