WORCESTER — At times, the handmade protest signs seemed to outnumber the people — and there were thousands. A sea of home-made messages in bold print and sharp graphics swept across Worcester Common on Saturday as a well-organized “No Kings” rally took shape on the back steps of City Hall.
The local event, one of nearly 2,000 nationwide, was timed to coincide with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday and a large-scale military parade in Washington, D.C., complete with tanks, troops, and storm clouds. While the federal government billed the celebration as a commemoration of the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, many saw it as a political display — particularly after a turbulent week involving military deployment in Los Angeles for immigration enforcement operations.
In Worcester, the tone was defiant but deeply focused. Speakers from across Central Massachusetts addressed what they see as threats to democracy, education, climate policy, science, and civil liberties. Though the May 8 ICE raid on Eureka Street was part of the backdrop, it wasn’t the rally’s focal point.
Among those who took the mic was Sean Ryder, a musician and biochemist at UMass, who spoke about perceived threats to science and education under Trump’s leadership.
“I’m fighting mad! Who’s with me?” Ryder shouted, drawing cheers as he punctuated his speech with the refrain: “I’m not OK with that. Are you?”
Warning that budget cuts could hollow out public higher education, Ryder added: “It’ll get to a point where we have to start looking around to see which colleges we want to keep and which ones we want to get rid of.”
Another featured speaker, Jeanne Cahill of Northborough — a longtime climate activist and former statehouse candidate — turned her attention to clean energy policy. Cahill was one of the rally’s main organizers, alongside the Greater Assabet Indivisible Network (GAIN), which helped coordinate the event.
“Solar energy is now the cheapest source of energy — cheaper than gas, cheaper than oil, cheaper than coal,” she said. “They want you to think only the rich can afford it. It’s just not true. We’ve got to take our power. We have to act locally and purchase energy-independent power.”
The rally closed with an emotional address from Air Force veteran Allan Finnegan, a West Lynn native and poet, who said he enlisted when he was 19 because he believed in America’s ideals — but no longer sees them reflected in its current leadership.
“Trump is the most inhuman human I have ever known in my life,” Finnegan said, drawing thunderous cheers. He ended with a poem, asking the crowd: “If I could change the world, would you come with me?”
The emotional peak of the afternoon came from Congressman Jim McGovern, who has been a vocal critic of Trump and a steady presence in local resistance circles. McGovern was visibly moved as he addressed the enormous crowd and repeatedly said he was stunned by the turnout.
“Let me tell you something,” said McGovern. “It is not patriotic to throw yourself a birthday party and use the military as props. it is pathetic. It has cost the taxpayers an excess of $45 million dollars. That money would be better spent rehiring all the people he laid off at the VA. This ego trip is about one thing, and that is him, and it is how he keeps himself as all powerful. He is trying to militarize our democracy.”
Worcester showed up in force Saturday, with a rally that could stand shoulder to shoulder with any across the country — a display of spirit, organization, and civic engagement that reflected the city’s growing voice in national conversations.
Have news, tips, or a story worth telling? Reach Editor Charlene Arsenault at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org—because good stories (and great scoops) deserve to be shared.
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