Bloomington crowd joins 2,200 national rallies opposing Trump policies

As many as 2,000 people or more gathered Saturday afternoon on the grounds of the historic Monroe County courthouse in downtown Bloomington for a “Power to the People” rally. It was one of more than 2,200 coordinated events across the country. The local rally, hosted by Bloomington 50501 with the national organization, No Kings, started around 2 p.m.

The event wrapped up earlier than the scheduled 4:30 p.m. end time, as organizers had their eye on the weather radar, which showed the arrival of heavy rain sometime around 5 p.m. The rain hit as forecasted. 

The organizers described the event as a national stand “against the Trump administration’s abuses of power, displays of cruelty, and rampant corruption.” Saturday’s demonstration built on previous national-level coordinated rallies by No Kings.

The goals of the event, as described in a news release, included calling for an end to what organizers called “authoritarian attacks on Americans’ freedom to vote, protest, and organize,” and to oppose efforts to “criminalize communities, roll back rights, and slash vital public programs.”

Speakers addressed a crowd from the back of the Alexander Memorial with the amplified sound projecting northwest towards the courthouse building. A line several-demonstrators deep extended from Kirkwood Avenue to 6th Street along Walnut Street. Motorists traveling north on Walnut Street honked their horns in support of the crowd, while a few revved their engines in counterprotest. 

Speakers included: Susan Frederick-Gray of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington; Robert Arnove, an Indiana University emeritus professor; Amy Huffman Oliver, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination as the District 62 state representative; Blythe Potter, who is candidate in the Democratic Party’s primary for Indiana secretary of state; Erin Aquino, who is the Bloomington resettlement director for Exodus Refugee Immigration; and Bryce Green, leader of the Indiana University Divestment Coalition, among others. 

Robert Arnove, who is the co-creator of the film "Freedoms Under Assault," described systematic pressure on academic freedom at Indiana University: “The first thing I learned from my dad was … to stand up to bullies. We're standing up to the country's bully, the world's greatest bully, Donald J. Trump, who'd like to be king.”

Erin Aquino highlighted the challenges facing refugee settlement and immigration under federal policy changes. “Refugees and immigrants are neighbors, friends, leaders and families of this town … Despite our fear and despite our exhaustion, we will keep going.”

Amy Huffman Oliver is running in the 2026 Democratic Party primary for the state house seat currently held by Republican Dave Hall. She talked about the importance of due process and fair play: “We believe that the government should serve the people and not rule over them.”

Blythe Potter is a military veteran and running in the Democratic Party’s primary for Indiana secretary of state, a post currently held by Republican Diego Morales. Potter called for sustained engagement in the political process: “As an Army veteran, I swore an oath to defend this nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic. I expected the threat would come from outside our borders, but today, the greatest danger is to our republic, and it sits in the White House.”

Susan Frederick-Gray, lead minister of Unitarian Universalist Church, addressed the crowd saying that the nation is in a moral crisis. “What we are experiencing is not just a political crisis. It is a moral crisis. We have young Republican leaders—not children, young Republican leaders—praising Hitler.” Frederick Gray added, “They're unleashing the most dangerous and cruel forces in our humanity, and we have to resist that with love.” 

Frederick-Gray said that Trump’s administration is setting up the military “to silence us all.” Complicit in that silencing, said Frederick-Gray, is Indiana University, saying that the university’s “silencing of the IDS” made it complicit. She added, “We have a local fight here in Bloomington with IU.” Frederick-Gray’s mention of the IDS was an allusion to a decision this week by the university’s administration to cut the publication of the printed edition of the homecoming edition of the paper. 

Bryce Greene, leader of the IU Divestment Coalition, also criticized the university for its move against the IDS, saying,“Shout out to the people of the IDS. … [IU president Pamela Whitten’s administration] is trying to suppress the IDS because they don't like what they're saying.” 

Greene urged divestment from entities complicit in human rights abuses and specifically called out the administration of Indiana University. Greene alluded to the Dunn Meadow Gaza protests of April 2024, when he was arrested, and for a time banned from campus: “These are the same people who sent armed troops … with assault weapons against protesters … just because they said that they don't like genocide.”