Carrying signs with slogans such as “No thrones, no crowns, no kings” and “Defend our democracy,” hundreds of people gathered on a cool, sunny Saturday in the Lehigh Valley as part of nationwide “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump and issues such as his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and cuts to health care.
Similar to protests in June, more than 2,000 rallies were held nationwide, including locally near the offices of Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie on Cedar Crest Boulevard in Salisbury Township and at Emrick Boulevard and Freemansburg Avenue in Bethlehem Township.
Passing drivers honked their horns in support, protestors waved the American and pride flags, and a few occasionally chanted and played drums. The Morning Call saw a light police presence in Salisbury Township but no incidents there or in Bethlehem Township.
One protestor with a tally counter reported about 1,000 attendees toward the end of the Bethlehem Township protest, while Rep. Peter Schweyer reported several thousand attendees at the Salisbury Township gathering, including fellow Democrats Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk and Rep. Josh Siegel.
“There’s so much to protest,” Schweyer said. “And what you’ll see with the signs are everything from protecting our health care to paying troops. I saw signs supporting workers rights, LGBTQ rights. I’ve seen signs about protecting our democracy. Sort of a lot of everything.”
The common theme for Saturday’s protestors, he added, was that “nobody’s happy with the direction of our country. Nobody believes that Donald Trump or Ryan Mackenzie have our best interests at heart at all.”
Mackenzie’s office wasn’t immediately available for comment Saturday. GOP leaders painted the protests as unpatriotic and out of touch, with House Speaker Mike Johnson calling the protests the “hate America rally.”
Patty Pologruto, a volunteer with the Northampton County Democratic Committee, however, said the rallies were evidence of a “groundswell of discontent with the Trump administration.”
“We are not paid,” she said. “Trust me, we are not paid. We are not being organized by anybody high up. This is local yokel.”
Allentown resident Elizabeth Griner said she was “so disgusted with the current administration and the way that they rule with fear,” including Immigration and Customs Enforcement arresting American citizens “just because of the way they look.”
She added, “Immigrants made this country, and to say that we are no longer welcoming them when they bring a wealth of expertise to us … we have a whole lot of of foreign doctors here. A lot of them went through our education system, our university system, and then decided to remain in the United States. And now people are afraid to come here for that education, afraid to stay here.”
Several protestors wore costumes such as a dinosaur, a unicorn, a chicken, those themed after “The Handmaid’s Tale” and one fashioned styled after the American flag.
Lauren Correll of Easton wore a monster mask, almost resembling a deer with its skull shape and antlers, that complimented her sign that read, “The real monster is in the White House.” She said she attended the “No Kings” protests in June and felt concerns such as about ICE, the Jeffrey Epstein files and humans rights such as for her transgender friends.
“We all fear that Trump is taking control more of in terms of being a king rather than listening to advisors, listening to the people, listening to pretty much anybody,” she said. “It’s kind of him doing what he wants and that’s in general what we’re protesting.”
Nazareth resident Jeanie Morgano, a school psychologist with Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 who also protested in June, wore that unicorn costume on Saturday.
She said she went out to protest against issues such as gerrymandering, and hopes the protest makes people “realize that there are a lot of people that feel the same way, and that they will continue to resist what’s going on, and that most importantly, they will vote in this November election and next year’s elections for Congress. So that we can make some serious charges and get our democracy back on track.”
Originally Published: October 18, 2025 at 5:56 PM EDT