Members of Guam’s democratic community gathered in protest Wednesday, holding signs directed at Attorney General Douglas Moylan in response to recent billboard campaigns they say are divisive and discriminatory.
The demonstration took place at the ITC intersection during a “Peace Wave,” where participants stood along the roadside with messages including “Words Matter. Pictures Matter. Do Better AG” and “No racial profiling.” Organizers urged Moylan to reconsider deterrence efforts tied to billboard initiatives such as “Deport Air” and “AG Moylan Purge.”
Protesters said the messaging unfairly targets segments of the island’s population and risks stigmatizing entire communities. Many participants identified as members of the Federated States of Micronesia and other Freely Associated States communities living on Guam. Organizers said the gathering was meant to highlight their contributions and emphasize that negative behavior should not be linked to race or ethnicity.
The protest reminded that there’s good and bad in every community regardless of race. "As Democrats, we believe everyone who calls Guam home matters," protest organizers said.
Moylan has previously defended the billboard campaigns as a crime deterrence strategy. In past remarks to media, he said public-facing messages about legal consequences are widely used at both state and federal levels across the United States.
“This path of public shame and outrage works,” Moylan said in Guam News files, adding that deterrence is the goal behind each billboard.
Wednesday’s protest remained peaceful, with participants waving at passing vehicles and holding signs as traffic moved through the busy Tamuning intersection.
