400 Lebanon County protesters gather for ‘No Kings Day’ rally against Trump, Meuser

Motorists passing by Fisher Veterans’ Memorial Park Saturday, Oct. 18, were greeted to the chants of more than 400 protesters shouting “No Kings” as they joined nationwide protests against the policies of President Donald Trump.

Handmade signs and inflatable costumes were out in force along 9th and 10th streets, as a special demonstration organized by the Monday with Meuser protesters saying the country is in a “constitutional crisis.” Saturday’s demonstration was part of the “No Kings Day” national protests held against Trump’s administration.

“We’ve never had a president who is so disregarding of the Constitution and who essentially wants to be a king,” organizer Michael Schroeder said. “So we are out here in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, as part of a movement of literally millions of people.”

The second round of No Kings protests included more than 2,700 demonstrations in cities across the country. The first No Kings protest on June 14 had between 2 and 4.8 million people at more than 2,150 separate rallies nationwide, according to the Crowd Counting Consortium.

The Oct. 18 protests were part of the same impulse protesters have to get U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser to come and host a town hall for his constituents, according to Schroeder.

Since March 24, local protesters have been lining the steps of the Lebanon County Municipal Building every Monday with signs saying “Where’s Dan?” and asking for Meuser to speak with his constituents. These protests, which organizers have called called “Mondays with Meuser,” have residents expressing concerns about Trump’s administration and an inability to get in touch directly with Meuser to express their concerns.

“Congress should be the one to be putting the brakes on this authoritarian regime, but they’re not,” Schroeder said. “They’re afraid of him, or, I guess in Dan Meuser’s case, he agrees and he wants to have a king too. So the Mondays with Meuser, that began as a protest insisting that he would have a public town hall … our goals have broadened since then and we’re demanding that he adhere to his oath of office.”

Protesters’ concerns

Lebanon County protesters Oct. 18 expressed their opposition to various Trump administration policies, including the government shutdown, escalations by officials in stifling free speech, sending of troops to Democratic-controlled cities like Chicago and Portland, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and immigration enforcement.

South Lebanon resident Nathan Charles said that the Trump administration was “grossly violating” the boundaries of its authority within the Constitution. The Navy Seal veteran who served three tours in Afghanistan used the GI Bill to go to law school and said that the president is currently exceeding his authority especially when deploying military forces in the states.

“The Insurrection Act is only supposed to be used in instances where the violence and the lawlessness exceeds the capabilities of local and state authorities,” he said. “We are nowhere even close to this. It’s not even close. These representations about Antifa being a domestic terrorist organization are completely false. It is a pretext that the administration is using to seize more authority.”

Jonestown resident Jessica Cheslock said she joined the Oct. 18 protest to stand up for the health care and reproductive rights of women.

“I think getting rid of reproductive rights for women is harmful,” the nurse practitioner said. “Women die when you take things away … I also think it’s very sad that patients that I take care of may not be showing up for their prenatal visit, cause they had a hearing for their citizenship. Now I have no idea where they are, I don’t know if they are getting the care they need.”

A few people walked past the No Kings protesters with Trump hats, taking photos and videos with their cell phones. One person shouted profanity at the protesters and insisted that “Trump is King.”

Cheslock said protesters should ignore those who might try to rile them up during Saturday’s demonstration. She added that the overwhelming force of protesters were there to help defend America and make it better.

“It’s very empowering to see everyone who is on the same page and wants the same things that we do,” she said.

Meuser’s response

When the Lebanon Daily News reached out to Meuser Oct. 17 to comment about the No Kings Protest, he responded in an email:

“I fully supports Americans’ First Amendment right to protest, but these ‘No Kings’ rallies, similar to Schumer and the Democrats’ shutdown of the government, are political distractions from the success of the Trump Administration over the last nine months. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we have seen historic peace deals, major tax cuts for working families, lower prescription drug costs, and a fully secured Southern Border. “The lead sponsors of these protests are Indivisible, funded by billionaire anarchist George Soros, and the Communist Party of America. If you want to be a communist in the United States, that is your right. However, at least be honest about it and don’t pretend that these protests support democracy. These groups promote communism and state control. It would be nice if the media would tell that truth.”

All the protesters that the Lebanon Daily News spoke to on Oct. 18 said that they were not being paid or funded by any organization. Cheslock said she was there to stand up for her freedoms.

“America is a fabulous place to live,” she said. “It’s when you have a person who creates an environment of turmoil and hatred that makes it concerning and that’s why we’re here to stand up an change that.”

Rachel Wallace, an announced Democrat challenger for representative of Pennsylvania’s 9th Congressional District in 2026, addressed protesters directly during the No King’s rally in Lebanon. The former Chief of Staff for the White House Office of Management and Budget said that Congress is a “huge part of the problem,” and that includes Meuser.

“I’ve talked to people all day who just say ‘Dan doesn’t show up,'” she said. “They know we don’t have to agree on everything, but show up and hear people out. He doesn’t do that.”

Meuser and his staff met with protest organizers May 29. While both congressman and the protesters described the meeting as mostly civil and positive, Meuser told reporters in May that he has not changed his mind about holding a broader public town hall. “I met with a group of local protestors in my Lebanon office earlier this year,” he said in his email Oct. 17. “What began as a civil discussion, unfortunately devolved into rude, nasty and uninformed name-calling. Although not violent or hostile, the discussion became highly unproductive. I continue to meet with hundreds, if not, thousands of my constituents on a monthly basis.”

According to Meuser in May, at the end of the meeting one of the protesters remarked that Republicans, Trump and the congressman were “Nazis.” Monday with Meuser organizers said that a protester had responded “but you are” when the congressman mentioned that opponents have called Republicans “Nazis and fascists.” However, both Meuser and organizers agree after the person made the comment, Meuser ended the meeting.

Schroeder on Oct. 18 again recalled the meeting being civil and productive until the last few minutes, and added that Meuser might be “afraid” to speak with protesters again. But Saturday protesters were out to show Lebanon motorists and more that they “love their country.”

“It’s really disheartening that we are being slandered in this fashion by our elected representative,” he said. “Calling us communists, when he has no evidence for that. Saying we are being supported by outside nefarious sources when there’s absolutely no evidence for that. When did it become OK for your elected representatives to slander you as a constituent. That’s just not OK.”

Lebanon County protesters plan to continue their demonstrations in front of the courthouse every Monday until Meuser plans to hold a public town hall style meeting.