Trump supporters prayed, pledged allegiance to the flag, swayed in the mid-day sun to the Village People song “YMCA” and rallied in cars and trucks across the Santa Ynez Valley Saturday.
The gathering of more than 50 people marked the latest in a series of more than 130 events organized by 805 Patriots, a group that was founded in 2021, champions the president and has a mission to “bring patriotic Americans together and remind people that they are not alone.”
From the early moments of Saturday’s event, which started at 1 p.m. in Buellton, a dozen counter protesters including representatives of the immigrant assistance nonprofit 805UndocuFund responded yards away.
The two groups brought a fiery display of emotions to an otherwise quiet corner of the Albertson’s grocery store and CVS Pharmacy parking lot along Highway 246.
“Today is just to come together and celebrate America, 250 years of freedom,” said Charles DiMauro, 805 Patriots founder and lead organizer. Despite political imagery visible on T-shirts and some of the vehicles, DiMauro described the event as patriotic rather than political.
“We just brought everyone together up here in Santa Ynez to celebrate the end of summer and hang out, basically, drive around and be patriotic.”
DiMauro said he wasn’t expecting the counter protest.
“You want to protest America?” he said. “We’re flying American flags. What is wrong with that?”
Rene Soto of 805UndocuFund said 805 Patriots had visited the Santa Ynez Valley unchecked too many times in recent years.
“Today we say enough is enough,” Soto said. “Our families are being separated. Our brothers and sisters, Brown brothers and sisters, are being killed in the streets by ICE agents.
“They support all this,” Soto said of the rally partcipants. “Immigrants are the backbone of the Central Coast. They wake up at five o’clock in the morning so we can have food on our tables… Enough is enough. Enough killings. Enough putting fear in our communities.”
As the parking lot portion of the hours-long rally unfolded, participants from the Patriots side occasionally approached the counter protesters. People repeatedly exchanged words, but tensions didn’t appear to escalate beyond taunts and some swearing. Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office deputies parked nearby and circulated.
Asked why he and others support Trump, despite criticism he’s received from the left as well as the right, DiMauro said the president is playing a long game.
“He’s a businessman,” DiMauro said. “It’s over time things get better… We’re only a year and a half into his presidency. There’s so much more that’s going to happen.”
Horns blared as the rally departed, turning right and heading southeast on Highway 246 toward Solvang.
Later in the day the group headed to the Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez, for a party described as a “Country Bash” featuring The Jimi Nelson Band.
“We brought out a big, hundred-foot crane that’s over there… with an American flag way up in the sky,” DiMauro said. “It’s going to be a big party.”
At the bash, organizers expected to raffle off a shotgun and other prizes in a fundraiser, DiMauro said. Raffle tickets were advertised at $20 each or $100 for eight.
Scene at the Maverick Saloon
Beneath the massive American flag suspended from the crane, flag-covered pickup trucks filled the Maverick parking lot.
Around 50 people were still there — and no counter protesters — when the News-Press arrived. DiMauro estimated roughly 100 people in total had passed through as attendees came and went.
While DiMauro distinguished Saturday’s event from a political rally, 805 Patriots has its roots in political organizing. DiMauro said he initially organized rallies directly supporting President Trump before shifting the group’s focus in recent years.
“I truthfully haven’t thrown a real Trump rally in two years now because I’ve been trying to rebrand and keep everyone celebrating America, because Trump’s not going to be around forever,” he said.
Nonetheless, the gathering retained signs of the group’s political underpinnings. While American flags dominated the parking lot, Trump flags and other pro-Trump imagery claimed space too.
Lawrence Cruz, a veteran who said he has participated in dozens of the group’s events, described political concerns as part of his reason for continuing to participate.
“It’s my country,” Cruz said.
Cruz said reactions to the convoy along the route were mixed.
“It’s mostly positive,” Cruz said. “I noticed up here it was a little more negative than it was down in Simi.”
By early evening, attendees continued to gather at their trucks while live country music played inside.
