Protestors spanned the length of Fisher Veterans’ Memorial Park in Lebanon on Saturday morning, Oct. 18, lining the street’s edge with protest signs and American flags in opposition to the Trump administration.
By organizer Michael Schroeder’s estimate, between 600 and 700 people attended Saturday’s protest in Lebanon, one of around 2,700 “No Kings” rallies held throughout the country in what some expected to be one of the highest turnout national protests in American history.
“We are here today because we love our country,” said Schroeder. “If you take everything that this Republican administration is saying about us and turn it upside down and inside out and backwards: that’s the truth. We are here, we are not being paid by any outside funders, we are a grassroots, local, independent organization that is joining up with literally millions of other Americans in defense of our Constitutional Republic.”
After Schroeder’s introduction, Democratic candidate for the 9th congressional district Rachel Wallace spoke. Wallace is running against incumbent Republican Dan Meuser, who has vocally supported President Donald Trump both before and after his 2024 re-election.
Read More: Meuser won’t seek governor’s office; says he will work to advance Trump’s agenda
“There is a lot at stake for us, and it’s not just for our country, it’s right here in Pennsylvania’s ninth district; there are impacts happening today on our daily lives,” said Wallace. “We’ve got tariffs raising prices and hurting our farmers. We’ve got attacks on our healthcare that are driving people off their insurance and raising our healthcare prices, healthcare is getting more expensive, it’s getting more complicated.”
Schroeder, who also plans the weekly Mondays with Meuser protest at Lebanon County Courthouse, explained that though around 300 people registered for the protest, many more showed up without registering.
Read More: ‘Where’s Dan?’ Local protesters push for meeting with Congressman Dan Meuser
Nathan Charles, an immigration lawyer who served 20 years as a U.S. Navy SEAL, said President Trump is “acting like the type of tyrant [he] fought to prevent in other countries,” citing the deployment of the National Guard on protestors in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and the attempted deployment in other locations, and recent ICE actions (including detaining people without warrants and tear-gassing protestors and journalists).
“I’m here because the president has been drastically exceeding his authority in a number of ways,” said Charles. “This is about cruelty; cruelty is the point. He’s not just detaining dangerous criminal immigrants, he’s detaining entirely peaceful people who are contributing members of society.”
Another volunteer to speak was Pastor Jeff Keller of Lebanon Church of the Brethren, who emphasized nonviolence and patriotism.
“We are being painted as a people who are unchristian and do not love the United States of America, but we are a people who love the United States of America,” said Keller. “We believe as a people of Jesus that we are better together, and we are a safe people for all of our neighbors. That means whether you are a Christian, a Muslim, whether you are Jewish, or whether you are an atheist, we are better together and we love you. We will be a safe touch point for you in our community and take very seriously our call to love God, to love one another, and to love our neighborhood.
“When we talk about loving our neighbors, it’s not possible to do so when we do not come together. We need one another. We need liberals, conservatives, and moderates who are willing to fight for our constitutional republic.”
Though protestor motivations varied, multiple protestors cited a lack of checks on the Trump administration — which has defied court orders filed against it by federal court judges — inhumane treatment of immigrants and protestors, and the distribution of false information by the administration and its allies.
When asked why he was protesting, Scott Johnson replied, “I’m not willing to let my daughter grow up under authoritarian rule. I am protesting the lack of due process, I am protesting the normalization of blatant lies, I am protesting the lack of empathy in government, I am protesting the will of the minority being imposed on the majority.” “Protesting is something that started this country,” says protestor Timothy Morrissey, noting his Irish heritage and the role of the Irish in the Revolutionary War. “As the sign says, the American Revolution was a No Kings protest.” Inspired by her mother, who protested for women’s rights in the 1970s, millennial Rachel holds a protest sign. She said she was disappointed at the lack of people her age at the protest, explaining that most there were older or much younger. Jennifer Hackett (right) and daughter Catherine protest Saturday. “I’m here because I believe in our nation and I feel that our nation is under attack from our leadership,” said Jennifer. “I am a Christian, and to me that means standing up for the poor, the immigrants, the homeless, the hungry.” “If people actually knew what they were losing, they’d fight too,” said Teri, pictured with a protest sign. “We’re watching fascism unfold in real time and we need to save our democracy, we need to uphold our Constitution.”
Overall, protestors skewed older, with many being of retirement age. Many told LebTown they were either first-time protestors or people who had only begun attending protests recently, though some had more experience.
Those interviewed by LebTown showed a range of political beliefs, including some who identified as generally conservative, some who were moderate, and Democrats and liberals.
Over the two-hour protest (running from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.), there was no violence by or against protestors, a trend in Saturday’s protests throughout the country with little reported lawlessness. Speakers also urged protestors not to engage with any agitators.
Though a few cars stopped to talk to or yell towards protestors, protestors said reception was overwhelmingly positive or neutral, with many cars honking as they passed by.
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