In the early hours of Jan. 3, United States forces illegally captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Celia Flores in a military strike that preliminary reports say killed around 40 people. In Durham, around 120 people gathered in the cold afternoon for a pop-up vigil to protest the U.S. intervention.

The protest, organized by Engaged Durhamites for Democracy, took place at 4 p.m. at the CCB Plaza in downtown Durham. The group holds 20 demonstrations a week across the state. 

This meeting was an impromptu one, said organizer Kathryn Pollak. Even still, dozens of people answered the call, bundled in winter clothes and carrying Venezuelan flags and anti-war signs. 

Pollak and others passed out candles to light in a vigil for peace. Protesters cupped their hands around their candles as Pollak began to speak. 

“We sent out a call just this morning, and look at all of you,” Pollak said. “Durham is so amazing that you’re all out here in this cold weather standing up for peace.”

Because of the spontaneity of the protest, Pollak had not prepared any special speakers or activities. Instead, she opened the floor to anyone who wished to share any words. 

One protestor who carried three hastily scribbled signs – one in each hand, the third held in his mouth – spoke first. 

“Whatever one thinks of Maduro or Venezuela, this cannot lead to anything but more bloodshed and destruction and gangsterism in terms of the U.S. deciding which leaders are fine to keep power and which aren’t,” he said. “Why are we God?”

The group began to sing gently, first the hymnal round “Dona Nobis Pacem,” which translates from Latin to “give us peace”, followed by a rendition of “We Shall Overcome.”

Two more people took the loudspeaker to address the crowd. The first was Mary Grace, a lifelong activist who had recently returned from a humanitarian visit to the West Bank of Palestine and encouraged her fellow protestors to continue to fight for a free Palestine. Her comments were met with nods and cheers. 

The second was Sören Potthoff, a junior at Davidson College. Potthoff was one of the youngest faces in the crowd, which was largely white and over 50. Despite his age, his words were fiery and sharp as he condemned the morning’s happenings. 

“If you are not in the fight against American empire, if you’re just in the fight against Trump, you are backing the very forces that brought Trump to power,” Potthoff said. “This is a failure of the liberal international world order. There are no rules.”

The protest concluded with a long moment of silence as the group formed a wobbly circle, misshapen because of the tall Christmas tree that still stood tall in the center of the plaza. Rather poetically, the shape of the group almost resembles a heart. 

Pollak ended the gathering by encouraging people to exercise their civic rights and to continue to demonstrate in the hopes that diminishing approval ratings will “take away [Trump’s] power.” She said that she wasn’t surprised by the sizable turnout, even with such short notice. 

“I am not [surprised] because this is Durham,” Pollak said. 

“It’s cold,” She said of the five other protests that Durhamites for Democracy held just that morning. “It’s raining. We were standing in the rain. And it doesn’t matter because we are letting people know we’re not okay and that we have this power.”