‘Dirty Trick’: JD Vance Protesters Rush Toward Motorcade After It Takes Unexpected Route

Protesters expecting to confront Vice President JD Vance during his La Crosse, Wisconsin, visit Thursday found themselves sprinting across a field after his motorcade took an unexpected route, according to footage and a local report.

Demonstrators who had gathered along Copeland Avenue scrambled toward Rose Street when Vance’s motorcade crossed over to the typically one-way northbound street, bypassing their planned protest site, according to The Chippewa Herald. The vice president was visiting the Mid-City Steel plant to promote President Donald Trump’s moves on trade and tariffs.

“I knew I couldn’t run fast enough, so I didn’t try,” Carol Nelson of Caledonia, Minnesota, told the outlet. “It was a dirty trick on their part.”

Marina Dvorak, among the few protesters who reached Rose Street before the motorcade drove by, labeled it a “bait and switch.”

Protesters can be seen standing on either side of a roadway with signs and flags while sirens can be heard, according to footage posted to X by Wisconsin Democrats. Protesters then begin rushing across a grassy field to another street running parallel to the first as vehicles begin driving by. They cheer and hold up their signs as the motorcade continues along the street. An apparent temporary barrier can be seen across the street.

“JD Vance went the WRONG WAY down a one way street to avoid protesters in Wisconsin,” Wisconsin Democrats alleged.

JD Vance went the WRONG WAY down a one way street to avoid protesters in Wisconsin.

Disgraceful. pic.twitter.com/j4p7FTLr7m

— Wisconsin Democrats (@WisDems) August 28, 2025

The protesters sprawled out across a quarter mile of Copeland Avenue to broadcast criticism ranging from inflation and immigration enforcement to Middle East actions and environmentalism, The Chippewa Herald reported.

“What we saw was that they were sufficiently intimidated by us, and they had to change their route,” Doreen Pfost said. William Garcia, chair of the La Crosse County Democratic Party, targeted choosing the steel plant for promoting tariffs. (RELATED: NYC Protesters Organize A ‘We’re With Colbert’ Rally — But Only 20 People Showed Up)

“I’m shocked they’re at a steel fabricator because Donald Trump just put a 50% tariff on steel imports,” he told the outlet. “Most steel is made outside of the country, which means everything Mid-City Steel produces is going to be more expensive.”

The La Crosse Police Department didn’t immediately react to The Chippewa Herald’s request for comment regarding the demonstration.