Protesters took to the streets of Burlington on Saturday and again on Monday to voice their displeasure with the divisive policies of President Donald Trump, who was expected to sign several consequential executive orders on his first days back in office.
About 100 people braved the bitter cold on Monday and marched through downtown Burlington as the inauguration ceremony unfolded in Washington, D.C. The Vermont branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized the demonstration, titled “We Fight Back!”
Speakers included representatives from Students for Justice in Palestine and Champlain Valley Democratic Socialists of America. They focused on a mashup of causes, including speaking out against the war in Gaza, prison reform and immigration enforcement.
“For me, this is like a bad dream,” José Ignacio De La Cruz, an organizer with the workers’ advocacy group Migrant Justice, told the crowd through a translator. “Our community is feeling a lot of fear.”
On Saturday, another sign-waving crowd of about 100 people marched up and down Church Street to advocate for democracy and women’s rights. Protesters chanted “We won’t go back,” “Save democracy” and “Say no to oligarchy.”
Organizers Sally Ballin, Judy Wade and Beth Sachs are members of Third Act Vermont, an advocacy group for people 60 and older who aim to protect democracy and the environment.
Brothers Calvin Palmer, 9, and Harlan Palmer, 13, of Middlebury marched at the front of the pack, carrying signs that read “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” and “We Won’t Go Back.” Other signs bore slogans such as “Grab ‘Em by the Midterms,” “This Episode of Handmaid’s Tale Sucks,” and “Make America Think Again.”
Protesters across the country have been marching this week in opposition to what they see as Trump’s far-right agenda, which many fear will be more far-reaching during his second term. Trump has promised a blitz of executive orders in his first days in office, including launching a mass deportation campaign, ending birthright citizenship, implementing sweeping tariffs on imported goods and pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
“Last time during Trump’s inauguration, we didn’t see a lot of immediate damage,” said Vivan Bose-Pyne, an organizer of Monday’s protest. “This time, there will be a more imminent need for people to rise to immediate defense.”
Yet this week’s protests drew dramatically smaller crowds than demonstrations surrounding Trump’s first inauguration in 2017. That year, the Women’s March on Montpelier drew between 15,000 and 20,000 people — a turnout so large that authorities had to temporarily close exits on Interstate 89.
Doris Sumner, 61, of Milton told Seven Days at Saturday’s march that as an Army National Guard veteran, she felt particular concern over the nomination of Pete Hegseth for defense secretary.
“There’s no way I could sit back and not say anything,” Sumner said.
Colleen Montgomery, 74, of Burlington carried a dry-erase board that read “No! To Project 2025.” She’s carried the sign at nine different protests over the years, updating it with new slogans each time. Yet she’s tempered her expectations about what protest can achieve during the next four years.
“We have a lot more experience, knowing that this [marching] isn’t gonna change the laws,” she said. “But this gives us all a sense that we’re not alone.”
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This article appears in The Wellness Issue 2025.
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