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Thousands gathered in Boston Common on Saturday as part of nationwide “No Kings” demonstrations to protest the Trump administration’s policies.
Elected officials, musicians, and community organizers rallied the crowd, condemning the White House’s policies on immigration, research funding, and diversity in the workforce. Harvard affiliates — including at least 30 students from the Harvard Democrats and Students for Freedom, as well as a contingent from the alumni organization Crimson Goes Blue — joined the protest.
Major Massachusetts politicians, including Senators Elizabeth A. Warren (D-Mass) and Ed J. Markey (D-Mass) spoke at the rally, urging protesters to reject the actions and rhetoric of the Trump administration.
“Here in Massachusetts, we do not bow to kings,” Markey said. “We do not bend to authoritarianism. We do not believe in dictators.”
Warren and Markey were joined by House Representatives Ayanna S. Pressley (D-Mass), Katherine M. Clark (D-Mass), and Seth W. Moulton ’01 (D-Mass).
“We draw strength from one another, from community, from this movement. We will resist. We will agitate. We will organize. We will mobilize,” Pressley said. “No kings, but one bald queen.”
Moulton, who recently announced his bid to challenge Markey for his senate seat in 2026, took direct shots at President Donald Trump, calling him a “gold-plated, orange, and crusty wannabe-king.”
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About a dozen pro-Palestine protesters standing at the front of the rally stage jeered most politicians who spoke. They shouted “drop the charges” at Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell.
In an interview with The Crimson following the demonstration, Fawaz Y. Abusharkh, founder of several pro-Palestine activist groups in the area, explained that their chant was in reference to 13 protestors who were arrested earlier this month during a rally in Boston.
“I am referring to the 13,” Abusharkh said. “I’m referring to all the other students that have been captured, convicted, punished by schools and by the police and by the city.”
Despite the jeers, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 received a warm welcome from the majority of the crowd. Wu touted Boston’s and Massachusetts’ efforts to fight the White House’s agenda, pointing to court cases the city brought against Trump and increased funding for community partners responding to the fallout.
“It’s no surprise that the White House wants to attack us,” Wu said. “But Boston has never been good at surrender or silence.”
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Wu has made a name for herself as a vocal critic of Trump. After her March congressional testimony defending Boston’s sanctuary city policies, she handedly defeated challenger Josh Kraft in the mayoral preliminary election by highlighting her opposition to the Trump administration.
“We won’t stay quiet while the president goes to war with the cities that actually make America great,” she added at the rally.
Demonstrators viewed the rally as an opportunity to collectively voice their frustrations to the federal government.
“I hope it energizes all of us to keep struggling, to keep fighting, to keep hope up, and to send a message to our government and to the other people in this country that this has to stop,” Robert A. Stickgold ’66 said.
“It was not on my bucket list that I would be dealing with fascism in my retirement,” Michael T. Weinstein added.
But others criticized the pointed language of the speakers and fellow protestors.
“We don’t need to use names to call people out. You don’t have to say, ‘Hey, you’re a racist.’ You can say, ‘Hey, why do you feel that way?’” Daniel Alroy said. “And then have a conversation that might actually have a potential to change something.”
Despite the protest’s large turnout, some were concerned about the demographic of the crowd.
“This group is a little too old and white, but it’s more diverse than the last demonstration I went to,” Dorothy L. Stoneman ’63 said. “I’d like to see more people of color. I’d like to see more Black people.”
—Staff writer Ann E. Gombiner can be reached at annie.gombiner@thecrimson.com.
—Staff writer Abigail S. Gerstein can be reached at abigail.gerstein@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @abbysgerstein.
