Residents caravan across central peninsula in support of Trump

On Sunday, less than 24 hours after reports that former President Donald Trump had survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, a procession of around two dozen trucks and cars caravaned from Nikiski through Kenai and Soldotna in support of the former president.

Event organizer Camille Broussard said Monday that when she saw the news on Saturday — that while speaking at a Pennsylvania rally Trump was shot in the ear by a 20-year-old gunman — she knew she couldn’t be the only person thinking “I want to show my support” for the former president.

“All it takes is somebody just stepping up,” she said.

She created a Facebook event Saturday evening, made a few phone calls, and very quickly saw the group amassed. Broussard credited the quick turnaround to how high emotions were running over the weekend.

The parade began in Nikiski with around 16 vehicles, she said. They moved relatively slowly because of the flags affixed to their cars and trucks, pulling over at times to let traffic pass. Broussard said there were lots of waves, honks and thumbs up.

They proceeded up the Kenai Spur Highway to Walmart, where more people joined the crowd. Some people, Broussard said, even made a quick run into the store for supplies to further “deck out” their displays.

Moving further down the Kenai Spur Highway, they moved through Soldotna. Broussard said there were people waiting at the Y with flags and signs, “lots of fun.” She said she never got an exact count but heard from people at the back of the line that people were joining up even as the route unfolded.

Seen from the Kenai Spur Highway at around 2 p.m., around 24 vehicles made up the procession.

Broussard said that, from the Kenai Peninsula residents who paraded on Sunday, she hoped that the message imparted was “President Trump, we support you, we love you, we’re behind you.”

In the future, Broussard said she’d like to see more similar parades. With a little more notice, she said, more people would participate.

Several Kenai Peninsula and Alaska voices also expressed support for the former president this weekend, including Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, who posted a video of the parade from Kenai calling for prayers for Trump and the United States. Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, similarly declared support and called for prayers on Sunday.

A release from U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan expressed relief for Trump’s survival and condolences for an attendee who was killed.

“Political violence is abhorrent and has absolutely no place in our country,” Sullivan says in the release. “We are all Americans.”

Similar statements condemning political violence and expressing concern for Trump and other rally attendees were posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy wrote on X “This is not how we settle our differences.”

A parade of cars and trucks flying flags in support of former President Donald Trump proceed down the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai, Alaska, on Sunday, July 14, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion A parade of cars and trucks flying flags in support of former President Donald Trump proceed down the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai on Sunday.