Dubois, PA — On Saturday, members of Indivisible: Mayday, Indivisible: Outcry, and Indivisible We Rise- West Central PA hosted a rally titled, “No Kings. No ICE Camps.” at the Liberty Boulevard waterfall in DuBois to protest the many authoritarian and unconstitutional actions taken by the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security that are harming our families, communities, economy, and foreign relationships. The rally was attended by nearly 300 people.
According to organizers, the rally was held in coordination with over 3000 of others across the country in a nationwide day of protest spearheaded by Indivisible and a large coalition of organizations. Scores of rallies were also held internationally to share their displeasure with the current administration.
Speakers included representatives of the Indivisible host groups, Kim Kohlhepp and Ray Bilger.
In her speech, Abigail Grimes- Haldiman of Indivisible: Mayday said, “No Kings” is a reminder to this administration that illegal actions carried out in office will have consequences. As Americans, we are watching and will not accept a government that acts above the law. We are demanding accountability for every law broken and every court order defied.”
Kim Kohlhepp, a local businesswoman, real estate developer, and active community member uplifted the crowd, recounting her great-aunt, Dr. Betty Hayes’ successful organization for labor rights that started in Elk County and attracted the attention of President Truman who launched an investigation into Shawmut Coal Mining, resulting in a sale of the company and new ownership, which agreed to every single demand set forth by Dr. Hayes and the miners’ union.
Kohlhepp related that history to current struggles, “Our current leadership seems to forget that we, the people, are the taxpayers. We, the people, are the ones paying for Donald Trump’s golf trips. We, the people, are the ones funding a senseless war in Iran. We, the people, are the ones paying for his new ballroom while we, the people, struggle. Our families are struggling with household budgets, healthcare, and jobs. We the people, demand a nation and leaders that serve us, not one man, not one king, not one billionaire, us.”
Air Force veteran Ray Bilger spoke on his concerns about the direction our country has taken, stating, “America is being destroyed by the most corrupt and incompetent administration in history. It’s time to return governance of the United States to the people.”
Bilger trained as an Airborne Cryptologic Linguist, served in both Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and spent 35 years working as a security officer and intelligence analyst, leading teams for the Air Force, National Security Agency, and State Department, and served as the NSA Technical Director for Cyber Analysis. Recently, Ray Bilger has taken on active roles in activism and politics.
