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Roanokers protest federal workforce purge

Signs read “Make America LOVE Again,” “President’s Day NOT Tyrant’s Day” and “LIAR.”

A couple hundred protesters gathered outside Roanoke’s federal building downtown Monday as part of nationwide rallies against President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s purge of the federal workforce.

“I’m out here because of the things Trump and his cohorts are doing to average people,” said Carl Wheaton, 71, who retired from a career in the beverage industry.

“I think it's important to be out here because we need to represent,” said Wheaton, who looked out over the mostly white crowd. “I wish there were more Black people, because we, Black and Brown, are the ones getting hurt the most.”

Organizers said the protest was aimed at speaking out against the effects of tariffs, federal spending freezes and mass layoffs. Thousands of federal employees have been fired in recent weeks, according to national news outlets, as Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency targeted spending at agencies perceived to be at ideological odds with the administration.

Marie Collins said she felt compelled to organize the rally after a friend texted that she would be protesting outside the federal building, alone if she had to.

“I think we have the ability to make change, but if we're all sitting in our houses alone, we lose faith, and then we don't take action,” Collins said.

Dan O’Donnell, Roanoke County’s former administrator, said he was horrified by what the Trump administration is doing.

“I worked for Republicans for 20-some years, and they were relatively reasonable people back then,” O’Donnell said. “It's all different now.”

Congressman Ben Cline’s office did not respond to a message Monday.

“I’m fed up with the scripted outrage of the Left & their lies about DOGE,” Cline said on X, along with a copy of a letter he sent to constituents who reached out with concerns.

“President Trump’s decision to enlist Mr. Musk is a bold step toward strengthening America’s technological leadership and eliminating bureaucratic inefficiencies,” says the letter from Cline, who is a member of a new DOGE congressional caucus. “There is no evidence to support the allegation that Elon Musk or his team has unlawfully accessed or seized sensitive data.”

Roanoke Mayor Joe Cobb said at least 30 people who worked at the federal building received notices in recent weeks saying not to come into work.

“I learned a long time ago that each of us needs to have a bullshit detector,” Cobb told the crowd through a bullhorn. “That's what this is. This is the biggest bunch of crap I've heard in a long time.”

Reagan Costello-White, 39, said she has friends at the Salem VA Medical Center whose jobs are up in the air. 

“I am just really pissed off about the way federal workers in particular have been treated,” Costello-White said. “They've been treated like they're an enemy of American prosperity somehow, even though they're just regular, hard-working people trying to earn money and keep their families going.”

Courthouse plaza to be named for Onzlee Ware

Roanoke will name a plaza outside the Oliver W. Hill Justice Center after Onzlee Ware.

Ware, who died in 2024, broke barriers as the first Black delegate west of Lynchburg and later as the first Black judge in the 23rd district, which includes Roanoke City, Roanoke County and Salem.

City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to name the courthouse plaza after Ware, “including placing such appropriate statuary and commemorative plaque as may be approved.”

Ware served in the House of Delegates as a Democrat from 2004 until 2014. He then served six years as a juvenile and domestic relations district court judge before the General Assembly appointed him a circuit court judge in 2020.

Ware’s legacy was slightly tarnished just before his death when the state’s Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission suspended him while it investigated a complaint.

Grace Church — whose son, Timothy, was convicted of murder in 2019 — accused Ware in court filings of promising to help with her son’s case in exchange for sex. The commission determined Ware broke judicial ethics rules but could not prove the relationship was a quid-pro-quo arrangement.

Southeast affordable housing project approved

Plans for an affordable housing project on Roanoke Rescue Mission land received thumbs up from city leaders Tuesday.

City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to rezone a swath of land between Bullitt and Jamison avenues Southeast for a 155-unit apartment complex. Councilman Nick Hagen voted against the proposal.

Homes for America, a nonprofit developer based in Maryland, is partnering with the Rescue Mission to construct three apartment buildings up to four-stories tall. Most units will be targeted for those making between 30 and 60 percent of the area’s median income. 

Denise Fazio, development director, told the city planning commission last week that monthly rents will range from $450 for a one-bedroom to $1,300 for a three-bedroom at 60 percent of area median income. The planning commission approved the rezoning request 6-0.

Developers hope to start construction in 2026.

Lee Clark, CEO of the Rescue Mission, said the homeless shelter has wanted to bring something positive to the long-vacant land.

The developer also offers a range of services to help low-income residents living in its properties. Those could include financial literacy, eviction prevention, health and nutrition programs and access to high speed internet.