Visitors to downtown Valparaiso are becoming accustomed to hundreds of NWI Activists protesters on the courthouse lawn every couple of weeks. The liberal protesters themselves are now protesting the treatment they’re getting from conservative counter-protesters and the police.
A special Labor Day protest drew about 400 participants and what co-organizer Deb McLeod estimated was about eight counter-protesters.
The counter-protesters have amped up their response during the last two protests. A physical altercation ensued on Sept. 1.
A counter-protester shouts anti-LGBTQ+ slurs at protesters during the NWI Activists “Ban Fascists Not Books” event in downtown Valparaiso on Friday, June 13, 2025. Acitvists say they were harassed by counter-protesters during a Labor Day event despite police promises to keep the groups separate. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
“They brought their own megaphone,” said NWI Activists founder and organizer Lisa Nicole. “They were just basically screaming nonsense and following us.”
Mayor Jon Costas said there have been many of these protests in recent months.
“We’ve worked pretty closely with the organizers, and for the most part, they’ve been pretty civil,” Costas said, adding people on both sides of the issue “are very passionate” about their views, which created a “spirited event” on Labor Day.
“What happened is, the small group of counter-protesters will not agree to be separated. That request was made, certainly,” Costas said.
For their part, the NWI Activists group urges participants not to block the flow of traffic, either on the street or on the sidewalk, McLeod said.
McLeod and Nicole outlined what happened and offered videos to back up their assertions.
“If somebody gets hurt at this point, it’s on the city, because they’ve been warned over and over and over,” McLeod said. The group is encouraging sympathizers to show up at Monday’s City Council meeting.
“This is going to blow up. It’s volatile,” McLeod said, if nothing is done to keep the groups separate.
McLeod has been politically active, including in Arizona, where she lived before returning to Valparaiso. In Arizona, groups are physically separated from each other to prevent trouble.
“Separate but equal,” she said. Name a big city – and McLeod did so – and they do that.
Costas said he reached out to LaPorte Mayor Tom Dermody for advice on the issue. In LaPorte, the counter-protesters have agreed to keep separate.
“These people’s sole purpose is to incite violence,” McLeod said. “They don’t really have a message.”
“They cause more trouble than all of my protesters put together,” she said. “They do it with impunity, and I don’t know what to do.”
“If they had a message, I’m guessing, OK, listen? But this is insane.”
“I thought things were going really well until a couple of protests ago,” McLeod said. That’s when things began to escalate.
Counter-protesters crossed the street on Labor Day to confront the protesters, bringing their boom box and megaphone with them.
One of the counter-protesters was knocking signs out of protesters’ hands. The police didn’t stop them, McLeod said.
“The fact that none of my people swung on them was a miracle,” she said. “I’m not asking for them to be banned. I’m asking them to be separate from our people.”
“Lisa and I have moved our protesters from one side of the square to another side,” attempting to keep the groups apart, but the counter-protesters followed, McLeod said.
“It was essentially a mosh pit at one point, getting pushed and shoved around by all these protesters,” Nicole said.
One counter-protester in particular was aggressive. “He’s grinding on 70-year-old women’s hips,” McLeod said. “He’s knocking people off the sidewalk, and they did nothing.”
Trying to de-escalate the situation, “I walked between them on a public sidewalk where we’re not supposed to block traffic,” she said. McLeod said her job as an organizer is to try to prevent anyone from getting hurt.
One of the counter-protesters hit her with a sign multiple times, she said. McLeod asked one of the officers to help. “You walked between them. You incited it,” McLeod said the officer told her.
“We were trying to file reports at the event as people were getting assaulted, and the police were saying we didn’t see anything, there wasn’t anything we can do,” Nicole said.
Protesters line the sidewalk near the Porter County Courthouse during the NWI Activists “Ban Fascists Not Books” event in downtown Valparaiso on Friday, June 13, 2025. Acitvists say they were harassed by counter-protesters during a Labor Day event despite police promises to keep the groups separate. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
Valparaiso Police Department’s public information officer, Capt. Joe Hall, said the department “has maintained an open dialogue and actively engaged with organized groups to ensure public safety was preserved during any organized events.”
“This involved ongoing communication related to their activities, including coverage and monitoring of 12 scheduled rallies since March 8, as well as a host of other regularly scheduled assemblies. The agency has continued to work with group leadership, including conversations about the numbers of attendees expected, actions planned, potential concerns and overall guidance,” he continued.
“As a result, there have been no injuries reported or arrests effected during any of these events,” Hall said.
The department is working with the Porter County Prosecutor’s Office to confirm legal aspects associated with assemblies are being upheld. “Our focus has been on providing the best public safety measures possible, to include officer presence, video monitoring and pre-planned responses to any concerns that arose,” he said.
“We’ve used an awful lot of police overtime for these events. It’s costing the city literally tens of thousands of dollars,” Mayor Jon Costas said.
“People have the right to be on public property and express their views. They don’t have the right to harass others,” he said.
Security plans hammered out at a meeting the Friday before fell apart when the counter-protesters refused to remain separate from the NWI Activists group and crossed the street to confront them.
Costas is planning a follow-up meeting in the coming days with the NWI Activists organizers, police leadership and the county prosecutor’s office.
NWI Activists organizers said there were two Valparaiso police officers and none from the Porter County Sheriff’s Department, which is less than the normal police presence.
“We had the permit from the county and that’s supposed to get us coverage from the county police,” Nicole said. “The sheriff department was not notified we were down there.”
That was an oversight, according to the department’s public information officer.
“We unfortunately missed the email that was sent to us last week regarding this event,” Sgt. Ben McFalls said. “However, we have provided a steady presence at these events and plan to do so in the future.”
NWI Activists organizers say they try to be respectful of others while expressing their concerns. The First Amendment guarantees free speech and the right to peaceably assemble.
“We had 400 people cycling through,” McLeod said. “We send our people to the stores, to the shops downtown. We ask them to eat downtown.”
McLeod, speaking outside Fluid Coffee Roasters Thursday, greeted passing dogs and owners while discussing the situation. She has visited shop owners and restaurants downtown, asking them to let her know if there are issues surrounding the protests.
On Labor Day, Valparaiso police began ticketing people who honked their horns in support of the protests.
Mark Costica is one of them. “I gave my horn a honk. I wasn’t laying on the horn, I gave it two quick taps.” In response, he was pulled over by a police officer and issued a $25 ticket.
“The Valparaiso Police Department has received several grievances regarding the noise stemming from the organized rallies, including the use of vehicle horns,” Hall said. “Our response to the illegal use of a horn during operation of a vehicle is complaint-driven and resulted in some enforcement and education opportunities for proper usage during these events.”
“They didn’t ticket the pro-Trump guy pounding on his horn,” McLeod said, but people honking in support of the liberal protests were ticketed.
Costas said police issued four citations for violating the noise ordinance to people who honked horns, the first protest during which citations were issued.
“We have an awesome downtown and these are disruptive to our patrons downtown and our businesses downtown,” he said. “I think we all should have a little bit more respect for others.”
Natalie Helens, one of the NWI Advocates, said police didn’t address the use of a megaphone or boom box by counter-protesters. Her group uses a megaphone but has a permit to do so.
Helens was organizing the donation effort. Protesters and supporters donated more than 800 items for animal shelters, primarily dog food but also toys and other items for the animals. The donations were taken to eight different shelters across the area.
Michiana Humane Society in Gary, she said, was especially grateful because food supplies there were critically low.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
