Hoards of flag-waving President Trump supporters sailed into the waters again on Sunday for a series of boat parades after several vessels sunk and were capsized in Texas. 

Labor Day Weekend in the United States this year comes just three months before the highly polarized presidential election in November, and a number of conservatives have lifted their anchors to show their support for President Trump.

At least nine cities across the country, from California to Georgia and back again, hosted Great American Boat Parade events to herald the current Commander-in-Chief for a second term.

Just one day before, officials said that five boats sank during a Trump boat parade at Lake Travis, Texas, amid a flurry of distress calls. 

Lake Travis, a reservoir on the Colorado River, is known for its hazardous sailing conditions at times and has been the site of dozens of boating accidents over the years. No injuries or deaths were reported. 

Georgia 

Thousands of ‘Keep America Great Again’ supporters participated in the Great American Boat Parade at Lake Lanier on Sunday.

Organizers said that around around 700 vessels participated in the event, but the Georgia Department of Natural Resources estimated that almost 4,000 people showed up. 

Georgia DNR Game Warden Kevin Goss told 11 Alive that the surprising number includes spectator boats as well. The agency will get a more exact count after they review aerial images.

Luckily, the waters on Sunday were fairly calm and Goss said no issues were reported.

‘It went really smooth, we haven’t received any reports of boats sinking or swamping or getting turned over,’ he said. 

Organizers of Georgia’s Great American Boat Parade said the event was meant to show support for ‘the leadership of this great nation’ and first responders.

‘Let’s come together as Brothers and Sisters and celebrate these very freedoms,’ the group wrote on the Facebook event page. 

Elaine Hill, a local resident, heard about the event and ventured out to see the inaugural event. 

‘They’re out here doing something they enjoy and they’re not hurting anybody,’ said Hill. ‘They’re just peaceful people for Trump.’

Goss said participants at the Lake Lanier boat parade followed local rules and the county never contacted the agency. In addition to the George DNR, agencies from Hall, Forsyth Gwinnett County were there. 

Washington D.C.

Further north, a similar event was held by organizers in the Potomac River when hundreds of boars arrived on Sunday afternoon

Stephanie Christacos, who helped organize the event, told WUSA 9 that their Great American Boat Parade was meant to create excitement around Trump’s 2020 bid.

‘It’s all grassroots, I’m just a mom,’ said Christacos. ‘I love our country, and I want to be safe. And I believe that’s President Donald Trump.’

The boat party, or the ‘Trumptilla’, began the journey from the Old Dominion Boat Club in Alexandria and then headed for the Memorial bridge.

‘The enthusiasm is off the charts,’ said organizer Mae Snow.

The organizers, including Carole Berman, said the President has their unwavering support in spite of the anti-military statements her reportedly made about veterans or polls that label Biden the front runner.

‘I’ve never been polled. I’ve never been polled. I’ve never been. I don’t believe in the polls and I don’t think most people do,’ they said.

More importantly, Christacos said, people need to get out and vote for the November election.

‘Everybody has to get out to vote. Get out to vote, do not sit home,’ she added.

One participant, Art Barletta, told WUSA 9 that he voted for Republicans in 2016 and felt is was important to show support for the party. 

He admitted, however, that Trump had not made good on all his promises.

‘Campaign promises never come to reality all the time,’ said Barletta, who added that he still believed Trump should get a second term.

‘He needs to unite the country. He needs to get equality for everybody. He needs to get equality for everybody that’s not been born yet,’ said Barletta. 

Pennsylvania

Hundreds of Trump supporters sailing through the waters were also spotted at Pennsylvania’s Erie.

‘It just shows a lot of love for America’s values and our love for our president and our support,’ said Adam Stanzzyk, a person who attended on Sunday.

According to Your Erie, this particular event was organized by a 19-year-old student from Gannon University who wished to stay anonymous due to death threats.

The boats gathered at Presque Isle before navigating to Dobbins Landing just 10 miles away.

One person visiting Erie said the amount of boats sailing was shocking.

‘Seventy five boats more boats have shown up and I think about 95% of them have Trump flags on them so that’s pretty cool. Great show of support for our president. There really is a silent majority out here,’ said Mark Webb.

Erie County Councilman Brian Shank, a local conservative politician, welcomed Trump supporters and others to the event.

‘Put a thing on Facebook and said hey we got a boat parade coming in we want to come out and show our support for the folks out on the water,’ said Shank.

‘So we got together a couple of friends. It’s a beautiful day and is what freedom is all about.’

A small group of counter-protesters arrived to the event, resulting in a back and forth with Trump supporters. 

Shank said that the difference in opinion is what makes the country great.

