Conservatives rally, cruise through the SCV

Conservatives gathered at Bridgeport Elementary School on Saturday morning to celebrate President Donald Trump’s fifth year in office and embrace their patriotism with a cruise throughout the Santa Clarita Valley.
Led by 805 Patriots, a Ventura County-based event company, the rally and cruise aimed at allowing local and out-of-town conservatives to show their continued efforts in “supporting America, and loving our country,” said Charles DiMauro, organizer of all the rallies.
Founded in 2021, 805 Patriots has led 100 rallies throughout the years in various counties across the state with the biggest one bringing in over 6,000 people. DiMauro said he wanted to add the SCV to that list.
“The reason why I started this group was to give hope to all the people that are too silent here in California to speak up, and hopefully give enough bravery to all those people that are too quiet to speak up, and come and join us,” DiMauro said. “This is just our little thing, to give everyone hope in California that there are conservatives here and we’re not going anywhere.”
People trickled into the parking lot, many wearing red, white and blue with flags standing tall on the beds of trucks, ranging from the American flag to ones of Trump with his famous “Make America Great Again,” slogan. The gathering of people all echoed similar remarks: The rallies allow them to come together and create friendships with likeminded people who have the same core beliefs.
Saugus High School senior Ashley Stuart participated in something she has been passionate about since she was 8 years old: voicing her opinions, even when they differ from those of others.
The MAGA slogan to her means “bettering our country and restoring it to the ideals that it was founded upon. We’ve lost sight of that and it’s important that we bring it back,” she said, adding that seeing Trump win his first term, “kind of ignited a little fire in 8-year-old Ashley.”
Stuart also serves as president of Saugus High School’s Turning Point USA chapter, she said, but during Saturday’s rally she was strictly speaking on her own opinion.
“In California, it might seem like we’re outnumbered (but) we really just need to stand strong and know that there’s other people like us,” she said.
Julie Afusia drove all the way from Corona to join the rally because she was “tired of the nonsense. The nonpatriotism,” she said. As someone whose family is deeply rooted in the military, it’s been very alarming for her to see the recent violence toward law enforcement officers.
“It’s fine to have freedom of speech, but you can’t attack law enforcement. You can’t be talking against the president constantly,” Afusia said, adding that the rally was a way to enjoy the day on a positive note, embracing the patriotism with others. “We want to restore law and order.
For Afusia, a strong America 10 years from now would have “the military powerhouse we used to be … I don’t want other countries thinking they can just walk in and do something. I believe in immigration completely… the legal way. Just so we know who’s coming in.”
Santa Barbara County resident Tim Woolever joins the rallies to show patriotism for the country and to “stand up for the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and our independence from Britain,” he said.
He also acknowledged that the country may not have a clean record when it comes to handling matters but “no one’s perfect,” he said.
He wants America to move forward toward a future with “less regulation, more people getting up in the morning wanting to go to work, and the federal government to protect our borders,” he said.
As the approximately 50-60 people prepared to roll out on their cruise, Woolever said he couldn’t share where exactly the caravan of cars would travel through due to safety concerns. Awaiting them at the end of the cruise was a barbecue and live music, at a publicly undisclosed location.
Participants said that, in previous rallies in other cities, there have been incidents where their vehicles were trashed, and windows were broken causing thousands of dollars’ worth of damage.
Stuart said that although not everyone may agree with their views, “the great thing about America is we’re all allowed to have different opinions.”