📍 Downtown Bangor 🗓️ Saturday, June 28th 🕙 Vendors & Resources: 10AM–4PM 🎉 Parade: 11AM | Festival Kickoff: 12PM
Join us in celebrating the strength, joy, and history of our LGBTQ+ community at Bangor Pride 2025! This year’s theme, Generations of Pride, honors the legacy and future of queer liberation. The day will feature a vibrant downtown parade, local performers, interactive exhibits, community art, and resource booths.
📢 Indivisible Bangor will be in attendance registering voters all day long. Stop by our booth to learn how you can take action to protect democracy and equality in Maine and beyond.
Let’s celebrate pride, build power, and make our voices heard—together. ✊🏽🏳️🌈
Tuesdays, 11:00am – 1:00pm at the Federal Building, where Senator Susan M Collins has her Bangor office – 202 Harlow St, Bangor, ME 04401, USA
Come join us for our weekly peaceful protest outside the Margaret Chase Smith Federal Building on Harlow Street in Bangor. Drop in anytime between 11 am and 1 pm. Bring signs! Bring flags! Bring your voices for chants and songs!
Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of action to respond to the attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration. Together, we’ll remind them that in America, the power lies with the people.
Coined by civil rights leader Congressman John Lewis, “Good Trouble” is the action of coming together to take peaceful, non-violent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change.
The civil rights leaders of the past have shown us the power of collective action. That’s why on July 17, five years since the passing of Congressman John Lewis, communities across the country will take to the streets, courthouses, and community spaces to carry forward his fight for justice, voting rights, and dignity for all.
A core principle behind all Good Trouble Lives On events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.
(There is not a Good Trouble event scheduled for Bangor as of yet, but there is one scheduled in Lewiston on the Longley Bridge. Please stay tuned for word on a Bangor event!)
BANGOR, Maine (WABI) – As protests cried out across the country on Saturday, hundreds gathered at Waterfront Park in Bangor to join in the No Kings movement.
The No Kings Day of Action was a series of protests in all 50 states organized by the social movement organization Indivisible.
June 14th was chosen as the nationwide day of action as it coincides not only with flag day and the Army’s 250th birthday, but also with President Trump’s birthday and military parade.
Organizers say that No Kings was in part meant to draw attention away from the parade, defying what some have perceived as a show of power, as they aimed to show the power of communities across the country.
“I feel, and I think we all feel, our country is at a tipping point. And we the people must stand up and speak out”, said Indivisible Bangor founding member Melissa Berky.
One organizer estimated that 1,000 protesters attended the demonstration in Bangor.
They were met with speeches by community leaders such as Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, and president of Maine Veterans for Peace Adam Toothaker.
Other topics discussed included support for Medicare and Medicaid, advocating for social services such as the post office, and the right to due process for all Americans.
Background: In 2023, Maine voters voted 86% * in favor of prohibiting foreign governments and entities from spending money on our elections and ballot questions. In November 2024, we also voted around 75% to put a $5000 limit on individual contributions to Super PACs. But neither of those referenda decisions have been enforced due to lawsuits challenging their legality. (1) Eventually what will likely be needed is a Constitutional Amendment to undo the Supreme Court’s awful Citizens United decision of 2010 (2), which allows corporations (and unions, the few that remain) to spend unlimited funds on elections. (Susan Collins opposes such an amendment, another reason to defeat her.) As we explained in Action 129, a Constitutional Convention to get this amendment approved could be dangerously risky in today’s divided nation. So, we are left with the cumbersome but effective process that has been used for all other Constitutional Amendments. The Maine Ethics Commission (3) would like us to weigh in (4), and American Promise (5) has information and suggestions on how to do it and what you might say. (6)
Action: Click on extra credit item (6) and use the information therein as guidance to add your voice. Our democracy is suffering at the hands of the ultra-rich plutocrats and sociopaths. Let’s apply resolute pressure to get Citizens United overturned.
Urgency:The deadline to submit comments is June 20
Protestors gathered in the Bangor Waterfront Park as park of the “No Kings” demonstrations taking part across the country on Saturday. Credit: Kasey Turman / BDN
Bangor was one of more than 30 communities in Maine to protest against the Trump administration on Saturday as part of the nationwide “No Kings” movement.
The protests coincide with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday and a Washington, D.C., military parade to celebrate the Army’s 250th anniversary that is set to take place Saturday evening. Demonstrations were planned in all 50 states and multiple other countries.
