Hundreds rally in Des Moines for 'Good Trouble Lives On' protests in memory of John Lewis
A clear and sunny summer sky hung over Des Moines as roughly 100 people gathered at Gray’s Lake and another 150 at the Iowa State Capitol for “Good Trouble Lives On” protests, the fifth anniversary observance of Civil Rights advocate Rep. John Lewis’s death.
Held nationally on Thursday, July 17 by Transformative Justice Coalition, Black Voters Matter, Indivisible, Declaration for American Democracy and Public Citizen — and locally endorsed by groups such as 515 Indivisible and Progress Iowa — the day of nonviolent action drew Iowans out under the hot sun to challenge what many said are abuses of power and an erosion of democracy under President Donald Trump.
The statewide protests follow June 14’s “No Kings” demonstrations, which organizers reported as the largest mobilization of Trump’s second term, with more than 2,100 events nationwide.
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Along East Grand Avenue, demonstrators spilled onto both sidewalks directly east of the Capitol dome beginning at 6 p.m., megaphones crackling over chants of “the people united will never be divided” and “fired up, ready to go.” Some passing cars honked in solidarity while one driver could be seen rolling down his window before shouting insults at the crowd.
Posted online, organizers said the protests were a direct response to what they characterize as the Trump administration’s “brazen rollback” of civil and human rights — ranging from the SAVE Act’s threat to disenfranchise millions of voters to escalating immigration raids and the “criminalization of protest."
Harold Swihart, 78, a registered Democrat from Des Moines, held a homemade sign reading “Good Trouble” while standing on the sidewalk east of the Capitol.
“He told over 3,000 lies during his first term, and he hasn’t stopped,” Swihart said of Trump. He said the last Republican he voted for was former Iowa Gov. Robert D. Ray. “Robert D. Ray was a decent, compassionate human being. None of those adjectives applies to Trump.”
Across the street, Jolene Prescott, 66, of Des Moines, held a dummy wearing an orange prison jumpsuit with the word "CONVICT" printed on it, a Trump mask and ankle bracelet she’d ordered online to create the figure. Prescott said she voted Republican for decades until 2016.
“Donald Trump needs to be held accountable for his actions before and during Jan. 6, 2021. What he did was a criminal act,” she said. “He’s a bully. (It's) starting to look like Nazi Germany in this country.”
Patricia Peterson, 84, held up a sign calling for the return of deported West Liberty man Pascual Pedro, who she said was “taken out of this country without any process at all."
“This isn’t the country I thought I knew,” she said. “I have four grandchildren and one asked, ‘Are we going to have a civil war?’”

Protesters gather for a Good Trouble Lives On rally on July 17, 2025, at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.
Usha Narayan, 72, who said she was attending her first protest since immigrating from India in 1979, shook her head as she spoke.
“I am so fed up with how the have‑nots have even less and the haves have more,” she said. “My children worked twice as hard to get graduate degrees, and people still asked, ‘Do you even speak English?’”
Patience Charles, 30, of Norwalk, raised a rainbow flag. “Resistance, fighting fascism, abolishing ICE, the rights of all instead of the few,” she listed as her reasons for attending. “As someone in the LGBTQ community, I have to be part of this resistance because they need to respect our existence — the existence of everyone.”
Meanwhile, Iowa GOP chair Jeff Kaufmann, speaking to journalists Thursday at the Iowa Republican Party's annual Lincoln Dinner, dismissed the protesters as unrepresentative of most Iowans, adding that while they "have a right” to peaceful protest, most independents and moderate Democrats find these issues “so far out of the mainstream.”
"There are a lot of moderate Democrats that are probably very quietly saying to themselves, 'Would you please knock it off?'" he said. "This is beyond anything even reasonable. Most Iowans realize that deep down."
Earlier at Gray’s Lake Park, families and longtime activists gathered lakeside at 3:30 p.m. before moving to Fleur Drive with signs. Under the sun, megaphones echoed “hey, hey, ho, ho, kidnapping has got to go,” while drivers honked in support and cars filled the Gray’s Lake parking lot.
Michaelyn Mankel, 29, originally from Michigan and now a Des Moines resident, was among the youngest in the crowd. She spent the afternoon gathering signatures for a survey she was conducting on behalf of Food & Water Watch.
“We know that it’s tied to the far‑right billionaire Trump agenda, and that Iowans right now are feeling terrified about the pollution that’s in our water and rising cancer rates,” she said. “(Gov. Kim Reynolds) very clearly doesn’t understand the crisis. She talked about needing somewhere to put the nitrates when that is not what is causing a water shortage or a shortage of clean water here in Des Moines.”
Kay Herring, 83, who grew up in Lamoni and taught in Indianola, stood on the grass by Fleur Drive and pointed her sign reading “Good Trouble Lives On” onto the road. She spoke about her twin sister’s reliance on Medicaid.
“She’s in a care facility, and they suggest she go get a job,” Herring said. “What job is there for someone in a wheelchair whose memory is nebulous?”
Marissa Evans, 33, of Earlham, described her own struggle with an autoimmune disease requiring $20,000‑a‑month infusions.
“I would not be able to work 80 hours a month to keep Medicaid,” she said. “One funeral would cost less than two or three months of my medications.”

A stuffed mannequin with a President Donald Trump Mask belonging to Jolene Prescott is held up during a Good Trouble Lives On rally on July 17, 2025, at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.
She held a hand‑drawn placard depicting a caricature of Trump gripping the severed head of a dead elephant — “MAGA” carved into its forehead — with bags of cash piled at his feet and three shadowy figures of Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and JD Vance.
Rashawn Cofield, 57, from Des Moines’ south side, said she joined on a whim after seeing the crowd.
“I’m here for children like my late autistic daughter,” she said. “It’s not about my child — it’s for children just like her, for her friends that are still receiving services through (Medicaid). I’m standing in line for Kenny. ... I’m standing in line for Lydia, a young girl who needs these services — for, oh my God, a plethora of children that need these services that are already being taken off of the table.”“Good Trouble” protests took place across the country and in the following Iowa communities Thursday:
- Algona
- Ames
- Ankeny
- Burlington
- Davenport
- Decorah
- Des Moines
- Fairfield
- Fort Dodge
- Glenwood
- Grinnell
- Indianola
- Iowa City
- Manchester
- Mount Vernon
- Red Oak
- Storm Lake
- Waterloo
- Waverly
Statehouse report Marissa Payne contributed to this article.
Nick El Hajj is a reporter at the Register. He can be reached at[email protected]. Follow him on X at @nick_el_hajj.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Hundreds rally in Des Moines for 'Good Trouble Lives On' protests in memory of John Lewis