Signs of the times: Chester Green hosts third No Kings rally

Elvis did not leave the Green during the two-hour protest. All photos by Shawn Cunningham unless otherwise noted.

By Cynthia Prairie
©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC

While some of the signs carried angry messages, most of those carrying them did not. Instead, they offered up smiles and humor as they spoke of serious subjects that drew them — and about 600 others — to protest on Chester’s Green last Saturday morning. 

Nationwide, Saturday’s “No Kings Day” event was the third since last June, put on by pro-democracy groups Indivisible and 50501. And it was by far its largest, counting more than 3,300 protests across the country and attracting upwards of 8 million people.

The signs carried by protesters spoke to the growing concerns that include Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, particularly in Minnesota where two Americans were shot dead without cause, and communities nationwide that have been disrupted by ICE, which has been detaining non-citizens – regardless of immigration status – and citizens alike. Concern has also been heightened over the apparent coverup of pedophilia and sex trafficking among the upper echelons of society and the manner of the release of the Epstein files by the federal government. And pointing to recent news, protest signs showed disdain for President Donald Trump’s self-declared war on Iran, something polls also show that most Americans do not support.

Bev Hart of Chester said this was the first protest she could attend since she had had to work during the previous ones. She said she came to show “solidarity with all the others who believe in No Kings. I’m disappointed with the moral values that our country has right now, the disrespect coming from the top and no accountability.”

Saturday’s event, organized locally by Steve Dock, who was instrumental in arranging the earlier Chester protests, was even more elaborate and child friendly than previous ones. It included games for kids and adults, including a Trump pinata and costume and poster contests, and free swag such as mylar streamers, flags, candy, ICE warning whistles and “The Antifa Handbook” aka, the Constitution.

Live music also filled the air with local musicians Will Danforth of Grafton and Robert Nied and his daughter Olivia Nied of Chester performing. And a few politicians spoke including Heather Chase of Chester, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to the state Senate for the Windsor District, and incumbent state Sen. Joe Major. But mostly it was two hours of community, patriotism and dogs, lots of dogs.

Among the signs of both anger and patriotism, Fred Probst of Andover carried a sobering message that read, “I love my country. I am ashamed of my government.” He elaborated, “We support a pedophile, convicted of 34 crimes, pressuring other governments to enrich his own family.” (Probst was apparently referring to FBI interviews with a woman who said that when she was a young girl she had a violent sexual interaction with then private citizen Trump. Those documents are within the Epstein files. Trump has never been charged in relation to the accusation.)

Toni Streeter, an artist from Springfield, carried her creation — a papier mache head of Trump on a pole. She said she thinks of the “things that are being done by our government in our name and it just breaks my heart. … they want us to turn on each other.”

Traffic moved smoothly through the area, with much credit to the Chester Police Department, which worked with organizers and also put out flashing signs on either end of the Green announcing the event, and to the traffic control training undertaken by event volunteers.

One situation that apparently occurred early in the day involved a very large banner planted on the west end of the Green bearing the phrase “Fxxk Trump.” A photo was posted on social media and one event volunteer responded that he had seen the banner and asked the person who owned it — whom he dubbed “an agitator” — to take it down and leave, which he said the man did.