To the editor:

Even as the criminal president and his Project 2025 hoodlums try to impose a kleptocratic police state on the U.S., I still find hope here in Lawrence.

Hundreds of ordinary, decent Kansans gather at Ninth and Massachusetts streets every Sunday, and have since March 2, without fail, noon to 1 p.m. They carry signs and shout for democracy and justice. They call out the immoral, unethical and often illegal actions of the blatantly corrupt president and his henchmen. It’s up to them because those who should defend the Constitution — our Kansas GOP representatives — have instead embraced the criminal president’s un-American policies such as arrest without due process; pillaging Medicare; placement of unqualified, inexperienced and toxic personalities (Pete Hegseth, Robert Kennedy Jr., Kash Patel, Kristi Noem, Tulsi Gabbard, to name a few) into positions of power; constant broadcast of lies and misinformation; the welcome-mat for graft; betrayal of allies; swelling the deficit; and the open defiance of law.

Calling out these sins are ordinary Kansans: parents, grandparents, students, working people, those with disabilities, LGBTQ; just everyday citizens clear-eyed and decent enough to recognize evil when it stands gloating in the public square — as it is now.

Their signs light up the gamut of the administration’s evils and wrongs. But they boil down to one uniquely American demand: that justice, law and liberty don’t vanish from our nation, as they well could. Kudos to these patriots with the courage to act in this time of danger to us all.

It’s an honor to stand among you.

Gary Henry,

Lawrence