After opening remarks from volunteer organizers, protesters marched 1.2 miles to Bethlehem City Hall.<\/p>\n
The protest\u2019s lead organizer Brooke McDermott said the first No Kings protest in June was in response to the Trump administration, but after a recent increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity, another demonstration was necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cICE hadn\u2019t really kicked in at that point, and disappearing people weren\u2019t going on yet,\u201d she said. \u201cNow I look back at June and think how naive we were, how simple it was back then.\u201d<\/p>\n
McDermott said organizers had some concerns heading into the protest after House Speaker Mike Johnson referred to the nationwide protests as the \u201chate America rally.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n She also referenced how Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer said the protests and people rallying in them are the reason the government has shut down<\/a>, which puts a target on organizers\u2019 backs.<\/p>\n McDermott said Indivisible and other organizing groups were labeled as terrorist organizations and called \u201cAntifa.\u201d<\/p>\n Antifa is a loose, leaderless affiliation short for anti-fascist, according to BBC<\/a>. On Sept. 22, an executive order<\/a> was passed that designated Antifa as a \u201cdomestic terrorist organization.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAntifa is not an organization,\u201d McDermott said. \u201cIt\u2019s just anybody who opposes fascism. (The Trump administration) kept saying, \u2018They hate America.\u2019 I love America \u2014 I wouldn\u2019t be doing a voluntary full-time job trying to save it if I didn\u2019t love my country.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bethlehem resident Kim Luybli said she attended the protest out of frustration with lawmakers seeking to restrict women\u2019s reproductive rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a woman and a mother, she said she can\u2019t believe that men in office are able to make decisions about women\u2019s bodies.<\/p>\n \u201cAll I can think about is how horribly this country is being run,\u201d Luybli said. \u201cNo Kings means we have a constitution that has been around for a very long time, and that is what we follow. This really is the first time we\u2019ve had a president like this who is such a narcissist that he wants to be in total power by himself.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Bethlehem native Edward Broczkowski, \u201889, \u201996G, said he chose to attend the protest to show support and solidarity after participating in the first No Kings demonstration in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great to have so many like-minded people in our community that come out and support others,\u201d he said. \u201cFor some of us, (the Trump administration\u2019s) policies don\u2019t necessarily affect us, but you have to stand up for those that are affected, because eventually it will affect us.\u201d<\/p>\n Broczkowski said although he\u2019s lived in Bethlehem his whole life and attended school there, the No Kings protests are the only rallies he and his wife have partaken in. He said they felt compelled to take part, even though protesting isn\u2019t something they normally do.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said he hopes the protests send a message that people must continue to resist the Trump administration and speak on behalf of those that can\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n Allentown resident Alicia McIntosh attended the protest accompanied by two friends dressed in the red robes of \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale,\u201d a dystopian novel where women are forced into servitude.\u00a0<\/p>\n McIntosh said when she first read the book 20 years ago, she was disturbed and never imagined the world it depicts could happen. She said people often say fiction predicts the future, and \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u201d shows what could occur if society continues down this path.<\/p>\n She also said she\u2019s attended every protest against the administration since Trump returned to office. As a disabled Gulf War veteran, she said she will continue to fight for freedom and free speech to protect the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI will continue to fight for the Constitution, which I swore to protect,\u201d McIntosh said. \u201cI didn\u2019t swear to protect the president. I swore to protect the Constitution of the U.S. and that\u2019s what I will always do, as a soldier, a female, a mom, a veteran, a sister and a best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n She said seeing so many people protest made her realize she\u2019s not alone, with everyone there rallying in solidarity against Trump\u2019s policies on immigration, healthcare, free speech, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights and equality.\u00a0<\/p>\n Students from schools far from Bethlehem also joined the protest. Spencer, a freshman at Kutztown University, attended with her sister.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/3P4A2648.jpg\")
A protester is pictured holding a sign depicting President Donald Trump as a king. Participants carried numerous signs mocking Trump. (Mariel Kavanagh\/B&W Staff)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/3P4A2705.jpg\")
Three women are dressed in red robes depicting The Handmaid\u2019s Tale, which is set in a totalitarian society that treats women as property. Many other participants also wore costumes representing how they feel the administration is treating people. (Mariel Kavanagh\/B&W Staff)<\/p>\n