Motorists passing by Fisher Veterans’ Memorial Park Saturday, March 28, were greeted to the chants of more than 600 protesters again shouting “No Kings” to various motorists.
Among their number was Lebanon Valley College students Mia Perilli, Hallie Miller and Elspeth Hunter, who could be seen as part of a “democracy posse” shouting “Democracy is here to stay.”
“I’ve been seeing a lot of injustice, and signs of authoritarianism and fascism in our government,” Hunter said. “I think that if we don’t come and take a stand, who’s going to?”
The demonstrations along S. 9th and S. 10th streets was Miller’s first protest, who said the world is “becoming more and more terrifying.” Yet it seems like many around her don’t seem to care.
“The more that I hear on the news that is happening, I’m scared for my friends, I’m scared for myself, I’m scared for my future,” she said.
Saturday’s demonstration was part of the “No Kings Day” national protests held March 28 against President Donald Trump’s actions and policies since he took office for his second term. More than 3,000 protests and demonstrations are expected throughout the nation, with Lebanon County organizers hoping to add their voices to the discourse.
“We’re out here in defense of our democracy,” organizer Michael Schroeder said. “We’re out here because we are very concerned that there is an authoritarian takeover taking place right now in the United States.”
Saturday’s demonstrations were the third round of protests organized by groups like Indivisible around the nation. The second round of No Kings protests included more than 2,700 demonstrations in cities across the country. The first No Kings protest on June 14 had between 2 and 4.8 million people at more than 2,150 separate rallies nationwide, according to the Crowd Counting Consortium.
Schroeder said that protests like No Kings Day is a very powerful way to reject authoritarianism, and fosters a community of resistance in areas like Lebanon County.
“So many people are coming out because they can see with their eyes and they are paying attention,” he said. “They are outraged by the impunity of this regime and the total disregard for constitutional norms and the way this democracy has been governed.”
Protesters’ issues
Lebanon County protesters March 28 expressed their opposition to various Trump administration policies, including immigration enforcement, transgender and queer rights, tariffs, The Save Act and voters rights, the United States’ war with Iran.
“I have a long blood line of military in my family, and while a lot of them did support Trump in his first administration, a lot of them are not now,” Brad McClary said. “There was completely no reason we should have been bombing Iraq with Israel. It’s complete unaccountability.”
U.S. and Israeli military forces began striking Iran Feb. 28 in a campaign that killed Khamenei, dozens of top officials and hit more than 1,250 targets inside the country. McClary said he believes the fighting is just going to compound over time with no easy way out of the conflict.
“I’m by no means a government intelligence agent, but there are seven choke points in the world and we just destroyed one of them,” he said. “It’s not going to go away anytime soon.
Many of the protesters are also part of the Mondays with Meuser protests, which started in March 2025. The group holds public demonstrations calling for Republican Rep. Dan Meuser, of Pennsylvania’s 9th Congressional District, to meet in person with his constituents in Lebanon County in a town hall and address their concerns with the Trump administration.
Mondays with Meuser co-organizer Laura Quick said Meuser seems to be in lockstep with what the Trump administration is doing. But protesters want to make sure their voices and concerns are heard.
“Our congressman’s not listening and neither is our president,” she said. “He’s in his own little world, he’s doing his own thing. So we have to get to any representatives that will listen.”
ICE concerns
Many of the protesters Saturday expressed the growing concerns about increased U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence, and fears that incidents that happened in Minnesota could come to Pennsylvania.
Speaking of the proposed ICE warehouses in Berks and Schuylkill County, and a potential warehouse in Dauphin County, Palmyra resident Mark Thomas said he’s concerned that the Lebanon-area could become another hotbed for conflict.
“You read how quickly local law enforcement are willing to sign those (ICE) agreements, or how they just up and buy those warehouses without telling anyone,” he said. “I’m just not comfortable how quickly we cave to Trump and ICE.”
More than 62 agencies in the commonwealth have signed up for the program, including departments in Lebanon, Franklin, Lancaster, Schuylkill and York counties. In Lebanon County, the District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Lebanon County Regional and South Lebanon Township police departments, all signed onto U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program as of Feb. 10, according to the federal agency’s website.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said that law enforcement agencies that join the program would receive free training and possible eligibility for federal payments through government programs.
However, issues like the warehouses and ever growing ICE presence were reasons that protesters want to make their voices heard to national leaders and the community.
“It’s kind of horrifying that it’s something that we can’t directly stop,” Hunter said. “We don’t get a say in these things, they just happen. If this is the way we can raise awareness and make people notice it, then that’s what I want to do.”
The Lebanon Daily News also noticed a few individuals attempting to antagonize protesters, including one person wearing at Jonestown Fire Company shirt and attempting to provoke volunteers attempting to provide safety for protesters. Protesters appeared to ignore these individuals, even after another person shouted that they were being paid to be there.
Organizers said no one, including the volunteers providing safety, were paid to be part of Saturday’s protest. Quick said that the No Kings Day protest is a way of “moving fear into action.”
“A lot of people think that they are alone,” Quick said. “They see the MAGA signs and think they are outnumbered. … This is a good way to come together and empower people.”
Despite her fears, Hunter says she wants to continue to going to more protests in the future.
“My primary focus is going and learning more for myself, and being more vocal in smaller groups and personal family members that might disagree,” Hunter said. “I think that should be people’s primary goals as well.”
