KALISPELL — More than 500 Flathead Valley residents attended a peaceful Protest honoring Black Lives Matter in Kalispell Saturday.
The protest held at Depot park saw protestors of all ages showing off signs while chanting together.
A large group of armed Flathead citizens were also on scene protecting a veteran’s monument at the park.
Armed citizen and ex police officer Cynthia Thalar traveled from Big arm to attend the protest.
She says her goal was to make sure everyone had the right to protest peacefully, while also exercising her 2nd amendment rights.
“We’re actually making new friends and enjoying a lot of the company and the people around, and it’s been going great," said Thalar.
Event organizer and Linderman Education Center student Anja Parmar says the idea of a protest started from a group chat between Kalispell high school students.
She says the idea was to make sure everyone has an outlet to voice support for Black Lives Matter in the Flathead Valley.
“Just because we’re a small community and just because we don’t have a large number of people of color here that does not mean that we can’t stand up for them," said Parmar.
A large law enforcement presence were also on scene at the Kalispell protest.
