"Meowtucket" - Protests Planned For Vice President JD Vance's Visit To Nantucket

A collection of local and regional activist groups opposed to the current U.S. presidential administration are planning protests on Tuesday against Vice President JD Vance during his visit to the island for a Republican National Committee fundraiser.

The activist groups include several Indivisible chapters, Nantucket’s own among them, along with Mass 50501, and Cape Cod Women for Change. Protestors will be joined by Cape Cod resident Amanda McGonigle, who runs the viral anti-Vance Instagram account @catsonacouch, which has amassed over 1 million followers.

The details of the protests are unclear, as organizers have stated they hope to remain fluid to adapt to changing circumstances. However, McGonigle confirmed that a rally and community-building event will take place at Children’s Beach from 2:00 to 4:30. The event will feature music, poster-making, and speeches. McGonigle also said that she hopes to raise funds to support local organizations working in areas such as immigrant rights and the LGBTQ+ community.

“While we're there and bringing people to the island, I want it to be acknowledged that ICE has ravaged the island,” she said. “Expressing your right to protest, your right to free speech, is great, but what are you actually doing to move the needle?”

McGonigle said that a sizable number of protesters will be traveling to Nantucket on Tuesday to demonstrate against Vance, although she isn’t sure of the exact number. She expects protestors to line up along his route from the airport. McGonigle has also stated on her Instagram account that she will be putting up “wanted” posters critical of Vance around Nantucket during her visit.

The activist groups behind the protest have also co-signed a letter to Nantucket Town Manager Libby Gibson and the town of Nantucket, urging the town not to divert any taxpayer funds to support Vance’s visit.

“We[,] representing community organizers and business leaders[,] declare our profound disappointment regarding the misuse of our taxpayer dollars to assist the visit of Vice President Vance, one of the chief architects of our rapidly backsliding democracy, and a recognized enemy of freedom the world over,” a draft of the letter sent to the Current reads in part. “In 2016, JD Vance called Donald Trump ‘America’s Hitler.’ He was right, and while the town may think it advantageous or proper to placate America’s Vice-Hitler, we the undersigned declare, in no uncertain terms, this visit to be an insulting gesture from a hostile federal government which does not deserve our respect, fealty, or funds.”

“We call on town leaders to loudly condemn the actions of this runaway administration, not redirect our resources to the man charged with carrying out [P]roject 2025’s assault on our rights and our way of life: JD Vance,” the letter continues.

In an email to the Current, Police Chief Jody Kasper wrote that the Nantucket Police Department “is working closely with local, state, and federal agencies to ensure a safe and well-organized event.”

Since taxpayers pay police salaries, this suggests that at least some local taxpayer money is going to support Vance’s visit, if only in the name of public safety.

“We have met with the United States Secret Service and are actively developing safety and traffic management plans,” Kasper said. “Our top priority is the safety of all community members and visitors, and we are confident that the security measures in place will provide the same high level of protection and professionalism that residents have experienced in past events.”

The Police Department anticipates traffic delays due to Vance’s visit and is prepared for potential protest activity.

“The Nantucket Police Department respects and upholds the rights of all people to exercise free speech and peaceful demonstration,” Kasper wrote. “With support from partner agencies, our officers will strive to ensure public safety and coordinated crowd management at any demonstration sites.”

Should protestors choose to gather at the airport, a designated zone has been set aside for them. If the protests spill outside the zone, the police may be asked to intervene.

McGonigle, who refers to the protest as “Meowtucket” on her Instagram page, founded her account to supply “political commentary in an accessible and funny way” while attempting to surpass JD Vance in followers. Her account currently lags well behind his personal account and the Vice Presidential account, the latter of which has around 15 million followers.

She began the account before Vance was in the White House as a riff on a pair of controversies surrounding the then-Senator from Ohio.

In a 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson, then a host for Fox News, Vance lamented that the country was run by Democrats, corporate oligarchs, and “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made.” Vance’s comments sparked backlash, with commenters alleging that they played into old misogynistic tropes about independent women that have their roots in medieval witch-hunts.

In July of 2024, a user on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, made a post with the false claim that Vance’s memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, described Vance having sexual intercourse with an “inside-out latex glove shoved between two couch cushions.” The post went viral, with many social media users believing the false claim to be true.

McGonigle combined the two controversies to create her account @catsonacouch, initially intending it to be a simple joke. But the account exploded in popularity, and McGonigle continued to post on it even after Vance became Vice President.

McGonigle, who lives on the Cape, has long joked about meowing at JD Vance and jumped at the chance to take the ferry to Nantucket for his visit.

Attendees will pay $250,000 per couple to join the host committee for the fundraiser Vance is attending, or $100,000 per couple to join Vance for dinner at the event, which is being hosted at a private residence.

Vance was last on Nantucket in 2022, when he joined Florida Senator Rick Scott, along with Republican politicians Ted Budd, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Herschel Walker for a fundraiser.