Demonstrators clash in Niles over government shutdown blame
Published 1:24 pm Tuesday, October 21, 2025
(Maxwell Harden / Leader Publications)
(Maxwell Harden / Leader Publications)
(Maxwell Harden / Leader Publications)
(Maxwell Harden / Leader Publications)
(Maxwell Harden / Leader Publications)
(Maxwell Harden / Leader Publications)
(Maxwell Harden / Leader Publications)
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NILES — Two separate demonstrations on opposite ends of the political spectrum took place Monday afternoon in Niles.
About a dozen GOP supporters gathered at Donovan Smith Veterans Memorial Park at 11th and Main for what they called the “Stop the Schumer Shutdown” rally. Congressman Tim Walberg surprised participants with a brief appearance at the event. Organizers Carla Johnson and Brenda Beadenkopf said the group felt support from Walberg and the community.
“It’s overwhelming,” Johnson said. “They didn’t even know about the congressman coming so they were just happy.”
“It was wonderful that he came and wanted to thank you for showing up here every couple of weeks and that we appreciate your smiling faces and keep smiling because we don’t have to frown because we tell the truth,” Beadenkopf added. “We’re happy with the people that we elected and what they’re doing and the job they’re doing.”
Less than a mile away, more than a dozen demonstrators gathered in front of Rep. Walberg’s Niles office for a rally organized by the Southwest Michigan Coalition 4 Democracy. Karen Kemp, one of the founders of Coalition 4 Democracy, was pleased with Monday’s turnout after more than 800 people participated in the “No Kings” rally on Saturday.
“I think this is a pretty good turnout,” she said. “I came today wondering who might show up and we had a pretty good turnout because we’re concerned. We’re paying our government workers and the Congress to show up and do something and they’re not. We don’t like that one bit.”
Beadenkopf said that she did not agree with the premise of the “No Kings Day” rallies taking place over the weekend.
“I had a lot of my relatives in Pennsylvania going to the ‘No Kings’ thing and President Trump never said he was a king. We don’t say he’s a king. The Democrats crowned him a king, and then they said ‘we don’t want any kings,’ so it’s very hypocritical. They’re just trying to fabricate something out of nothing. There’s no such thing as kings or any such thing.”
Beadenkopf believes the Trump administration is doing their best to get the country back on track.
“Trump is trying to take the power away from the central government and give it back to the people as much as he possibly can because it has become a lot more centralized, especially over the covid shutdown. We need to spread that back to the people because a lot of our rights were taken away during that time, so we’re very thrilled. I know President Trump has a big job ahead of him, but he’s working on many, many fronts, and he’s got a lot of great people that are working hand in hand with him, too.”
Kemp was happy to see so many people at the “No Kings Day” rally on Saturday.
“It was great to see that kind of unity with us ordinary folks, not only just here in Niles but across the country, and what was really impressive, across the world,” she said. “The rest of the world is cheering for us. They want us to do good and we need to be doing good. This is enough of this. Let’s get on with the real work of making this country really great.”
