Kat Hastings, a Worcester artists, showed her distaste of the Trump Administration policies by depicting the US symbol of freedom and displaying the sign at the July 4 No Kings Day 2.0 a rally organized by Worcester Indivisible

WORCESTER — Worcester artist Kat Hastings painted the Statue of Liberty's arm, holding her torch high, one of two signs she painted for the protest in front of City Hall on Friday, July 4.

Hastings joined with about 400 other people who eschewed the beach, lakeside picnics, cookouts or Fourth of July sales to attend the protest rally, organized by Worcester Indivisible and allied organizations, including Worcester Interfaith, Stand up for Racial Justice, LUCE, Refuse Fascism and Independent Socialist Group. The Worcester rally was one of about 150 planned across the U.S. by the national Indivisible movement.

"I could no longer be quiet," Hastings said, explaining that the signs were the first ever she painted in protest. "I don't usually speak out; it took a lot of courage for me to be here. But people are not being honored, are not being treated equally by the state right now.”

Organizers believe the passage of the 900-page federal budget on July 4 and the provisions included in the document motivated many to attend the rally, dubbed No Kings 2.0, said Moira Coakley, a spokeswoman for Worcester Indivisible.

“People were encouraged to attend by the events yesterday. People are still in shock,” Coakley said. Her biggest fear is that even peaceful protest will be curtailed by the Trump administration. “My fear now is that we will be silenced, we will no longer have the opportunity to voice our dissent.”

Coakley was referring to the passage of the federal budget, dubbed by President Trump the “big, beautiful bill.”

Analysts have said that implementing the provisions in the bill — cuts to Medicaid and the SNAP food program, and tax cuts for the highest earners in the United States — would have devastating consequences for the nation’s most vulnerable populations.

An analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, using data from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, found that the GOP package of tax cuts and spending would increase budget deficits by more than $3.4 trillion from fiscal years 2025 to 2034.

The bill cuts Medicaid by approximately $900 billion over the next 10 years. It estimates that some 11 million to 17 million people will lose health insurance, according to the independent Congressional Budget Office.

A total of 325,000 Massachusetts residents will lose health care coverage, according to an analysis by congressional Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee.

Supporters said the cuts were necessary to rid the system of fraud and waste. Opponents claimed the measure continued tax breaks for the rich and cut lifesaving programs for the poor to pay for the tax breaks.

Dan Dudley, dressed as a colonial civilian Militiaman, flew his replica of a former American flag alongside of a Vietnam Veteran at the July 4 No Kings Day 2.0 a rally organized by Worcester Indivisible to protest Trump Administration policies.

The Independent Socialist Group attended the rally to ask people a question the group had been pondering since the June 14 No Kings rallies across the nation.

“The question is, How do we win?” said Nick Wurst, a Worcester resident and a spokesperson for the group. “How do we block, how do we defeat the administration’s plans? One thing that has come to light is that the politicians weren’t able to do it, the courts weren’t able to do it.”

Residents of Los Angeles and other communities, Wurst said, have been able to thwart Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Department of Homeland Security operatives to defend their co-workers, neighbors, families and friends.

Nick Wurst, of Worcester, a spokesman for the Independent Socialist Group discuss the next steps at the No Kings 2.0 July 4 rally organized by Worcester Indivisible

His question: How do we use power to get what we want? Americans can continue voting for politicians who never fulfill campaign promises or build a party where people have democratic control over what the party does.

Protesters were joined by two Democratic state legislators, Sen. Robyn Kennedy and Rep. Mary Keefe, both from Worcester.

“There is no beach I would rather be on, no place other than here,” Kennedy said, noting that the promise of freedom is being denied to millions. She noted that Americans had fought to protect those freedoms from threats both foreign and domestic, and that freedom fighters battled to extend those rights to all those residents who had chosen to “call this land their home.”

“They are being attacked by our own president,” Kennedy said. The senator commended the protesters and the spirit that drove them to attend the rally.

“You’re here today, refusing to step back against the forces of racism, sexism and bigotry,” Kennedy said. She decried the “masked kidnappers stealing residents off the streets.”

The legislator noted that while some of the same intractable spirit exists in state government, she acknowledged that it may not be “as loud, or as fierce as it needs to be.” But she promised through its budget and legislation that Massachusetts will continue to be the “shining city on the hill that assures everyone is welcome here.”

Keefe, who walked to City Hall from her nearby home, said she was surprised and gratified to find the sizable crowd at the rally. In her remarks, she referenced Heather Cox Richardson, an American history professor at Boston College, indicating that the professor’s July Fourth post encapsulated for her the meaning of the Declaration of Independence.

“It really is about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Keefe said, adding that the founding fathers could have been considered “crackpot rebels” for their declaration that all “men are created equal.” Keefe said the reasons listed by the rebels for separating from the English king are analogous to what the group was protesting:

The destruction of citizens’ rights to be represented in government
Stopping of immigration
The keeping of standing armies in the land in the time of peace without local legislative consent
Made the military independent of civilian oversight
Cutting off the colonists’ ability to trade with the rest of the world
Imposing taxes upon the people without their consent
Curtailing the independence of the judges
Deprived citizens of a right to a jury trial
Deported residents to other countries on fictitious charges
Demands for respite resulting in harsher laws

Keefe assured the protesters that in Massachusetts legislators care about everyone in the nation, not just those who live in Massachusetts, referencing Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who only voted for the budget bill when she was assured the residents of her state would not be touched by it.

And Keefe thanked those members of the Massachusetts delegation, Socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York City Democratic Socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, “those I saw being strong,” Keefe said.

“I wasn’t sure I could say Happy Fourth of July,” Keefe said, adding she was able to go ahead with the statement, now that she sees her city’s residents being strong.

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