A few days after the Justice Department sued Maine over the state’s protections for transgender student athletes, many residents gathered around the state on Saturday to air their frustrations with the Trump administration.
In Bangor, more than a hundred gathered outside the Federal Building with signs and noisemakers, joining call-and-response chants and waving to passing cars that honked in support.
“We need to stop Trump from destroying our democracy,” said Debbie Saucier, a participant from Etna.
Their signs and chants highlighted the administration’s cuts to federal funding and programs, immigration enforcement actions and close ties to billionaire Elon Musk. They also called for protections for women and transgender people, and opposed the president’s trade war.
The event came two weeks after similar protests against Trump drew thousands across Maine.
The continued events — both larger ones like the 20-plus scheduled on Saturday and ongoing regular protests — show continued frustration and pushback to the administration’s actions this year. In at least one Maine city, there was also a pro-Trump rally that was planned on Saturday.
Organizers of the ongoing opposition rallies said the date of Saturday’s protest was a nod to the 250th anniversary of the “shot heard round the world,” or the gunfire that marked the start of the Revolutionary War. Maine protestors have summarized their specific concerns as threats to democracy.
“Just like our founders, today we face a government that too often represents the interests of the wealthiest men on earth, not we the people,” Bangor City Council Chair Cara Pelletier said at the event, noting that she was speaking as a private citizen. “Just like our founders, we are here because we believe that every person has the right to be treated equally under the law.”
Events were held elsewhere around the state from Portland to Caribou, according to organizers. In Ellsworth, the announcement of a demonstration at City Hall was met with plans on social media for another event to support Trump.
In Bangor, cuts to health care funding and social security were big concerns for Debbie Saucier and her husband Rick. They’re concerned about reduced MaineCare funding, hospitals cutting services or having to close, and not having access to Social Security after paying into it for decades.
Debbie Saucier wants the protests to influence Republican representatives to act in Congress, she said. Her husband shared her concerns and added that overall, he sees cruelty and hatred in the administration’s actions, which he believes have no place in government.
Rev. Mariah Hayden, who came to the Bangor event from Orono, said she attended to take a stand for people who were being harmed by the administration’s actions. A veteran protestor, she said these events also help objectors like herself to know they’re not alone.
“The commonality and differences that unite us are being used to scare, harm and divide us by people that stand to benefit from our suffering,” speaker Adrian Sockalexis from the Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance said on Saturday, reading from a previous speech by April Tomah.
