Alex Hill admits he’s had some sleepless nights since November, when Donald Trump was elected president for the second time.

He also admits he was nervous when he came out Saturday afternoon for the “No Kings” march and rally protesting Trump administration decisions over the past few months. The political climate is as charged as ever, and he wondered what the outcome would be as he joined hundreds marching from Wheeling Island, across the Wheeling Suspension Bridge and finishing at the elephant statue in downtown Wheeling.

But when he saw and felt the energy of the marchers, it boosted him to continue his fight.

“Just to see this many people out here is so inspiring,” he said. “For every one car that went by with people giving us the middle finger, there were 20 cars that went by honking their horns in support.

“So if we keep those numbers trending in that direction, it gives me hope that we’re starting the beginnings of a movement,” he said. “And it’s going to help me carry on.”

Saturday’s “No Kings” rally in Wheeling was part of a larger movement of protests taking place in more than 2,000 cities across the United States. The protests coincide with a Flag Day parade Trump attended in Washington D.C. on Saturday.

The rally began on Wheeling Island near Madison Elementary School, where protesters stretched along the sidewalk, holding signs and chanting as cars passed by. Those signs and chants then went on the move around Wheeling Island, stopping at different points along the way for guest speakers.

The crowd then made its way to the Suspension Bridge to march across — one small group at a time, as to not test the weight limits of the bridge — before stopping in downtown Wheeling.

Attorney Teresa Toriseva, one of the rally’s organizers, said she was amazed at the energy of the crowd, which organizers estimated to be close to 500 people. What impressed her just as much was the wide array of people joining in, a melting pot of races, as well as ages ranging from teens to young adults to middle aged adults to seniors.

“That tells you a lot about how people across the spectrum are being affected by the policies we’re rising up against,” Toriseva said. “This is deep red West Virginia. And I think a lot of people, if they saw this crowd, would say, wow, I’ve never seen anything like that here. And that pleases me. That inspires me.”

What impressed Johnny Haught was that this isn’t the first protest this group has held in Wheeling. And he hasn’t seen the energy dissipate yet.

“They’re trying to inundate us with so much so that we get tired, we get complacent,” he said. “But we’ve continued to grow in numbers every time we come out. And we get louder every time we come out.”

The march from Wheeling Island wasn’t the only demonstration Saturday. Another 300 people held signs in protest in Elm Grove near the McDonald’s.