Thousands protest in Rockford against Trump administration

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Thousands of protesters gathered in downtown Rockford for the second ‘No Kings’ protest, voicing their disapproval of the Trump administration.

The protest, organized by Stateline Indivisible, began at Haight Park and saw a large turnout of area residents advocating against the enforcement of federal immigration law.

“Thousands of events across the country and the world are taking place today,” said Tiara Polfliet, a leader with Stateline Indivisible. “So this is just the Rockford, you know, location for today. But we wanted to be part of that, which is just rejecting the, you know, oligarchy, capitalist structure and believing that that kind of power lies in the hands of the people.”

Chazz Anderson, also with Stateline Indivisible, said: “I think a lot of people really feel like they don’t feel heard in our current system. I mean, it’s reflected in voter turnout. And so a lot of people are just really, really angry. And it makes sense that they would want to come out here and have their voice be heard like this.”

Michael Hart, a Belvidere resident, expressed his support for his undocumented immigrant neighbors: “I live in a community that has a high population of [undocumented] immigrants and they’re the great neighbors. I appreciate having them in my town. And they feel threatened right now. This isn’t the America that I grew up believing in. So I’m here to suppress my voice.”

Tiara Polfliet emphasized the sense of community among the protesters, stating, “That’s where our power lies. It is being able to free speech and speak out and support each other. And I think people here feel that a sense of community, knowing that they’re not fighting alone for things they believe in.”

Hart was encouraged by the peaceful nature of the protest, noting, “It’s super encouraging to see this many people, I think especially, in these times, it’s really easy to feel kind of isolated, so to see everybody here being peaceful, being friendly, being kind to each other, being supportive, it’s extremely encouraging.”

Today’s rally marked the second ‘No Kings’ protest this year, following the first in June.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WTVO. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WTVO staff before being published.