Kyle Cave

Staff Writer

The very first “No Kings” protest occurred on June 14, 2025. These protests were in response to the military parade that the Trump Administration held that day. Fast-forward to four months later, and “No Kings” is back, and it’s set to be some of the biggest protests in history across all 50 states, with East Stroudsburg being a part of it.

The organizer of the Stroudsburg “No Kings” protest was Tracey Johnson. She is an organizer from “Indivisible Poconos.” The Courier managed to get an interview with Johnson.

“We’re here to push back on the authoritarian regime taking over the country,” said Johnson when asked about her motivations to organize the protest.

Johnson also stressed that she believes Americans are in danger from everything occurring in this country.

“We are in danger. We, as the citizens of the Poconos, have no kings in America and we are here to voice our concern,” said Johnson.

The march started a bit after 12:30, the protestors marched from Dansbury Park all the way down to Main Street. Many chants were shouted by the protestors. Some of these included “fight back,” “no monarchs, no kings, hands off our democracy”, “whose streets, our streets!!” and much more.

Many of the protesters also held up signs mocking Trump in various ways. Including calling him a dictator, and bringing up his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Johnson mentioned the fact that she was very scared and angry, but she also mentioned she was more afraid to stay home than to come out to protest.

“I’ve never been more scared for my life, but I’m more scared to stay home,” Johnson told The Courier.

Johnson also called upon younger generations of Americans to come and protest and have their voices heard.

“We can’t be complacent, I’m asking the younger generation,” said Johnson. Johnson also told The Courier the last “No Kings” protest she organized had nearly one thousand attendees.

Another “No Kings” protestor interviewed was Brenna Rabinowitz. Rabinowitz told The Courier her reason for attending the protests was to voice her opposition against “the gross authoritarian rule.”

Rabinowitz mentioned the ongoing ICE raids happening across the country where masked individuals are taking people off of the streets at random.

“We’re here to say we don’t want any of it,” said Rabinowitz.

The Courier asked Rabinowitz if she was attending the “No Kings” protest about any specific policy, she felt personally affected her. She stated that the Medicaid cuts in “The Big Beautiful Bill” affected her the most. Rabinowitz has three children with special needs, all of whom receive insurance through Medicaid.

The Courier also spoke to a protestor named Ken. When asked why he was attending the No Kings protest he responded with “I’ve been angry for a long time, I never found nobody that was able to meet my anger”. Ken mentions he’s worked with children in “Head Start” to avoid them from going to foster homes.

Ken mentioned that ESU directly was a big part in helping foster children. Ken said that he feels like America has already been authoritarian.

“Feels like we’ve been living under a king for a long time, and when Trump came along, it’s more of the same shit just in your face,” said Ken.

Ken also told The Courier that he was “In the middle between well-off and rich,” and how he came from a background that was financially well-off. He also mentioned spending most of his finances on foster children he took care of.

Ken mentioned his love for taking care of foster children and how he decided, “I would rather be clean in my own consciousness than have what I have, now I have nothing, and that’s ok.” Ken says the most important thing he wanted to see was who came out to protest.

It is estimated that over 100 people showed up to the “No Kings” rally in Stroudsburg. It is unclear when the next “No Kings” rally will be, but Stroudsburg citizens have made it clear they will show up when needed to when it comes to fighting Trump.