(The Center Square) – A month after the “No Kings Day” demonstrations across the country, “Good Trouble Lives On” will take their protests of President Donald Trump nationwide on Thursday.
The organizers are labeling the events as “a national day of action to respond to the attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration.” The group chose Thursday to honor Democratic Georgia Rep. John Lewis, instrumental in the civil rights movement. Lewis passed away on July 17, 2020, five years to the day of the planned protests.
Lewis coined the term “good trouble,” for which the events take their name.
The organizers underscored that “good trouble” means “coming together to take peaceful, non-violent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change.”
The event is partnering with dozens of progressive organizations nationwide and highlighting voting rights as one of the organizers’ top issues.
“We’re mobilizing across the country to demand that Congress protect our rights and ensure free and fair elections for all,” the group included in a toolkit on its website.
The group says the Trump administration is engaging in an “extreme crackdown” on civil rights “from our right to vote to our right to protest and free speech.”
Adding that the administration is singling out minorities and other groups, targeting government programs.
“The attacks on black and brown Americans, immigrants, trans people, and other communities … The slashing of programs that working people rely on, including Medicaid, SNAP, and Social Security,” the group continued.
The “No Kings Day” protests, which were held on a Saturday, coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday and the Army’s 250th. Trump used Flag Day and the Army’s major milestone birthday to host a historic military parade through the streets of Washington, D.C., including fireworks and flyovers. The “Good Trouble Lives On” will be held on a weekday, leaving many of the events to be held in the evening.
Crowds on Demand, a publicity firm, was asked to recruit demonstrators to participate in Thursday’s protests for $20 million, according to a report from NewsNation. However, Adam Swart, the company’s CEO, turned down the offer over concerns that the efforts would make little difference and the potential for violence.
A majority of the “No Kings Day” protests on June 14 remained peaceful; however, there were some violent flare-ups on the West Coast.
The nationwide demonstrations against the Trump administration come amid a growing number of violent attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
In the lead up to the “No Kings Day” protests, parts of downtown Los Angeles were under siege by rioters demonstrating against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The uprising led to the administration deploying the National Guard, bypassing California Gov. Gavin Newsom. In addition, the Pentagon deployed active-duty service members to help restore law and order in the city.