More than 1,000 attended the Bangor rally, according to organizers, while the Portland crowd had thousands of attendees, according to the Portland Press Herald.
In Bangor, protestors held up signs with pictures of Trump wearing a crown, words speaking out against budget cuts and the numbers “8647,” a message meaning Trump should be removed from office.
Speakers ranging from leaders of local organizations to state Rep. Laurie Osher, D-Orono, took the stage just after noon at the Bangor Waterfront Park to kick off the event.
Adam Toothaker, president of Veterans for Peace Maine, spoke out against Saturday’s military parade and the deployment of Marines to Los Angeles following immigration protests. Toothaker also compared recent missile strikes on Iran to actions leading up to the Iraq Invasion, which took place in 2003 to remove weapons of mass destruction from Iraq despite no such weapons being found.
Toothaker went on to say the power Trump has was built up through past administrations and will continue to build if citizens don’t take a stand.
“[Politicians] just keep building and building and pulling that power closer and closer until we will end up eventually with a king if we do not stop it,” Toothaker said.
Multiple speakers after Toothaker said they wanted funding cuts to stop and for America to stop supporting Israel in the Israel-Hamas war.
Multiple demonstrators on Saturday in Bangor had signs depicting President Donald Trump as a king. Credit: Kasey Turman / BDN Credit: Kasey Turman / BDN
Demonstrators said they came to the protest because of how Trump has “dismantled” America’s democracy and shown “indecency and a lack of compassion” for many Americans.
Fewer than five counter protestors stood behind the stage while the event went on.
While some protestors carried signs against Trump or other politicians, Peter Sachs, a 24-year-old Bangor resident, simply carried an American flag. He brought the flag to show that America can still be what it once was as long as people promote rights and freedom for everyone, he said.
“Values of freedom, not what the Republicans peddle, but true freedom is an American value associated with the flag, associated with my country,” Sachs said. “It’s patriotism that brings me out here to make a better country for myself and for those who come after me.”
Sachs said he hopes the event is the start of a change in the country.
Bunny Falkie and Bethany Kuczmarski, both Bangor residents in their 20s, said they came to the protest to show support for the “injustices” going on across the country. The end goal of the event should be to elect more representative politicians in the future who listen to the people, both Falkie and Kuczmarski said.
Kuczmarski said it was “unfortunate” that the event had to happen, but is “cautiously optimistic” for a future where events like this don’t have to be held.
“I would like to have faith in the American people for picking the right person to go into office next,” Kuczmarski said. “I think we really failed this last election, but there’s potential.”
Protesters marched downtown following the speeches.
Update: This story has been updated with a different crowd estimation provided by organizers.
Organizers in dozens of Maine communities held ‘No Kings’ protests Saturday. The rallies were planned to coincide with Saturday’s military parade in Washington, D.C. in honor of the Army’s 250th birthday, which was also Flag Day and President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.
The protests also come on the heels of the Trump administration deploying the National Guard and Marines to quell protests of ICE deportations in Los Angeles.
Jerry Campbell and his sister Leah Campbell said they came out to the Portland protest to show solidarity with immigrants. Their parents emigrated to the U.S. from Canada and were green card holders. Leah Campbell served in the Peace Corps, and Jerry Campbell served in the Navy. He said as a veteran, he’s disturbed to see the military deployed this way.
“The way they’re using the military now as a Gestapo state — it shouldn’t be that way. We have plenty of police for policing,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree speaks to a crowd of ‘No Kings’ protestors at a rally in Lincoln Park in Portland on June 14, 2025.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st District spoke at the Portland protest, after stopping at several protests throughout southern Maine that morning. In her remarks, Pingree called President Trump a “lawless man” and the thousands of assembled protesters a “crowd of patriots.”
“In 1776, we had a Declaration of Independence,” she said. “And some of the reasons we did that is because King George, the king and dictator, was cutting off trade with all parts of the world, was taxing us without consent, was depriving people of a jury trial and transplanting people beyond the seas to be tried for pretend offenses. Does that sound like El Salvador? Guantanamo?”
Pingree implored the crowd to make their voices heard by voting in the midterm elections next year.
‘No Kings’ protestors rally in Lincoln Park in Portland on June 14, 2025.
The Portland protest, which drew thousands, was peaceful, even celebratory at times. Thousands of people flooded the streets around Lincoln Park in downtown Portland, causing police to briefly close off portions of Congress, Pearl, and Federal streets. Attendees chanted, waved signs and sang songs, including “America the Beautiful.”
