South Dakota Searchlight notes that the National Park Service has designated a “First Amendment area” just outside the Mount Rushmore National Memorial for anyone who’d like to aim signs, chants, or other signs of defiance at the dignitaries gathering to watch fireworks with America’s top fascist tonight:
This year, the Park Service has designated a 100-foot-long First Amendment area for protesters along Highway 16A at the edge of the town of Keystone, about 2 miles below the entrance to the memorial.
The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office will have an increased law enforcement presence throughout Keystone and other towns near Mount Rushmore.
…The department will also monitor protests [Meghan O’Brien, “Preparations for Trump and Mount Rushmore Fireworks Include First Amendment Area for Protestors,” South Dakota Searchlight, 2026.07.02].
Funny, when I hear “First Amendment area”, I think, “Well, that’s all of America, isn’t it?”
But I guess that’s not the case even on regular days at Mount Rushmore. NPS designates six spots for raising a constitutional ruckus at the monument: the amphitheater stage and seats, the Borglum View Terrace, and four spots along the main promenade between the main entrance and the gift shop and restaurant. Folks who’d like to demonstrate, picket, orate, march, hold a vigil, conduct a religious service, or hand out printed material may gather in those spots in groups of 25 or fewer without a permit to do so. NPS may issue permits for First Amendment activities involving more than 25 participants, using equipment, or taking place outside those designated areas.
NPS describes today’s “temporary” First Amendment area (“temporary”? You mean I can’t stand along Highway 16 tomorrow, or next week, and wave my “NO KINGS” sign at passing motorists?) as “north of the white fog line along the north side of Highway 16A from the east boundary with Keystone extending 100 feet to the west.” NPS has placed the protest strip on the north side of the highway, away from the shade and requiring protestors who park down the road at Dairy Queen Keystone to cross the highway on foot to reach the designated area.
NDN Collective, which exercised its First Amendment rights the last time Trump sullied the Black Hills, says it has better things to do this July 3:
A Native American-led protest along the road leading to Mount Rushmore during the 2020 event resulted in physical clashes with law enforcement, ending in arrests of protesters. Charges were later dropped.
…Nick Tilsen, CEO of Rapid City-based Indigenous advocacy group NDN Collective, was a leader of the protests in 2020 and was one of the people arrested. He said his group is “boycotting” the Trump visit this time.
“We’re not participating in any of that,” Tilsen said.
Since 2020, Tilsen said, Native American activists in South Dakota and elsewhere have “chalked up wins” through community organizing. He pointed to a jury trial victory in a lawsuit against owners of the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City who were accused of discriminating against Native American guests, a company’s withdrawal from an exploratory graphite drilling project in a Black Hills meadow used for spiritual ceremonies, and a 20-year ban on mining activity in the Pactola Reservoir and Rapid Creek watershed area of the Black Hills.
“It’s one of the reasons, strategically, that we’re not doing a flashy action when Trump comes to the Black Hills,” Tilsen said. “Quite frankly, we don’t need to feed into his narrative” [O’Brien, 2026.07.02].
If you are heading to Keystone to play some Trumpist razz, the National Weather Service says you’ll likely have afternoon showers and thunder, with building clouds keeping the temperature around 80°F.