‘That’s what makes America great. We’re allowed to have a difference of opinion.’

A Great American Boat Parade was also held near the Owensboro Riverfront of the Ohio River.

Those organizers said that in addition to supporting Trump, the event allowed Indiana and Kentucky boaters social time during the pandemic.  

San Diego

 In San Diego, California, tens of thousands of Trump supporters lined the San Diego Bay on Sunday afternoon.

Around 2,000 boats outfitted in Trump 2020 flags, controversial Confederate flag and a host of American flags as they floated. 

Tens of thousands of supporters stood along the shoreline, many of them waving banners and flags, and chanted ‘four more years!’

The event began at 11:30am with the participating boats lined up for the national anthem at noon. 

CBS8 reports that a skydiver with an American flag performed a jump just after the Star Spangled Banner to kick off the festivities. 

The event was organized by the Military Appreciation Channel near the Naval Base Point Loma.

Nearly 90 miles north, a similar event was held at Newport Beach Harbor.

Officials in Rochester, New York, have announced that they will be moving their crisis intervention team out of the police department following the death of a black man with mental health issues who lost consciousness after officers held a hood over his head.    

On March 23, Daniel Prude, 41, was naked and handcuffed when he was held down by officers who responded to a 911 call made by his brother, seeking help for Prude’s erratic behavior.

Police body camera video shows the officers covering Prude’s head with a ‘spit hood’ designed to protect police from bodily fluids, then pressing his face into the pavement for two minutes. Prude died a week later after he was taken off life support.

Footage of his arrest were released by his family members on Wednesday and Thursday.

Following the release of the videos, protests erupted throughout the state of New York and other major US cities, prompting Rochester officials to announce reforms for the city. 

Mayor Lovely Warren announced Sunday that the crisis invention department will be moving out of the police department and into the city’s department of youth and recreation services.  

‘We had a human being in a need of help, in need of compassion. In that moment we had an opportunity to protect him, to keep him warm, to bring him to safety, to begin the process of healing him and lifting him up,’ Warren said during a press conference. 

‘We have to own the fact that in the moment we did not do that.’ 

Police Chief La’Ron Singletary also told reporters that he supported the need for reform in his department. 

‘I understand that there are certain calls that law enforcement shouldn’t handle alone and we are looking at ways to reimagine policing surrounding mental health, and have been for the last several months,’ Singletary said.

During protests on Saturday night, three officers were treated at hospitals for injuries they suffered when ‘projectiles and incendiary devices’ were hurled at them, according to Lt Greg Bello of the Rochester police. Nine protesters were arrested.

The Democrat and Chronicle reported that some protesters were hit by projectiles as thousands marched through the streets of New York’s third-largest city.

Rev Myra Brown called for about 50 church elders to gather at Spiritus Christi Church in downtown Rochester Sunday evening to serve as a ‘buffer’ so protesters are free to express themselves without police interference.

‘We elders have volunteered to put our bodies on the line to make sure that happens,’ Brown said at the news conference with Warren and Singletary.

The New York Civil Liberties Union criticized the police use of ‘military tactics’ including sound cannons, flash bangs, tear gas, and pepper balls against the demonstrators.

‘People speaking out are not enemy combatants, and to fire flash bangs, tear gas, and pepper balls at demonstrations against police violence only proves the point,’ NYCLU Genesee Valley chapter director Iman Abid said in a statement Sunday. ‘The mayor and RPD must stop these warfare tactics now.’

The marches took place as New York’s attorney general announced Saturday that a grand jury would investigate Prude’s death.

‘The Prude family and the Rochester community have been through great pain and anguish,’ Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Saturday. She said the grand jury would be part of an ‘exhaustive investigation’.

Protesters have demanded police accountability and legislation to change how authorities respond to mental health emergencies.

The Monroe County medical examiner listed Prude’s manner of death as homicide caused by ‘complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint’.

The report cited excited delirium and acute intoxication by phencyclidine, or PCP, as contributing factors.

A police internal affairs investigation cleared the officers involved of any wrongdoing, concluding in April that their ‘actions and conduct displayed when dealing with Prude appear to be appropriate and consistent with their training’.

The seven officers were suspended Thursday after Prude’s family released the video from the scene.

Mayor Warren thanked Attorney General James for taking action in what she called ‘a trying time in Rochester’.

Protesters have called on Warren and Singletary to step down over the delay in releasing details of Prude’s death. The mayor and police chief said Sunday they had no plans to resign.

‘The chief and I, we love our city. We were born and raised here,’ Warren said Sunday. ‘We are committed to making the necessary changes to make sure this community moves forward.’

Warren said the city is working to re-envision the police department and the way it responds to mental health crises.