Hundreds of charged-up protesters gathered on Coles Hill and around Plymouth Rock on a gray Saturday to demonstrate against President Trump and his polices, taking part in a wave of similar “No Kings” events held in cities and towns in Massachusetts and across the country.

They were protesting, among other things, the detention of Plymouth residents by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and cuts to the federal government by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE. Hundreds of ICE detainees are being held at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility – 448 as of May 27. (It is unknown whether any are from Plymouth.)

Saturday’s two-hour-long event on the waterfront was peaceful. There were no official estimates of the crowd size, though some observers said it easily topped 1,000.

Protesters chanted and carried signs with messages such as “ICE out of MA”, “No Kings, No ICE, No DOGE”, “Save Our Veterans, Save Our Seniors, Save Our Democracy,” and “No Kings, No Tanks, Resist.”

The protest occurred on the same day of a Trump-ordered military parade in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. The parade also coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday.  

The anti-Trump demonstrations here and elsewhere also took place against a background of political violence in some parts of the country, most notably in Minnesota, where a Democratic state representative and her husband were assassinated and a state senator and his wife were shot, in what officials are calling politically motivated attacks.

Meantime, military personnel remain deployed in some parts of Los Angeles to quell violent protests, despite opposition from Mayor Karen Bass and California governor Gavin Newsom, who say the show of force is intended to intimidate, not protect.

As the Plymouth rally was winding down, a small group of counter-protesters carrying Trump banners exchanged words with some of the anti-Trump demonstrators.  

Pro-Palestinian protesters also joined the crowd, chanting and carrying signs with messages such as “Israel Trains ICE,” “Queer Voices for Palestinian Lives”, and “Honk for Peace in Palestine.”  

Here’s a video from Saturday protest, by Christopher Harting, along with gallery of photographs from Jim Curran and Heidi Harting:

Credit: (Photo by Jim Curran)
Credit: (Photo by Jim Curran)
Credit: (Photo by Jim Curran)
Credit: (Photo by Jim Curran)
Credit: (Photo by Jim Curran)
Credit: (Photo by Jim Curran)
Credit: (Photo by Jim Curran)
Credit: (Photo by Heidi Harting)
Credit: (Photo by Heidi Harting)
Credit: (Photo by Heidi Harting)
Credit: (Photo by Heidi Harting)
Credit: (Photo by Heidi Harting)
Credit: (Photo by Heidi Harting)
(Photo by Heidi Harting) Credit: (Photo by Heidi Harting)
Credit: (Photo by Heidi Harting)

Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.

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