#MuskRatResisters
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johnlaroe.bsky.social
Despite the cold at the start, more than three dozen #MuskRatResisters showed up for their weekly Musk-Rat Resisters Protest at
103rd Street and State Line Road
#Leawood, #Kansas
03 January 2026
#LocalResistance #IndivisibleKC (1 of 5)
Photo with text: Looking down the curb northward along the east side of State Line Road toward 103rd Street, in the foreground, a placard mounted in the grass features a drawing reminiscent of an early 20th Century U.S. Army recruiting poster, with Uncle Sam pointing his finger at us over the text: "I WANT YOU TO RESIST." In the background, two members of the KC Handmaid Army chat with a Safety Person from Indivisible Kansas City; there is another, larger sign with text reading, "HONK 4 DEMOCRACY;" and quite a few Musk-Rat Resisters mingle. Traffic signals, mounted on tubular steel booms extending from large steel masts, hover over the intersection. Things are just getting started. Text added to the photograph reads: "Musk-Rat Resisters Protest 103rd Street & State Line Road Leawood, Kansas 3 January 2026" A large black Honda SUV is driving by to the left of the Uncle Sam placard. (And if you look real close, you might notice that the license plate number has been replaced in post production, from whatever to "NO2ICE.")
January 4, 2026 at 5:19 AM
johnlaroe.bsky.social
A couple dozen or so #MuskRatResisters showed up for their weekly Musk-Rat Resisters Protest at
103rd Street and State Line Road
#Leawood, #Kansas
27 December 2025
(They'll be back tomorrow.)
#LocalResistance #IndivisibleKC (1 of 3)
(reporting & commentary in alt text throughout)
Photo: Musk-Rat Resisters on the southeast corner of 103rd Street and State Line Road in Leawood, Kansas, hold up mostly home-made signs (even quite a few of the printed ones) to traffic negotiating the busy intersection. Some of the signs visible in the photo (sometimes the obverse of what the drivers and passengers see) read: "Civil Service Strong" "Freedom | Democracy | Truth" "Big Money Out of [Politics]" "Fight for America | Money Out of Politics" "Trump | Traitor Treason" "Report ICE Misconduct" In the foreground, a Resister known for printing high-quality signs holds a portfolio of signs open to a fellow Resister to offer a selection. A LGBTQ+ flag in the foreground stands out. At the far end of the group, a MAGA/QAnon cult member participating in a counter-protest (billed in MAGA/QAnon social media as a "Deport Democrats Protest," waves a flag with a dark blue background and red and white stripes. It reads "Veterans for TRUMP," but that's only when the wind is blowing it to full extension, and its colors are very similar to those of the Musk-Rat Resisters. So, the net effect of its presence, for most of the people driving by, is a marginal increase in the size of the demonstration.
January 3, 2026 at 3:55 AM
johnlaroe.bsky.social
Signs and Wonders No. 1
#MuskRatResisters
103rd Street and State Line Road
#Leawood, #Kansas
03 January 2026
#LocalResistance #IndivisibleKC (2 of 5)
Photo: The bearded Nevin stands on the corner, holding his U.S. flag on a light white pole in his left hand and his "Fuck Trump" sign in his right. There is Taco Bell signage behind him. Photo: Pam, wearing her hooded scarf with small mammal ears, smiles and holds a small orange bullhorn and a sign that appears to have been crafted with crayons in her right hand and waves her black-gloved left hand. Rarely, but occasionally, someone in a passing car yells an obscenity at her. When that happens, she uses her bullhorn to reply, "I love you anyway! That's why I'm here!" Photo: Tim, in a canvas work jacket and glasses, holds his sign of the day, while the wind messes with his hair. Today's sign bears a picture of Trump as a sad clown, with puff-topped dunce cap, red tie, and a button, reading, "The Great Prezo." Above the picture, in Tim's sign, are the words, "No Crown for this Clown." Tim prints his own signs. They're something to look forward to at every resistance event. (He comes to them all.) Behind Tim, more Resisters mill about. And beyond them, a Casey's gas station and convenience store and a McDonald's franchise can be seen. Photo: Paige stands on the corner holding a sign bearing my favorite message on this on which an undeclared imperialist war has begun. It reads, "ONLY EVERYBODY CAN SAVE US NOW." A shadow cast by Pam's indefatigable waving hand falls across the word "NOW" (though Pam is out of frame) and another shadow of unknown origin falls across the foreground suggesting that even the Tin Man of Oz is stepping up at this crucial moment in history. Paige wears a red cowl. You can't see Nevin, but his flag pokes up behind Paige (and is probably responsible for that part of the foreground shadow that creates the Tin Man's head).
January 4, 2026 at 5:19 AM
johnlaroe.bsky.social
Six-to-eight MAGA/QAnon counter-protesters succeeded at being crude but probably failed to make themselves noticeable to the drivers and passengers of passing vehicles.
