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Thousands of protestors gathered at Saturday’s “No Kings” protest on Erie Boulevard, flooding the streets of Dewitt to protest infringements of free speech, immigration raids and the rise of white supremacy.

The protest, organized by local community activist groups, was one of over 100 planned protests in New York and thousands across the United States in a national movement against President Donald Trump’s administration.

“There are drips in a bucket,” attendee Jerri Cuffee said. “We can’t do it one at a time. But if we pull together, we can do this.”

The protest is the second of its kind this year, with the first major national protest in June. Saturday’s stretched more than half a mile from Kinne Road to East Genesee Street. The Unity Street Band played at the corner of Fly Road while others rang bells and chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go.”

Some protestors wore costumes ranging from Uncle Sam, inflatable suits and Halloween masks. Hundreds of cars drove by, honking their horns, throwing up peace signs and holding signs and flags in support of the movement.

Dick Kornbluth, who served as an organizer with the CNY Solidarity Coalition Coordinating Committee, believed up to 10,000 people attended the protest. Syracuse.com reported over 6,000 participants.

Kornbluth said 2,700 communities across all 50 states had signed up to participate in the national protests, but he knew of smaller towns planning similar events as well. He said the real number of protests is likely much larger.

“Change is possible. We can reclaim our democracy from people,” Kornbluth said. “Rallies don’t change things by themselves, but what they do is they give people optimism and hope.”

Cuffee, a Syracuse University alum, said the number of attendees “speaks volumes” to the many who disagree with the administration.

As a retired teacher, she stressed the importance of education, saying today’s politics do not reflect the ideals the United States was founded on. She said someone with a criminal record is not what we should expect from the president, referring to Trump’s 34 felony convictions for falsifying business records to influence the 2016 election.

Standing with a sign decorated with the Bill of Rights, Cuffee said citizens have the right to demand that the administration follow the Constitution. She explained that some may be hesitant to speak out alone, but there is strength in numbers.

“This is worth it,” Cuffee said. “I feel like I’m doing something.”

Pastor Garth Olsen of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fayetteville said he attended the event to serve the community and stand up for the dignity of all people. He held up a sign that read, “I believe in the separation of church and hate.”

He said he was “very deeply troubled” by those in the current administration claiming to speak on behalf of God, especially in a hateful context.

He mentioned recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity, mass deporting and detaining people across the nation. He said he’s “dismayed” at the amount of religious language used to justify the amount of violence he sees.

“When I see people locked away in a facility and deported for speaking their mind, I don’t see Jesus there,” Olsen said. “We must stand for recognizing there’s a God who loves all people and believes in the dignity of everyone.”

Believing in the separation of church and state, Olsen said he thinks all faiths should be able to freely worship in the country and representation within the government, calling it a “fundamental right.”

As a white, Christian veteran, Olsen said he is the demographic Trump’s administration claims it’s helping, but disagrees, saying “Christian supremacy” is never justified.

“It’s not about, ‘Does it affect me?’ That’s the selfish way of thinking about it,” Olsen said. “ It’s about, ‘Does it affect my neighbors? Does it affect my brother and my sister? Does it affect those that God loves? Does it affect our civil liberties and our civil rights?’”

Avery Magee | Asst. Photo Editor

Saturday’s protest was organized by local community activist groups and was one of over 100 planned protests in New York and thousands across the United States in a national movement against the current administration.

Multiple signs referenced dystopian literature, including “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and “1984” by George Orwell. Protestor Donald Miller held a sign reading “Did we wake up today in Gilead?” referencing the totalitarian regime in “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Miller said he joined the protest because of the active deportation of farm workers. He said there needs to be an effective way to help people come to the U.S., and immigration laws must “straighten out.”

Another protester, Heather, who declined to share her last name, held a sign saying “I miss when Orwell was fiction.” She said recent actions by the current administration have incited “pure terror” in her.

Standing in an inflatable chameleon costume while holding a sign that says “down with the turd Reich,” protestor Roxanne Oliver said she’s been fighting for civil rights for the past six years, hoping to ensure and preserve a legacy of democracy in America.

Oliver recently moved to Onondaga County and said its “diverse community” is important to her. The rise of Nazism in the administration poses a threat to her friends, she said, which is why she wanted to protest to give a “voice to those who can’t.”

Protesting is one of the “best exercises” of freedom of speech, Oliver said. Large groups of people coming together to show their displeasure with the administration demonstrates how important it is to peacefully protest and get out of the “echo chamber” that controls so many people, she said.

SU seniors Logan Wagner and Dylan Adamczyk said they attended to protect democracy, saying “it’s never been more at risk.” Both believe change will only happen if people “stand up, make our voices heard and vote.”

Wagner said, as a political science major, he hasn’t learned of a time when there were nationwide protests to the level the U.S. is seeing now, besides during the Vietnam War. He said it’s “really easy” to feel in the minority, outraged by the Trump administration, but being surrounded by others has made him less alone.

Both Wagner and Adamczyk held signs reading “I thought we beat you Nazi f*cks in 1945?” and “I miss when Nazis were bad,” calling out the “sudden” normalization of Nazism.

In 2024, white extremist groups accounted for nearly 80% of U.S. extremist-related demonstrations and acts of political violence, Reuters reported. Dalton Henry Stout, leader of the neo-Nazi group Aryan Freedom Network, told Reuters in August that Trump’s rhetoric created an uptick in interest and recruitment.

“We can’t all agree that the Nazis were bad?” Adamczyk said. “They have historically been the most textbook bad guys for the last 70 years, and now, all of a sudden, they’re not the bad guys anymore. I think that’s incredibly wrong.”

Both said more students should participate in protests, noting they only knew of two other peers who attended. Wagner said he wished students were more civically engaged.

“Showing up in real life and connecting with other people in the loneliness epidemic is the most together feeling that I could have,” Oliver said. “I’m happy to try to show up for those that don’t have a voice.”

Published on October 19, 2025 at 12:37 am