Crowds gathered across New Hampshire on Saturday to protest the Trump administration as part of the nationwide No Kings movement.
Lorraine Acosta came to Concord from Wilmot to protest. Acosta is a first generation American. Her father immigrated from Colombia and her mother came from Honduras.
“I'm a first generation American, and I wanted to represent those who couldn't represent themselves,” Acosta said.
She said that includes people in the U.S. without documentation, and those who may be here legally but are too afraid to leave their homes.
“We have family members who are documented and carry their documents with them constantly,” Acosta said. “We have one who is in the process of getting a green card, who has dropped out of the family text chain, who doesn't feel like she can come to things like this because it might impact her green card process negatively.”
Janet Douglas, 69, of Concord, said it’s her first time attending a No Kings protest, although she did protest the Vietnam War.
“Gas prices, food prices, my health insurance, everything is just gone through the roof,” she said.
Douglas is retired, but now works the breakfast shift at a local hotel. She said she originally picked up the job for extra cash, but now that income is necessary to cover her bills.
“I don't know what the world's coming to, but it's definitely insane,” Douglas said.
Fifteen-year-old Beatrice Messenger attended the rally with her family. She said she's concerned about federal law enforcement denying people's right to due process, whether they are in the country with or without legal status.
“I come from like a white family, but obviously I'm Black and it's just like crazy that I could just be taken or like something bad could happen,” Messenger said. “My family wouldn't really have anything they could do about it.”
Cathy Parrott of Gilmanton said she's concerned about the high costs her three daughters are facing.
“They're all taking second jobs. They can barely pay for their rent. And one just texted me today, ‘Hey, can you send money for groceries?’” Parrott said. “ It’s scary to think that our kids might not have it as good as us because of all of this, and it's not getting better.”
This weekend’s protest was the third nationwide No Kings event since June 2025.