#MuskRatResisters
103rd Street and State Line Road
#Leawood, #Kansas
27 December 2025
#LocalResistance #IndivisibleKC (3 of 3)
Photo: Protest Girl and another Musk-Rat Resister stand between a MAGA/QAnon cult personality (Stephen) and the main body of pro-democracy demonstrators at a Musk-Rat Resisters Protest and use small bullhorns of their own to counter the deranged dreck coming from Stphen's big, black megaphone. Protest Girl is dressed in black and carries a rainbow-colored umbrella, her own bullhorn with mic, and a hand-made sign (likely fashioned just for this occasion) featuring large white letters and an arrow on a black background. It reads, "FUCKS TRUMP," with the arrow pointing squarely at the counter-protester. Her colleague wears blue jeans, a black sweater and gloves, sunglasses, and light purple bandanas over face and hair, and also carries a bullhorn and mic. Stephen appears to have dressed himself as a parody of a MAGA/QAnon cult member; but, really, he aspires to someday become a MAGA/QAnon Cult Influencer. To this end, Stephen wraps himself (literally) in American flags and shows up, literally wrapped in an American flag, at pro-Democracy demonstrations to stage counter-demonstrations that he promotes to his 1300-plus followers as "Deport Democrats Protest[s]" with the slogan: "GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR STATE SATANIC DEMOCRAT TRAITOR MFR'S." On this occasion, he's wearing an American-flag hooded jacket and a black, "autographed" Donald J. Trump hat. He holds to his mouth in his right hand a microphone for the large black megaphone slung over his right shoulder. The megaphone is decorated with two white crosses and a Punisher[™] skull head popular with MAGA militias, except this one wears a blonde pompadour wig just like the MAGA cult's leader. In his left hand, he holds his cellphone, in selfie mode, to record videos of himself shouting, "Shut the fuck up you fucking Democrat retard motherfuckers." (His feed also has a lot of AI Crusaders wielding swords and dripping in blood. So. Whew.)
January 3, 2026 at 3:55 AM
johnlaroe.bsky.social
Signs and Wonders No. 3
#MuskRatResisters
103rd Street and State Line Road
#Leawood, #Kansas
03 January 2026
#LocalResistance #IndivisibleKC (4 of 5)
Photo: Sasha, with flaming red hair flowing out from under a scarf reminiscent of Eastern European fashion, wears a black coat, a black surgical mask and amazing large round amber sunglasses. Sasha carries a Ukrainian flag and proudly supports a free Ukraine. And Sasha doesn't back down. Photo: A member of the Kansas City Handmaid Army, in red hood with white cowl and a simple sign on a string around her neck: "#KCHandmaidArmy." Her face is covered with a black scarf and sunglasses. "We support reproductive freedom … and all the freedoms," she says. Photo: Rasta wears the Guy Fawkes mask often associated with Anonymous. He's decorated it with the word "Antifa," the international symbol for Nazis not permitted here, and the circled A for Anarchy. He holds aloft a cardboard and duct tape sign with the words "Epstein List" above the blacked out (as if poorly redacted) name "Trump," and the words "Antifa" and "America" both beginning with the circled "A," and a brief message: "Release the FILES!!!" A light gray Dodge Ram pickup truck is driving by.
January 4, 2026 at 5:19 AM
johnlaroe.bsky.social
Signs and Wonders No. 2
#MuskRatResisters
103rd Street and State Line Road
#Leawood, #Kansas
03 January 2026
#LocalResistance #IndivisibleKC (3 of 5)
Photo: Regina (L) in a red windbreaker and Lynn (R) in a black windbreaker, both of them in heavy knit caps start their walk back to their car still carrying the sign they made this morning: "Bombing Venezuela is Criminal." "It's as simple as that," says Lynn. "We just found out this morning," Regina adds. "We knew we had to do something." "We try to get out here every week," Lynn continues. Photo: Ron, in a dark green field jacket, carries a simple and direct message in black, serif-free text: "No Kings." Photo: Wendy, in a turquoise down jacket, stands near the curb and raises a black-gloved hand in a wave towards the traffic. In her other hand is a large sign reminding the drivers and passengers in that traffic that the "USA [was] FOUNDED ON SEPARATION OF CHURCH & STATE." The flip side of her sign follows up with a warning that "WHITE CHRISTIAN NATIONALISTS ARE TAKING OVER THE USA."
January 4, 2026 at 5:19 AM
johnlaroe.bsky.social
The Musk-Rat Resisters carried the message calmly, with determination and in good spirits.
