Mystic ― Flags and signs in support of the Democratic presidential candidate, Black lives, queer rights, two besieged countries and the environment waved Saturday morning near Olde Mistick Village, where Trump supporters and an internet troll in a KKK robe had rallied one week prior.

Farrah Garland, co-founder of the grassroots Stonington Pride advocacy group and an organizer of the “Stonington Stands Up!” rally, said the event was a response to last week’s display of “hatred, bigotry and un-inclusion.”

The disability rights and queer identities activist greeted new arrivals among a crowd of 25 people from a wheelchair adorned with Black Lives Matter and Free Palestine flags.

“We decided that we wanted to stand up, metaphorically speaking,” Garland said.

The event was organized by Stonington Pride and the Stonington Democratic Town Committee.

The keywords of the day were “facts, science, kindness, inclusion and diversity,” according to Garland.

Garland recalled driving by the last week’s rally on the opposite side of the road from the Trump supporters. Media reports put the crowd at roughly 10 to 15 people.

“I observed a person on the sidewalk just screaming general obscenities, broadly speaking, at people who disagreed,” Garland said. “Then I, as a queer presenting person – just kind of observing, not engaging – did get called a (homophobic slur).”

The actions of the Trump supporter were separate from the appearance at the same rally of a self-proclaimed internet troll from South Windsor on a mission to remind people Trump was endorsed by the white supremacist organization.

The man in the robe was Michael Picard, a YouTube creator with 94,100 subscribers. He told The Day his chants included “USA, USA, USA! Trump was endorsed by the KKK!” and “We love Trump. We love Trump.” The sign he carried said “Trump: Endorsed by the KKK.”

Trump rejected the KKK endorsement during the 2016 election cycle.

Garland described the man’s presence there as frightening.

“On one hand, he’s not wrong in that, yes, the KKK endorsed Trump,” Garland said. “However, there are ways of getting your point across, getting that information out, without inflicting harm on the communities that are already being harmed by the person you’re protesting,” Garland said.

‘Hate has no place here’

The activists drew a steady stream of honks and thumbs-up from people driving by the hour-long rally.

Gene Pfeiffer of Stonington, holding a “Vote Blue: Save Democracy and Freedom” sign, saw a tiny dog peeking out of an open window in the arms of a smiling owner.

“We don’t eat dogs!” he yelled.

The reference came from last week’s presidential debate during which candidate Donald Trump perpetuated unsubstantiated rumors that Haitian immigrants in an Ohio community were eating pets.

When a backseat passenger in another vehicle rolled down his window to glare at the crowd during a red light, Pfeiffer called him “a special kind of stupid.”

Garland chastised the Democrat.

“Kindness! Kindness, Gene. That’s what we’re about,” Garland said.

Sandy Grimes, Stonington town treasurer, watched the man in the car give them the middle finger as the light turned green.

“I love when they do that,” Grimes said. “You just smile at them.”

Stonington Democratic Town Committee Chairwoman Sara Baker said instances of hatred and bias go beyond the events of last week’s Trump rally and the YouTube troll who showed up there.

She referenced incidents including the appearance of swastikas in Ledyard, a thwarted attempt to remove Pride flags from Stonington classrooms in 2022, and the racially motivated beating of a Black hotel clerk in Mystic in 2020.

“Hate has no place here in Stonington or anywhere else, for that matter,” she said. “(It’s) not a direct response to Trump or the Republican party. It's about letting folks know that they are safe and included as valuable residents and visitors of our town.”

The town this year held its first Pride Month recognition ceremony but held off on flying a Pride flag.

For Democratic Groton Town Council member Portia Bordelon, it was the widely publicized image of the man in a white robe and pointed hat that drew her to Saturday’s rally.

“Troll or no troll, anyone that’s willing to put that on as a costume, it just brings a sad message of a decline to where we don’t want to be,” she said. “We should be moving forward.”

Statements from Republican lawmakers Sen. Heather Somers and state Rep. Greg Howard released on social media the day after last week’s Trump rally condemned the presence of someone dressed in KKK garb.

In similar messages, Howard called the behavior “appalling,” while Somers used the words “deeply disturbing.”

“Whether it was an actual KKK member or someone trying to stir division and falsely portray Republicans, this kind of behavior is unacceptable,” Somers said.

e.regan@theday.com