Photo by Austin Carey for The Lafayette

Attendees of the march heard speeches from local politicians and activists.

Hundreds gathered in Easton’s Centre Square on Sunday to protest recent actions of President Donald Trump’s administration, urging others to take action against widespread spending cuts and other moves they deemed undemocratic.

“What you are doing right now is the most important thing you could be doing,” former Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild, one of the speakers at the event, said to attendees. “We’ve got a democracy to save.”

The event, called “Inaugural March for Democracy,” aimed to encourage “resistance to the injustices being experienced by the American people since the year began,” according to promotional materials distributed by the event’s organizers, a new grassroots organization called “Easton United for Democracy.”

Attendees included Easton residents, political activists, community leaders and Lafayette College students. Signs held by attendees had slogans such as “Deny Fascism, Deport Trump, Deport Musk,” “Resist” and “End DOGE.”

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. emphasized the importance of upholding democratic values during a speech focused on international relations, saying, “democracy dies when we’re silent.”

“I think this movement is going to take off,” Panto later told The Lafayette. “My concern is that Trump wants a third term, so as a guy who’s been serving five terms, I understand that at the federal level, we should not have a president who’s a president for life.”

Pennsylvania State Rep. Bob Freeman warned of threats to democratic institutions and begged “to restore the basic norms of democracy.” In his speech, he touched on federal spending cuts and tariffs, calling Trump’s tariffs a “war” that will “fuel inflation and hurt American families.”

“The last several months have been very frustrating,” Freeman said after the event. “People want to oppose what’s being done, but they feel helpless, and this is a chance to really take back control and have an impact.”

Melba Tolliver, a former journalist and author, emphasized the power of choice in political action during her speech. 

“Our superpower is our right to choose, and our prize is the salvation of our democracy,” Tolliver said. “Chance, choice, change and connection are interwoven, and they are the fabric of how our lives work.”

“We the people are the ones who can do the healing,” she continued. “We just need to do something.” 

Tolliver later told The Lafayette that this was the biggest crowd that she had ever seen in the Lehigh Valley area.

“It shows that people really are paying attention,” she said. “People are understanding the threat to our democracy.”

The demonstration occurred in one of three locations where the Declaration of Independence was publicly read in July 1776, a fact that several speakers highlighted throughout the event. Christopher Black, a historian and reenactor, read the preamble to the Constitution during the event to commemorate the original reading in Easton.

After the speeches concluded, attendees marched around the perimeter of Centre Square.

“I am democracy, I am democracy, I am democracy,” participants shouted.

The event also drew fewer than a dozen pro-Trump counter-protesters, who carried signs and occasionally yelled “Trump” during speeches.

Vincent Facchiano, a lifelong Easton resident and local steelworker, voiced his support for the current administration. 

“I believe in manufacturing as the strength of our country,” he said as he raised his Trump sign in the air. 

Multiple students from Lafayette College — which is located in a precinct that overwhelmingly voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election — attended the protest. 

“I don’t really go to a lot of things like this, but this was important and a great opportunity to support,” George Conroy ’26 said.

Jack Maloney ‘25, the president of the Lafayette College Democrats, attended the protest with Conroy. 

“I think Trump is doing really terrible things in this country and I think he’s doing them in disregard for the welfare of our people,” Maloney said. “We think it’s important to show up, show our support for democratic values that are currently being undermined.”