Hundreds Rally Across Susquehanna Valley in No Kings Demonstrations

Cynthia Peltier, co-founder and director of Lewisburg's CommUnity Zone and one of the rally's lead organizers, did not expect what she saw. By noon Saturday, a full two hours before the No Kings demonstration was scheduled to start, every bit of open space at the corner of 3rd and Market streets in downtown Lewisburg was gone. Sidewalks on both sides were packed. Her final count: at least 500 people. "It was bigger than all the rest of the No Kings rallies, I'll tell you that," she said.

The March 28 gathering was one piece of a nationwide day of nonviolent action that produced more than 3,300 events across the country. In the Susquehanna Valley, a parallel demonstration unfolded the same afternoon at Riverfront Park in Sunbury, where the intersection of Market and Front streets drew between 100 and 200 attendees, according to Kristin Volchansky, advocacy director for Action Together NEPA, one of the event's organizing groups.

Lewisburg's pull extended well beyond Union County. Annette Lopes, a former Selinsgrove resident now living in the Philadelphia area, made the trip back. "Just to see how a small town would react," she said. Louis Jacobs of Mifflinsburg, an Army veteran, stood in the crowd holding a "No More War" sign.

In Sunbury, Northumberland County organizer and Action Together member Colleen Franciscus helped lead the crowd in songs and chants alongside Therese Miller, both from the Milton area. Franciscus had framed the event's intentions in advance: "We are gathering in Sunbury to show that people throughout the Susquehanna Valley believe that we all deserve better. We don't have to accept things as they are. United, we will sing songs of resistance rooted in love and nonviolence, sharing a message of solidarity with both our supporters and those watching from the sidelines."

Not everyone at Riverfront Park shared the sentiment. A group of counter-demonstrators, including Robert Murphy of Sunbury, stood nearby in MAGA apparel. Murphy said he respected the right to protest even while disagreeing with its purpose. "I'm happy that they're out here, that they're protesting, but I don't believe in what they're protesting for," he said. Volchansky said the counter-presence did not concern organizers. "They have every right to stand on the corner and say whatever they want to say," she said. "We are not preventing them from doing that as long as it stays peaceful."

Local law enforcement monitored both demonstrations, and neither produced arrests or major incidents. Action Together NEPA also used the Sunbury rally to survey attendees about rising health care costs, folding community data collection into the day's political action.

Volchansky made clear that Saturday was a starting point. "It's vitally important that we show that there are people who are motivated to come out in rural and urban areas," she said. "Solidarity in community is such an important part of this movement. It's fantastic to see this energy, but there needs to be a follow-up on that.