Anti-Trump Protesters Gather Downtown On Presidents Day

A group of roughly 50 island residents gathered Monday at noon in front of the Federal Street post office for a “No Kings On Presidents Day” demonstration against President Trump’s administration.

The protest - organized locally by the group Indivisible Nantucket - was one of many happening across the country on the federal holiday.

Former Nantucket High School teacher Peter Panchy addressed the group of demonstrators, stating that Trump’s actions during his first month in office threatened the Constitutional system of the separation of powers and the checks and balances among the three branches of government.

"On this day, I think of George Washington, who thoroughly warned us about the pernicious effects of partisan politics," Panchy told the crowd. "It was one of his greatest fears when he left the presidency and certainly the antithesis of what's going on today. I also think about the Constitutional Convention, when the main idea of the people gathered in Philadelphia was to limit the powers of government, to set up checks and balances that are totally being ignored and undermined today. So I encourage all of you to stand up, speak out, because our democracy really is under attack and really threatened tremendously."

The Current spoke with several protestors in the crowd on Monday to ask why they felt compelled to join the demonstration.

Among those in attendance at the protest was island resident Diane Cabral, who was holding an upside-down American flag.

"I'm really concerned about this leadership, and I'm really concerned for our constitution," Cabral said. "I was really concerned when he tried to overthrow the constitution on Jan. 6. And now, limiting press - the AP isn't there because they aren't allowed in because they won't say 'Gulf of America,' and NBC isn't allowed into the Pentagon. I see so many parallels between this and Nazi Germany that I'm really concerned. I'm concerned about giving Elon Musk such free reign. And I think there is waste, we need to work on that, but running roughshod like they have is just such a concern for me. The way they're doing it, they fire these people and then say, 'Whoops, we made a mistake.' That's why I'm here, and I'll continue to be here."

Island resident Willy LeMay was among the group of 50 people on Federal Street holding a sign that read: "We Bow To No King." LeMay said he feared a Constitutional crisis in which Trump would defy a court order reversing one or more of his executive orders.

"Where we are right now with a new administration, the second time Trump has been in office, is a place too close to what the founding fathers 250 years ago tried to protect us against when they wrote the constitution as a system of checks and balances with three co-equal branches of government," LeMay said. "They never anticipated a very compliant majority Congress to back up whatever Trump wants to do. They're so drunk with power they can't afford to be primaried. That's what happens these days - if they disagree with him, they get primaried, and they lose their job. I'm here because of everything that's been going on, specifically the last couple of weeks with the firehose of executive orders designed to demoralize people. But most importantly what happened over the weekend, where JD Vance the Vice President stood in front of the annual Munich Security Conference and basically said 'can we all just give the Nazis a little more love because their censorship doesn't ring true. We need all voices.' I'm like wow, didn't we fight a World War to defeat the Nazis?"