But two Portland protesters were arrested after a scuffle between a small group of protesters and police on the corner of Congress Street and Franklin Avenue.
“All were encouraged to leave the area or they would be arrested for obstructing a public way,” Portland police said in a statement, adding that one woman was arrested for throwing a water bottle at officers and a man was arrested for blowing his airhorn in an officer’s ear.
Portland police pushed back protesters after crowds began to disperse from Lincoln Park in Portland. A Press Herald photographer who was taking photos in the street was shoved by an officer.
Protests elsewhere in the state appeared to be peaceful. In Augusta, about 3,000 people gathered at the State House and later marched across the Memorial Bridge.
Molly White, an organizer with Maine Resist, said many were drawn to the protest after seeing the Trump administration’s actions hit close to home.
“I think people think that in Maine it’s not going to happen to their neighbors, and now they’re seeing it happen to their neighbors,” said White, “and it’s disappointing that it takes a teenager getting taken out of school or a father of you know, a pregnant woman who has no other means to support herself … it’s sad that it took that, but I think people are finally waking up that these are our community members.”
Rallygoers outside the State House in Augusta on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
Jen Wolfe, a combat veteran, said that protesting is her way of continuing to fight for her country. She said those who serve should be fighting against the administration as well.
“If you are a veteran, you took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, period, end of subject, and that oath never dies,” Wolfe said.
A small group of counterprotesters peacefully demonstrated, with someheckling the crowd. Protest peacekeepers and Augusta police monitored the interactions, and no violence broke out.
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‘No Kings’ protestors walk to a rally in Lincoln Park in Portland on June 14, 2025.
Esta Pratt-Kielley / Maine Public
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‘No Kings’ protestors rally in Lincoln Park in Portland on June 14, 2025.
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‘No Kings’ protestors rally in Lincoln Park in Portland on June 14, 2025.
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‘No Kings’ protestors rally in Lincoln Park in Portland on June 14, 2025.
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‘No Kings’ protestors rally in Lincoln Park in Portland on June 14, 2025.
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‘No Kings’ protestors rally in Lincoln Park in Portland on June 14, 2025.
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‘No Kings’ protestors rally in Lincoln Park in Portland on June 14, 2025.
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‘No Kings’ protestors rally in Lincoln Park in Portland on June 14, 2025.
Esta Pratt-Kielley / Maine Public
Protests also took place across the state, from Presque Isle to York. Turnout ranged from a few dozen to hundreds.
And in Freeport and Bangor, the Maine Republican Party held two events in support of the president’s birthday, the military anniversary, and Flag Day. Former Republican Gov. Paul LePage was slated to speak at the Bangor event in the evening.
In Portland, Megan Donahue walked through the crowd wearing an eight foot inflatable unicorn costume. With her was friend Lib Jameson, dressed as the unicorn’s security guard. The pair said they wanted to inject some fun and light into a time when many are feeling despair.
Megan Donahue wears an eight foot inflatable unicorn costume in Portland on Saturday, June 14, 2025. With her was friend Lib Jameson, dressed as the unicorn’s security guard. The pair said they wanted to inject some fun and light into a time when many are feeling despair.
“‘No Kings’ means that we need to be treated fairly honestly, openly and without prejudice. For all people,” said Jameson.
“We have to uphold democracy,” Donahue added.
Donahue said it was only her second protest — she can get uneasy in crowds. But, she said, wearing the costume helps her turn up for her community.
“I am really scared about what’s happening in our government. I also believe that kids should have a reason to smile, and people have been smiling, so I appreciate that people have been laughing and smiling [at the costume]. For me, the unicorn is a symbol of happiness. It brightens any dark day,” she said.
LD 1666 will expand Ranked Choice Voting to state legislative and gubernatorial general elections before the November 2026 election. It has been reported out of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee and next heads to the chamber floors. Urge all Maine legislators to support LD 1666, including the Republicans (especially the reprehensible obstructionists!). Hancock Co. doesn’t have any Reps on the VLA committee, but now that it’s before the whole legislature, it’s time to weigh in! See the table on the next page. Remember, even if they don’t represent you right now, many of them have ambitions for higher office. Also, how they vote affects you! So they should listen to you!
The First Amendment protects your right to assemble and express your views through protest. However, police and other government officials are allowed to place certain narrow restrictions on the exercise of speech rights. Make sure you’re prepared by brushing up on your rights before heading out into the streets.
Everyone has basic rights under the U.S. Constitution and civil rights laws. Learn more here about what your rights are, how to exercise them, and what to do when your rights are violated.