#MuskRatResisters
103rd Street and State Line Road
#Leawood, #Kansas
27 December 2025
#LocalResistance #IndivisibleKC (2 of 3)
Photo: Lamar wears a Chiefs sweatshirt and smiles at the camera as he holds a sign with the message "FACTS DEFEND TRUTH," hand-lettered on brown box cardboard. He stands near the curb of a street at a busy intersection, Traffic lights behind him show green and their boom bears a sign reading "103rd Street." A second set of lights, facing cross traffic, bears a sign reading, "State Line Rd." Around him stand quite a few other Musk-Rat Resisters: Jo Ann, Uncle Sam, Anonymous (holding his own hand-lettered sign, reading "FUCK TRUMP'), Chrissy. Niven, in the background, is walking towards his motorcycle with his outsized U.S. flag and a corner of an LGBTQ+ flag appears somewhere not too far from him. Nearer to Lamar, someone out of frame lifts a red, white and dark blue flag above and behind the crowd. This is a counter protester, that is: an anti-pro-democracy protester. There were 6 to 8 of these at the event, but they might not have been noticeable to the passing traffic, except insofar as they made the pro-democracy demonstration appear to be slightly larger (and much louder) than it actually was. The counter-protesters I saw who bothered to bring anything to the corner at all brought flags, either U.S. flags (irony?) or "Veterans for TRUMP" flags in red, white, and dark blue, always mounted on steel poles (like the ones the rioters used at the Capitol on January 6, or perhaps stouter). At least one brought both flags, mounted on the same pole. The Musk-Rat Resisters and pro-democracy demonstrators in general are ardent patriots who have been carrying the U.S. flag and wearing colorful pro-American costumes from the outset. So, a couple or three more red, white and blue flags at a pro-democracy demonstration just kind of blend in. It is much easier to distinguish the proto-fascists from the democracy advocates by their visible hatred and raw anger than by their haute couture. Photo: Chrissy holds a printed sign reading, "We are a nation of proud immigrants," that features a close up of the Statue of Liberty with her torch ablaze. She stands near the curb of northbound State Line Road at 103rd Street. She's got a great grin and is wearing a dark gray jacket over and light gray Chiefs hoodie (and looks like she might still be a little bit cold). Behind her, other Musk-Rat Resister hold: * a hand-made sign reading, "Billionaires vs You & Me" * a printed sign reading, "Honk 4 Democracy" * a hand-made sign reading, "Freedom / Democracy / Truth" * a hand-made sign only partially visible with the visible portion sayings simply, "FUCK." Another Musk-Rat Resister standing further up the road is dressed as Uncle Same and he holds a bullhorn. The stoplight at the corner is green and its boom bears a sign reading "103rd Street." A traffic sign at the corner reads, "Right Lane MUST Turn Right." Photo: Shelley, in a green sweatshirt and glasses with long brown hair held in a pony tail with a dark gray scrunchy, stands by the side of the road facing traffic holding aloft a hand-made sign, the back side of which reads, "Report ICE Misconduct 833 4ICE OPR | 800-323-8603 (OIG)." – 833 4ICE OPR (833-442-3677) is the phone number for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) 800-323-8603 is the toll free number for reaching the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (OIG). Photo: Claire stands on the corner facing traffic, wearing black: black beanie, black cap (with shiny steel eyelets, black fingerless gloves, black leather wrist bands (with shiny steel spikes). She has very bright red hair. She waves with her left hand held high and holds in her right hand a large LGBTQ+ flag on a light weight pole.
January 3, 2026 at 3:55 AM
johnlaroe.bsky.social
Only one pro-MAGA regime counter-protester showed up in opposition to this week's pro-democracy demonstration.
#MuskRatResisters
103rd Street and State Line Road
#Leawood, #Kansas
03 January 2026
#LocalResistance #IndivisibleKC (5 of 5)
Photo: Barry, in silhouette, carries a large "Veterans for Trump" flag (partially back lit) on a steel pole. In a conversation with Barry at the Musk-Rat Resister Protest the previous week, he told me, "I'm as MAGA as it gets, but I'm not crazy," while nodding towards his colleagues, who were screaming a few feet away: "Fuck all the Democrats!" and "All Democrats are pedophiles!" and "Democrats are Satanic!" (I was shown a video this week that one of his colleagues had also lifted his shirt to brandish a pistol, and, according to the person who recorded it, then threatened, "I'll fucking kill you." And yes, I'm told that video has been shared with the police.) "I try to talk to people," he said, last week. "I do talk to people. You can ask her!" And he pointed towards a person he said he had talked to several times. "You can ask her!" This week, Barry followed one of the Musk-Rat Resisters around, from one end of the line of protesters to the other, shouting at him about his license plate: "Where'd you park? Where'd you park? I want to get a picture of your license plate! That's illegal! I want to get a picture of it and show it to the police!" The Resister ignored him. At another point, he walked through the protesters where they stood and, bumping into one, began shouting, "She blocked my way! She can't do that!" Someone, maybe a Safety Person, said, loud enough to be heard, "She was standing still. You chose to walk into her." Later, he strode along the curb, yelling, repeatedly, "TAKE YOUR FUCKING MASK OFF!" Perhaps Barry felt that, being the only MAGA on site this week, he had to step up his game. Represent.
January 4, 2026 at 5:19 AM