CHEYENNE — Instead of furthering an aggressive verbal altercation, protesters took a surprising step toward peace and chose to “break bread” — specifically pizza — over political differences Sunday at the Wyoming State Capitol.
Nearly every weekend since President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, Cheyenne resident Joe Ramirez has been organizing protests in front of the Capitol. More often than not, his efforts are met by counter-protesters, frequently led by Donnie Crerar.
So it came as no surprise to Ramirez when Crerar and his peers arrived on Sunday to stand in opposition to his “I prefer my I.C.E. crushed” demonstration.
“They didn’t say anything,” Ramirez said. “They just stood across the street with a Trump flag and displayed their gun(s).”
In addition to their flags and Crerar’s gun, the group brought a small picture memorializing Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder, who was assassinated Sept. 10 in Utah.
Ramirez joked that, at this point, the two sides are well practiced in agitating each other, and soon enough, tensions were pretty high.
One of the group’s “young warriors,” Dillon Williams, chose to go across the street and dance with his Palestinian flag in front of Crerar and his counter-protesters.
Coming together
Dillon Williams talks to counter-protesters at the “I like my I.C.E crushed” demonstration Sunday in front of the Wyoming State Capitol.
“It’s a comical way of de-escalating a situation, but it can, in the short term, escalate it,” Williams said. “But because you just keep being silly and kind of ridiculous, you take away the scariness of the firearms.”
Crerar said he’s familiar with Williams’ dancing, and it escalated tensions until Crerar broke his silence and the two began to argue.
“Dillon had said something, and I took a very, very horrible cheap shot at him with a comment that I made,” Crerar said. “And there were other people that were around, engaging in smaller fires, if you want to call them that, and then reality kicked in for a minute.”
At that moment, Crerar took the first step toward de-escalation and apologized to Williams. Williams, in turn, extended an apology of his own.
“(He said), ‘Donnie, I’d really like to give you a hug, I’m sorry for what I said, too, but you have your AR trapped on your chest,’” Crerar said. “And without hesitation, I took my AR sling off, handed it to my friend next to me, and Dylan and I hugged.”
“There was suddenly a moment of personal vulnerability and openness from Donnie about something, in the moment of bickering,” Williams said. “It suddenly transitioned to discussing something that we both had some sort of similar experience with, personally, and we were able to connect.”
Breaking bread
Donnie Crerar, seated, and Joe Ramirez, standing behind park bench, hand out pizza at the Wyoming State Capitol after setting aside their political differences on Sunday.
Crerar’s friend, CJ Allison, pointed out to the two that, really, they wanted the same things.
So, they crossed the street and started a new conversation, one about the things they shared. They were even able to thank each other for showing up and exercising their First Amendment rights, Allison said.
“Even if I don’t agree with what they’re out there for, they have that right to be out there,” Allison said. “Change doesn’t happen until your voice is loud.”
“Charlie Kirk used to say that the moment that we stopped talking to each other, we’re in dangerous territory,” Crerar said. “I feel like we honored that at the same time, when am I going to lay down my sword, so to speak?”
On a bit of an emotional high and an empty stomach, Crerar asked the group if they’d let him order everyone pizza.
“In this time of crazy division, a small piece of Cheyenne ended up eating pizza together,” Ramirez said. “(People) from both sides, after hurling hate.”
Ramirez said that he and Crerar remember how welcoming Cheyenne used to be, and really, they want that back.
Neither side will cease protesting, but they will try to protest better and make an effort to come together on issues they do agree on.
The next event will take place over the weekend, with a new theme, “Faiths in Unity: Reclaiming Our Humanity,” according to Ramirez’s Facebook page. Both Ramirez and Crerar said they hope it will be the first of many protests where these groups can maintain their new friendships.
“If it’s something we can come together on then, yeah, I’m going to go stand next to them,” Crerar said. “They’re now my friends, they’re now my people.”