Over the 2026 4th of July weekend, Watertown, Wisconsin, marked America’s 250th birthday with parades, flags, and community pride. American flags waved from tractors in farm fields, small-town sidewalks and storefronts were lined with patriotic bunting and stars-and-stripes displays. Red, white, and blue was everywhere. Patriotism was on full display for most. One group stood apart.
Social Justice Watertown entered the parade with a black truck decorated to resemble a hearse, symbolizing the death of LGBTQ+ rights under the Trump administration. The float featured altered versions of the American flag, prominent transgender symbols, and a black-and-white checkered LGBTQ Ally flag. Jefferson County Board Supervisor Francine Gies marched with them dressed in suffragette white, alongside Reverend Chris Ross of First Congregational United Church of Christ, who waved a transgender flag.
In a family-friendly 4th of July parade, Gies and Social Justice Watertown members handed out candy to children trailing the float promoting gender ideology and LGBTQ concepts instead of American exceptionalism. Trans activists rarely pass up an opportunity to propagandize children even on Independence Day, where free candy serves as an effective lure. American pride got swapped out for LGBTQIA+ pride. The contrast with the day’s spirit of national gratitude was striking.
Adding to the scene, activists on the hearse-themed truck were heard repeatedly dropping F-bombs as they rolled past families and handed out candy to children. Video of the incident captured the crude language coming directly from the float in full view and earshot of kids and parents along the route.
The black-and-white checkered Ally flag was telling: these were not same-sex attracted individuals advocating for civil rights, but heterosexual women like county supervisor Francine Gies and a creepy church minister like Reverend Chris Ross advancing the view that biological sex is fluid and that children should explore that idea early.
Reverend Ross’s involvement stood out in a big way. As pastor of First Congregational UCC, he has turned his church into a venue for drag shows in the sanctuary and events featuring a “transgender Jesus” on the cross. Most folks in Wisconsin’s heartland hardworking families who value their faith, their flag, and common sense don’t line up with that kind of blasphemy. Good on him for showing his true colors on the 4th too bad those colors weren’t red, white, and blue. Here’s a pastor waving a trans flag while kids grab candy.
The suffragette attire carried its own quiet irony especially on Supervisor Gies. The original suffragettes campaigned for women’s rights rooted in the biological reality of sex. Progressives today love to revisionize that history, dressing up their cause in white dresses while working to redefine or dissolve those very sex-based distinctions including allowing men into women’s sports, spaces, and even medical decisions involving minors. It’s like borrowing Grandma’s wedding dress to attend a gender reveal party for someone who insists sex is a spectrum. The lunacy writes itself.
Social Justice Watertown displayed clear enthusiasm for its ideological flags, yet showed little visible attachment to Old Glory or celebrations of American exceptionalism. Instead of joining the joy of celebrating America’s birthday, they snubbed it for contention and transgender propaganda. Seems like the only happiness on display was the satisfaction of waving those flags around kids. One has to wonder if some leftists even love this country they always look so miserable, and misery loves company.
Supervisor Francine Gies serves in elected office. She ran uncontested in her race, yet her trans activism and liberal white-woman savior complex are widely unpopular in the heartland. It is truly shameful that when criticized for marching in a family-friendly parade while pushing transgender activism at kids, one can already imagine the familiar script: she’ll cry “hate” and play the victim, casting herself as a brave progressive targeted by intolerance. Jefferson County residents deserve better. They have every right to expect their supervisor to focus on governance, roads, budgets, and broad community interests rather than advancing contested social causes during a patriotic public event. On America’s 250th birthday, the float offered a purposely distasteful, partisan spectacle amid the day’s festivities.
Children benefit from protection and time to develop without premature adult ideological influence. Women’s rights are strongest when grounded in biological reality. Communities marking their nation’s founding deserve public displays that unite rather than divide. Watertown overwhelmingly delivered that spirit on the Fourth full of joy, patriotism, and small-town heart. Not every entry followed suit, but the town as a whole showed what real American celebration looks like. Here’s hoping next year’s parade stays focused on the red, white, and blue not the L-G-B-T-Q. Happy 250th, America.
