19-06-2025
No Kings protesters vow it's only the ‘end of the beginning, we're going to be out here for months, years' until Donald Trump's policies end
SPRINGFIELD — John Paradis, retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and VoteVets member, opened Saturday's Western Mass 'No Kings' Day of Defiance Rally Saturday reminding folks that the old Springfield Armory, with its roots in the American Revolution, is just up the street.
Then he gestured to the throng gathered on the steps of the federal courthouse.
'Today,' Paradis said. 'This crowd is the arsenal of democracy.'
It was people carrying signs, wearing costumes and identifying themselves as members of everything from the Sisters of Saint Joseph to the American Legion, Mass Senior Action Council and the Young Feminist Party.
There were more than 100 'No Kings' rallies across Massachusetts Saturday and the Pioneer Valley including Easthampton, Northampton, Haydenville, Granby, Ashfield, Orange, Amherst, Greenfield, Westfield and Belchertown.
The crowd in Springfield exceeded its organizers' expectations with thousands gathered, lining State Street for two or three blocks on either side.
'This is the end of the beginning,' said Ron Bucchino, of Agawam, who attended Northampton's event. 'We are going to be out here for a longtime. We are going to be out here for months. We are going to be out here for years.'
At the Northampton rally, Janet Testori, of Westhampton, said she hopes these demonstrations tells people not to sink into indifference or to lose hope.
And the midterms are coming up.
'Vote,' she said.
She held a sign chiding the president: 'Donnie? Is it raining on your parade today.'
For June 14 — Trump's birthday — was also the 250th anniversary of the Army and Trump presided over a parade in Washington. Saturday was also Flag Day.
'I'm here to celebrate Flag Day,' said Steven Kramer, of Amherst, who handed out small American flags at the Springfield event. 'And to take Flag Day back.'
He said he's tired of national symbols being co-opted by what he sees as right-wing forces antithetical to American values.
'I'm here for democracy. I'm here for the democracy I grew up with and the democracy I support,' said Brian Kennedy, of East Longmeadow.
A Marine veteran who served in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969, Kennedy was quick to point out that he'd run the Marine Corps Marathon one year while he had bone spurs in his ankles.
Messages were read Saturday in Springfield from U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren as well as U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield.
U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, shook hands with the crowd as he arrived at the Northampton rally.
'The people who are gathered here today are patriots,' McGovern, ranking Democrat on the Rules Committee, said. 'They love this country. And they're horrified by the direction that Trump and his thugs are taking this country.'
Alice Jenkins, 19 of Westhampton, and one of the organizers of the Northampton rally, said one should also be lulled into a false sense of security, thinking they live in a liberal bubble here in Massachusetts.
There is fear close to home.
State Sen. Adam Gomez, D-Springfield, spoke in his home city.
'It's a moment that we're standing up for justice and we're standing up for what we feel is right,' Gomez said.
He said people have to pay attention to national issues, to political parties and elections.
'But then hopefully this message matriculates down to individuals that want to make a change within their communities, in their streets, with their neighbors and also on their city councils or school committees or within their municipalities to make sure that they're staying engaged not only on the federal level, but also here where they're from,' Gomez said.
In Gomez's neighborhood — the Brightwood section of Springfield, immigration enforcement officers were spotted on Fisk Avenue. Many in the neighborhood are from Guatemala and the sight of ICE agents make them fearful of going to work or sending their children to school, he said. That fear transcends immigration status.
Neighbors are volunteering to escort children to school and help breadwinners get to work, he said.
'And honestly, it's been a little, a little uncomfortable, but these are the things that we're facing here,' Gomez said.
John Bonifaz — constitutional attorney and free speech advocate from Amherst — closed out the Springfield rally Saturday with a call-and-response.
Trump sent the National Guard and Marines into Los Angeles over the objects of local officials.
'This is an abuse of power. An impeachable offense,' said Bonifaz, a backer behind
Donald Trump ignoring court orders meant to curb his power?
'This is an abuse of power. An impeachable offense.'
Ignoring the will of Congress by canceling spending.
'This is an abuse of power. An impeachable offense.'
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