Daily political rallies have turned a quiet town into a loud one. At the intersection of 5th and Main, in Ellensburg, passing cars blast their horns at a group of Black Lives Matter protestors.

Local farmer and CWU student Sara Omrani has been protesting with this group almost every day since June 2. She believes their protests make a necessary statement about police brutality. 

“It’s literally to make a statement that the state of our world isn’t ok, right now,” Omrani said. “What’s happening to our black community members and black people across the country is not acceptable.”

She says the public reaction to their demonstration has been mostly positive, however, the negativity from a small minority of critics has been loud and consistent.

 “It’s a rare day if we don’t have somebody come up and harass us,” Omrani said.

A mile down the road at South Entry Park, a politically conservative group named “Reclaim Ellensburg” waves “Trump 2020” flags and engages with cars honking in support. 

They declined to do any recorded interviews, citing harassment from BLM supporters and distrust in the media as the reasons.

According to members, the name “Reclaim Ellensburg” derives from their goal to retake the town from BLM and community outsiders who they think promote un-American ideas. They claim they aren’t a hate group or discriminatory because they oppose BLM.