Thousands of people across Greater Lowell turned out on Saturday for a third wave of “No Kings” rallies, part of a coordinated national push by organizers mobilizing against President Trump and what they describe as a growing tilt toward authoritarianism.
Kerouac Park in Downtown Lowell was packed with people speaking out against what they described as an illegal and offensive war in Iran, the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, threats to democratic norms, accelerating economic inequality, and the continued lack of transparency around the Epstein files.
Signs waved at passing drivers and throughout the crowd ranged from humorous to urgent.
One read “Iran away from the Epstein files,” and another, “Honk if you’re not in the Epstein files,” while others carried more pointed messages, including a quote from Desmond Tutu — the South African archbishop and anti‑apartheid activist — that stated, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
Several speakers addressed the crowd, including state Sen. Vanna Howard, who told attendees they were gathered to show the administration that they would not stand by as rights were rolled back and communities targeted.
“Every day we are going to make sure we protect our neighbors and friends,” Howard said. “We are going to stand up to this administration every day … because we have rule of law, we have due process, we have the people’s power.”
“No kings, no throne, no dictatorship since 1776,” she added to cheers.
Howard, who moved to the U.S. at age 11 after fleeing the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, said that for the first time since arriving in the country she feels she must carry her passport to prove her citizenship because she is not white — a fear she linked to mass deportations and actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“This is not what America is about,” she said, holding up her passport to the crowd. “We are living in fear, we are living in chaos. We are not going to stop fighting for what is right for all of us.”
U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan opened her remarks with a message: “Donald Trump, you are not a king, and you will never be a king.”
“This moment is more than about one man, because he didn’t get here all by himself,” Trahan continued. “He was enabled by elected officials who should know better, who chose loyalty to one man over loyalty to their country — some out of fear, some out of naked ambition.”
She said Republicans in Congress swore an oath to the Constitution but now act as though their oath were to one man — Trump — rather than the country.
She criticized the administration’s immigration policies, saying ICE had been sent to “snatch children, our neighbors, documented and undocumented alike, and they say nothing.”
“They watch as he announces his illegal tariffs on our allies that hurt our small businesses, our farmers, everyday Americans who are just trying to put food on their tables and buy items for their family,” Trahan said. “And they let him.
“They see him push this country into a disastrous war of his choosing, without a mandate, without a plan, without an end in sight,” she added, referencing the war with Iran.
“Finally,” Trahan said, “they see him use the machinery of our government to enrich himself, his family, and his allies, and they ask for his autograph. They have enabled this chaos and this corruption, and the American people are paying the price, because while they protect power at the top, regular families are stretched thin. Prices keep rising, paychecks don’t go as far, and a Republican‑controlled Congress is focused on tax cuts for billionaires, paid for on the backs of working people.”
Brad Buitenhuys, whose titles include chair of the Lowell Conservation Commission, told demonstrators that the federal government was “broken,” and the problems facing the country did not emerge overnight.
“We have watched the middle class shrink while the richest Americans hoard more and more of the nation’s wealth,” he said. “We have watched as our food system often poisons instead of nurtures. We have watched as our health care system leaves families one accident, one diagnosis, one unlucky moment away from financial ruin.”
He called health care a “fundamental right,” saying a person’s survival “should never be treated as a market commodity.”
“And yet we are told this is the best we can do,” he said. “But we know better.
“We are here today because a billionaire class is trying to reshape our democracy into something else entirely — an authoritarian movement that calls every protester a domestic terrorist, every immigrant an illegal alien, and every political opponent a communist,” he said. “Division is their strategy, fear is their weapon, silence is their goal. But we will not be silenced.”
State Rep. Tara Hong also addressed the crowd, referencing recent Republican redistricting pushes — including a Trump‑endorsed effort in Utah that ultimately failed, as well as unsuccessful attempts in Indiana.
“They would not be trying to suppress our vote if our vote didn’t matter,” Hong said to cheers. “They would not try to fill our news and social media feeds with their lies if they did not fear the truth.”
He added that when he was sworn into office, he took an oath “not to a single party, not to a single man — especially not Trump — but to uphold the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Constitution of the United States of America.”
“Our country was founded on the principle that we said no kings 250 years ago — and hell no, no kings in this century right now,” he concluded.
No Kings rallies — which Trump’s Republican Party has labeled “Hate America” rallies — were also held Saturday in Bedford, Billerica, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Groton, Littleton, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, and Townsend, as well as thousands of places in all 50 states and across the globe.
The Associated Press reported that organizers expected more than 9 million people to participate in the demonstrations.
Saturday’s rallies followed two earlier No Kings demonstrations — one in July 2024 and another in October — each of which drew millions nationwide.
Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.
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