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Vice President J.D. Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance flew into Jackson on Tuesday, July 29, for a private fundraiser that cost up to $250,000 for a couple to co-host.
At the entrance to a private road west of Jackson, Dairy Lane, a handful of protesters stood to the side of a public bike path. About a dozen local law enforcement and Secret Service security milled about. Some hovered along the roadway while others checked inside and underneath incoming vehicles with Wyoming, Idaho and California plates.
Protester Craig Logan took pictures of each vehicle that entered with his right hand and, with his left, held a sign denouncing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said he was going to post those photos online to identify supporters of “fascism” in our community.
“We’re here to display to JD Vance a great First Amendment welcome and show him how displeased we are,” Logan said.
The over two-decade Jackson Hole resident said he was a “lifelong republican” until Trump took office the first time. He’s here because of what he sees as this administration’s disregard for the Constitution, bolstering of ICE and handling of the Epstein files, among others.
“It’s a long list,” Logan said, “I don’t have a big enough sign. It’s an exhaustive list.”
He was one of about eight protesters who mostly expressed displeasure with the Trump administration’s handling of undocumented immigrants. In Teton County last week, ICE officers visited businesses, homes and arrested at least three people.
Just before noon, a motorcade of black SUVs with tinted windows, flashing lights and sirens sped onto the private road while protester Kathy Tompkins, who has also lived in Jackson Hole for over two decades, held a firm thumbs down.
Protesters dispersed quickly after the about 20-second glimpse.
Vance is believed to have stayed about three hours before flying to Big Sky, Montana, for a similar fundraiser dinner. The second-in-command’s lesser-known post is as the chief fundraiser for the Republican National Committee. Teton County is the country’s wealthiest county per capita and national outlet Axios reports the event was expected to raise $2 million for the Republican National Committee. The fundraiser in Big Sky was expected to bring the total to $4 million.
The New York Times reports the Jackson Hole event is at least the seventh event Vance has attended since mid-June and that the RNC has about $60 million more on hand than the Democratic National Committee.
President Trump held a similar event at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort around the same time last summer at the Four Seasons, where lunch cost $5,000 a head.
Resort investors and former owners Karen and Jay Kemmerer co-hosted last year’s event, as well. A Jeep marked with the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort logo was among the vehicles admitted to this year’s lunch.
Protester Logan registered his disapproval.
“Every dollar you spend at the JHMR, a portion of that dollar goes to supporting fascism,” he said.
