KOAM TV 7 Joplin and Pittsburg News Weather SportsTea Party protests in the 4-States
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Protesters call it a Tax Payer Tea Party and are rallying against government spending like bailouts and the stimulus bill.
The protests on April 15 - tax day - took place in hundreds of communities across the nation and several right here in the 4-States.
They're modern day tea parties, getting their inspiration from the Boston Tea Party before the Revolutionary War.
Joplin, Cathage, Independence and Pittsburg are among the communities taking part.
The Joplin Tea Party took place early Wednesday afternoon and was held on the steps of the Clark Justice Center on East 3rd Street.
Hundreds of people took off during their lunch hour to participate.
Roads were blocked as the crowd grew bigger around 12:30.
Cheers for lower taxes and and less government regulation could be heard for blocks.
The rally lasted about an hour and a half.
John Putnam, a spokesman for the Southwest Missouri Conservative Network, dressed up as one of his heroes - Thomas Jefferson.
"The fact that this is the day that we pay taxes makes it a perfect fit because a lot of people are concerned about the way we are being taxed, the amount we are being taxed, and the money that's being spent and how it's being spent," Putnam says.
Organizers were expecting nearly 500 people and police estimate between 500 to 1,000 people attended the rally.
The protest in Pittsburg, Kansas took place at the PSU Veterans Memorial Amphitheater.
At the site of the protest in Pittsburg there was another group standing with their back towards the crowd.
Veterans say they were there to protect the memorial and trying to show that the military is above politics.
The veterans say they are proud that Pittsburg residents are exercising their freedom of speech, but don't believe it should take place here.
"Were I not standing here protecting my fellow veterans I would probably be at the Tea Party because there are some things, individually, that I happen to believe that some of my friends do not, but you know that's politics - this is military, two separate things and I just think it's important to keep them separated," says veteran Rick Fulton. "When you live in the barracks, and I did that for eight years, there are two things you never talk about. One is politics. The other is religion. They are just forbidden topics. We think it's tradition that should continue on with this, this is a memorial to Americans who died for the freedom of speech that we value deeply."
NINA CRISCUOLO and ELIZABETH MATTHEWS contributed to this story
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