Over 400 people braved the extreme heat to protest taxes and show their patriotism at Open Mike Night Thursday at the Covington Trailhead.

Covington Mayor Candace Watkins said calling the event an Open Mike Night allowed the city to provide services to those in attendance, including electricity and open rest rooms The April 15 Tea Party at the facility saw no electricity and locked bathrooms, which sparked debates during city council meetings about the use of the facility by the taxpayers who funded it.

“Since we don’t have a rental policy and do not rent out the Trailhead, we developed programming that will allow for use of the facility,” said Watkins Thursday night. “This is good for us. It brings people downtown. By having an open mike night, people can talk about anything,” she said. “In the future, it may not be political; it may focus on the arts or comedy or anything. Tonight’s theme happens to be political.”

More than 400 people participated in Covington’s first Open Mike Night, also called the Second Tea Party, held at the Covington Trailhead. (Staff Photo by Debbie Glover)

In addressing the crowd at the opening of the event, Watkins said, “Welcome to the first official open mike night. Everyone has the opportunity to participate and enjoy their individual freedoms.”

Among the activities at the event, organized by political columnist and commentator Jeff Crouere, were speeches, several handouts and a secret ballot asking questions on policy and current issues.

The ballot will be tabulated this week and the results shared with elected officials. Questions included “Do you believe that the government should control or nationalize the healthcare industry?” and “Do you believe that the federal government should bailout private industries such as GM, Chrysler, banks and insurance companies?”

Speakers at the event included Tom Kowitz, Maura Donahue and U. S. Marine Corps veteran Matthew Cole.

Cole, an active member of Support Our Troops, suffered a spinal cord injury while serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. Confined to a wheelchair, he received a standing ovation after his patriotic speech calling for more people to remember the Pledge of Allegiance and fly the flag.

Recounting experiences in Iraq and how much was done to liberate the people there, Cole said he was “eager to see the news reports on how well and honorably we liberated the Iraqi people. But all I saw were reports on escalating violence and Americans killed in action.”

Cole said that he was honored to serve and although he nearly died and sustained “life altering injuries,” he said he has no regrets. “My condition is a small price to pay for freedom.”

Flag-waving and cheers met his speech as attendees gave him a standing ovation.