Protests are always serious business, but there are always an abundance of opportunities for laughter, especially from passersby along the highway.

On the west-facing side of the Highway of Flags monument heading north in Highland, where more than 250 people came out to take part in one of the many Hands Off protests across the country Saturday afternoon, a man in a car decided to flash the “L” sign at the people lining the sidewalk. Bob Roach had a response, though.

“Did it the wrong way, idiot!” Roach said, laughing with his wife, Laurel. “Guess it looked Ok to him.”

Nick Egnatz, who’s gotten back into protesting after a five-year hiatus when COVID hit, traded his bullhorn for a sign to move around the crowd. Egnatz, of Munster, previously protested the Iraq War from 2005 to 2020 at that very spot, and when he resurrected it, it seemed like the people wouldn’t come.

But they’re coming out now, and his heart is filled with pride.

“Our first one four weeks ago had six people, then our second one three weeks ago had three,” he said. “Then two weeks ago, we had 200-plus, and last weekend there were 75. Today, I counted 275.

“It’s great to see people finally coming out to fight for our country, for the rule of law and not one individual, even if he was elected president.”

But with protesting comes opposing views, Egnatz said, and there were a handful of Trump supporters who showed up to stage a counterprotest, though they were more antagonistic to the Hands Off protesters than trying to make a point of their own. He took care of it.

“They were getting into the road (at Indianapolis Boulevard and Ridge), so we had the police sort it out. They told them to move to the other corner,” he said.

Ally Bachmann, of Highland, said she almost hit one of the Trump supporters in the turn lane as she was coming home from picking up food. Once she arrived, she grabbed her husband and joined the protest.

“I love this!” she said. “It’s so great to see we can have our voices heard without violence.”

“This is a really important process because these are our rights,” said her husband, who asked that his name not be used because of his job. “This is our duty.”

Charlie Wheeler, of Crown Point, had questions.

“Why does this administration want us stupid and sick?” he said, referring to HHS Head Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s push to downplay the life-saving capability of vaccinations. “And why do I have to worry about getting shipped to El Salvador just for talking to the press?”

Eli Joseph Cowger, of Highland, reminded others that former Vice President Mike Pence said “Trump shouldn’t hold office,” and that DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) and its staff were never approved by Congress, so they shouldn’t be touching anything. And a woman from Lansing, Illinois, remembered when Trump entered a hotel deal with the Pritzker family.

“They ended up settling it, but look at how he’s treating Illinois now. He’s vindictive,” said the woman, who asked that her name not be used. It’s like he hunts people down. It’s scary.”

Saturday was Taylor Wilson’s first time out protesting, and it won’t be her last as long as her work schedule agrees, she said. She was most amused by the counter-protesters.

“I feel sorry for them,” Wilson, of Highland, said. “Here we are, uniting and standing up for our rights, and they’re antagonizing us and calling us ‘pedos.’ Well, I hate to break it to them, but they’re not doing much to prove the stereotype of ‘Trump supporter’ is wrong, because they’re exactly who I thought.”

Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.