4 July 30 - August 5, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents ▼ ACTIVISM ‘Visible displays of dissent’ Meet the protestors using bridges to send a message in Fort Worth, Dallas and Arlington. BY AUSTIN WOOD I t’s a little after 7:30 a.m. in West Arling- ton. Standing on an overpass bridge near Lamar High School, Andrew Kocher can hear the rush of morning commuter traffic below. A grumbling, mechanical growl grows closer behind him, and as he turns to identify the source, relief is evident in the absence of flashing lights. “It’s the cops,” he says. The Arlington police officer circles his motorcycle a few times, then stops to talk to the people dotting the bridge. Kocher has had run-ins with law enforcement on the bridge previously, but today, the officer seems to be stopping by more out of curios- ity than concern. “What’s the message for today?” the officer asks. In front of Kocher, facing thousands of westbound cars on Interstate 30, exactly 34 panels paint a clear picture of his thoughts. Every Tuesday and Wednesday, Kocher and his fellow activists display their thoughts to scores of morning commuters on various is- sues. The issue for today? Flock Cameras. “Surveillance is not safety,” the panel reads, with a URL for the advocacy group DeFlock following. Thousands of police-contracted Flock cameras and automatic license plate readers (ALPR) now scour hundreds of roadways in North Texas. Police officials have lauded the technology for its investigative and deter- rent capabilities; however, advocacy groups have raised concerns over data protection and privacy. While Flock cameras are the issue of the day and have been targeted previously, the group’s message shifts week to week. Similar messages have begun popping up around D-FW since the beginning of the Trump administration, and are part of a wider national effort. ‘We all deserve better than this’ Kocher, 61, started his bridge protests in September of last year. His group heads to the Davis Street bridge each Tuesday and, occa- sionally, to an overpass on Highway 360 on Wednesdays to deliver politically charged messages to commuters below. Kocher and other activists start setting up as the sun rises before 7 a.m. to catch peak rush hour traffic. Recently, the decidedly older group’s mes- sage was “Only losers go to war without a plan,” while a month ago, panels assured pass- ersby that “We all deserve better than this.” “When I started this, my thought was to try to come up with messages that both sides could agree on,” he said. It’s not a large group — Kocher estimates most protests draw five to eight people weekly. But that’s part of the reason the pro- tests are so effective, he said, because only a few people are needed to make an impres- sion on scores of drivers. Kocher said he considers himself left-leaning, but has not always felt repre- sented by the Democratic Party. He has been somewhat politically active in the past, but said his first serious foray into activism came with the first protest last September, which offered an opening for an introvert like him. “I’m much happier when I’m not talking to people, and going out there and doing that is one thing,” he said. “This was a way for me to express my frustration with the way things are going.” At his home, Kocher has a collection of roughly 130 interchangeable black poster board panels with letters stenciled and painted on both sides. To comply with Tx- DOT rules prohibiting signage from being posted directly onto the bridge itself, he built a PVC pipe frame that can fit up to roughly 40 characters. The messages need to be kept short to capture eyes going 60- plus miles per hour, he said. Unlike some groups engaged in similar ac- tivities, the Arlington activists select their own message each week. The signs cover some lo- cal politics, but Kocher mostly sticks to na- tional issues when deciding what message to display. While profanity is off-limits, on cer- tain mornings, they will push the envelope. “Some messages are more provocative than others,” he said. “We get more negative or more positive, just depending on what the message is.” In March, shortly after the beginning of the Iran War, the bridge was ornamented with the words “Hate has never made America great.” A few weeks later, Kocher went with “The president has lost his mind.” And beside the main message and a collection of American flags, each protest also features a sign that says “Flip us off if you voted for a pedophile.” Which happens a decent amount, he said. What is more common, however, is audi- ble endorsement from the vehicles below. Kocher said 90 percent of passing cars are indifferent, but the majority of the remain- ing commuters use car horns or flash their lights to signal support. “It’s also valuable so that people out there who think they’re alone in the way they feel can see that there are other people out there that are frustrated,” Kocher said. Rush hour resistance While the Arlington group operates in- dependently, they are still part of a nation- wide mobilization. Hundreds of bridge protest groups broadcast messages across the country, with North Texas protests orga- nized in Dallas, Fort Worth and Richardson. Most groups fall under the umbrella of the Visibility Brigade, a national organiza- tion which coordinates messages and con- nects organizers with resources for their next bridge protest. The organization was founded in 2020 at an overpass bridge in New Jersey to bolster political awareness and activation. Over 400 chapters now par- ticipate in what the group describes as “Rush hour resistance.” One of those groups is run by Indivisible Dallas, a local left-wing advocacy group tied to the national Indivisible movement. Sa- mantha Mitchell, the group’s co-leader, said the protests in Dallas began in earnest last year and typically take place on the North- aven Pedestrian Bridge. “It’s a wonderful way to protest that kind of minimizes your risk a little bit, and also sends a really profound message,” Mitchell said. “And it’s a good social media opportunity be- cause a lot of people take pictures and share.” The group gets most of its messaging from the national Visibility Brigade movement, Mitchell said. Protests are organized using on- line platforms such as Mobilize, which effec- tively functions as an online signup forum for activism. The protests are not regularly sched- uled and aren’t held in extreme heat or cold, as many of the activists are older, she said. When there are a large number of protes- tors, organizers attach messages to both sides of the bridge and steer clear of the middle lane, which is kept open for pedestrians and cyclists. Permits are also filed with the city for large demonstrations, and while past pro-Palestine protests have drawn scrutiny from the park board, Mitchell said the group tries to stay in the city’s good graces. “Indivisible Dallas has a really good rela- tionship with DPD,” she said. “They’ve been really understanding and have tried their very best to keep everybody safe in all of our actions, so we want to maintain that | UNFAIR PARK | Austin Wood Bridge protest signs cover topics ranging from privacy to President Donald Trump. >> p6
