In 2024, Donald J. Trump was elected the President of the United States. Following his election, Trump pushed out a slew of executive orders, and reshaped the government to fit his ideology. Many people across the nation felt that the actions taken by Donald Trump and his associates were tyrannical, leading to the organization of mass protests called the No Kings protests. These protests were meant to show that many of the people Donald Trump was elected to represent were not in support of his actions. His comments about possibly serving an unconstitutional third term also sparked outrage, and further fueled the organization of protests nationwide.
Protests would soon take place against Donald Trump and his actions. Most started out small, and built on the momentum gained with every decision deemed “Kingly” the President made. Protests were held sparsely throughout the first few months of the Presidency in the Berkshires, as they were everywhere. Things came to a head on June 14th when Trump planned a parade in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the military, coinciding on his own birthday. On this day, millions across the country stepped out to protest under the banner of “No Kings” and the Berkshires were no exception. An estimated five thousand people turned up in Pittsfield to protest and another two thousand in Great Barrington.
Tension boiled over again with the shutdown of the government on October 1st as Republicans and Democrats in Congress clashed over the government funding bill, with Republicans battling to reduce healthcare budget, and Democrats attempting to hold out in defiance. This government shutdown was another breaking point, leading to mass protests across the country on October 18th, peddling slogans like “No Kinds, No Crowns, No Dictators.” Protests took place across many of the Berkshire towns, specifically Pittsfield, Great Barrington, Dalton, North Adams, Adams, Stockbridge, West Stockbridge, and Lee. Some protests were smaller, with around 200 in Adams, while others were larger, with over 3000 in Pittsfield.
Sources :https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrj1znp0pyo https://theberkshireedge.com/thousands-of-people-attend-no-kings-rallies-all-across-berkshire-county/
https://theberkshireedge.com/thousands-attend-no-kings-rallies-all-across-berkshire-county/
