Newswatch 16’s Valeria Quiñones takes us to one of the many ‘No Kings’ protests happening in our area.
SCRANTON, Pa. — The sounds of car honks and people cheering in response bounced off of buildings in downtown Scranton Saturday morning. The loudness here is part of the third round of No Kings protests happening across the country. On the sidewalks of courthouse square, dozens waved signs, calling out the recent actions of the Trump administration.
Karoline Yanchek from Archbald says, “This protest here today is an act of patriotism for our country. The way our country is going—this is not what America was built on. America was built on immigrants. It was built on hope. It was not built on this fear that the government is inflicting on its citizens right now.”
While many came out to protest the president, others gathered to speak out against things happening right here at home.
“Big thing is the data centers. It affects all of us. We are all paying. We all use the same water, and then we won’t have anything to use. The government doesn’t care about us. They can call AI stuff innovation, but it’s not innovation when it’s just ruining everything for the people, for the environment, for everything,” says Olivia Brennan from Scranton.
Speaker Sarah Balmer, a Lackawanna County mother, says that, because of recent ice-related events, she fears for her adopted daughter’s safety. “My fear is, we know right now they’re going after mostly brown people. Horrifically, so, and we know for sure she’ll be next. It’s only a matter of time, and once they come for one minority group, they come for another minority group, and pretty soon it will be all of us that they come for.”
Some people at the protest in Scranton say they see more young adults than in years past.
“It’s very hopeful for me to see people my age because a lot of young people have the mentality, ‘Oh, well that doesn’t affect me.’ It does now. It’s not just the people buying houses. It’s not just the people with kids. It’s everybody. It’s a matter of human dignity at this point,” says Yancheck.
Ashley Giordano from Scranton says, “I’m a young mom, and I think it’s really important to show up for everybody, even the young children, the children who have lost their lives in this war. I want my son to grow up and say my mom stood up for what she believed in.”
“I have younger siblings, and to see them growing up in a world — I mean, the way it’s going right now is just not a positive reinforcement for them,” says Logan Cabrera from Peckville.
“We are the future. Younger generations like us. We are the future, and we have to put it in the right direction for everybody,” says Sofia Laboranti from Blakely.
Organizers say they expect the No Kings protest happening across the country and even around the world to be the biggest turnout of all protests combined.