30 minutes before Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was set to address a crowd of students and community members in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center at the University of Notre Dame, a crowd of protesters gathered outside the University’s entrance on Notre Dame Avenue to protest her invitation to campus.
The protest was organized by the Michiana Alliance for Democracy, an affiliate of Indivisible Central Indiana, a grassroots organization formed in opposition to President Donald Trump. The aim of the peaceful protest was to “speak out” against Barrett, according to an event sign up.
Beginning at 3:30 p.m., a crowd of roughly 75 protesters gathered on all four corners of the intersection.
The protestors held signs reading, “Amy Coney Barrett betrays women, Christian faith, democracy, justice,” “Supreme Court for sale, going fast,” “We are not a Christian Nation” and “Keep your theology off my biology,” among others.
There did not appear to be many Notre Dame students in attendance; rather, the protestors were largely local community members.
Chants at the protest expanded from those directly related to Barrett to instead covering a variety of progressive issues. Examples included, “No justice, no peace,” “keep your rosaries off our ovaries” and “Notre Dame, don’t you fear, immigrants are welcome here.”
In light of the Wednesday shooting of Charlie Kirk, the Michiana Alliance for Democracy emphasized their commitment to protest peacefully to ABC57.
In a statement, the organization told the station, “We are, of course, deeply saddened by the tragic events at Utah Valley University and extend our condolences to everyone affected. We recognize the heightened sensitivity around public demonstrations in light of such incidents, and we want to be clear that our protest is — and always has been — peaceful in nature.”
Ann Hoewing, a South Bend resident, has been attending protests in the area since President Donald Trump was elected. “This is the time we must take action,” Hoewing said.
She said that she was at the protest “just to stand up one more time against what’s happening in our country, including the Supreme Court’s rule in okaying everything that Trump and his team are doing,” adding, “We’re losing our democracy.”
Mike McManus, a 1972 graduate of Notre Dame, expressed his discontent with the lecture not being open to the public. He recalled attending a lecture by Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Purcell Pavilion, which he said was “totally filled out and totally open to the public.”
“As a graduate of the University, I’m a little disturbed that people like me who would be respectful aren’t even thought about being let into a Supreme Court Justice talk. I practiced law for 42 years,” McManus said.
He reflected on the duty he felt to attend the protest. “I’m 75, in my golden years. I never thought I’d have to be defending democracy at my age,” McManus said, “But I'm here because I'm truly concerned that we are losing our democracy … I want to stand here to stand up for America, because we’re fighting for you.”
McManus shared that his six nephews and nieces inspired him to attend, saying, “I don't want to leave them nothing and I’m really concerned about what will happen if we don’t wake up in this country.”
As she passed by the protest, Jennifer Miller, a local community member who recalled attending mass at the same parish as Barrett when she taught at Notre Dame Law School, expressed her discontent with the lack of understanding shown by the protestors.
“I’m just so proud of Amy Coney Barrett. She's a mom with seven kids and works as a wife and a mom and Supreme Court justice. So whatever your politics are, that’s one thing. But I’m just really proud of what she's accomplished and where she's going,” Miller said.
She also noted her appreciation for how Barrett “looks at every single case as it comes to her,” and for her faith.
Throughout the protest, drivers honked their horns at protestors as they passed by, with some pointing their middle fingers or yelling at the protestors. Pedestrians traveling through the intersection also made comments to the intersection, with one man walking back and forth and taunting protestors for a few minutes.
The protest concluded around 4:45 p.m.
