The rally, organized by the Clinton County Democrats and Democratic Women, drew nearly 100 people to peacefully advocate for a range of policy changes.

It followed the April 5 “Hands Off!” protests, which saw hundreds of thousands march in more than 1,400 cities across the country.

“We are very discouraged by the president and his administration thus far — with cuts to federal jobs, cuts to veterans’ benefits, cuts to things that really impact our community. That is why everybody is out here today,” said Bre Reynolds Brannan, chair of the Clinton County Democratic Committee.

According to Brannan, the Clinton County Democrats are organizing as many rallies as they can to keep momentum for their movement going and spread their message.

HUNTER SMITH/THE EXPRESS As part of a nationwide day of action on Saturday, which marked the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution, community members gathered in Triangle Park in Lock Haven to exercise their First Amendment rights — along with many others throughout the nation.

“Across the county, this kind of pushback is gaining traction, and it is showing the administration that people are not going to sit down and take this,” she said, remarking that while their contribution is small, it’s one piece of a much larger movement taking shape.

“Every time we’re out, it gets bigger and bigger,” Brannan observed.

This rally, the largest in the series they’ve organized, was an invitation to anyone dissatisfied with the current administration to step forward and make their voices heard. She said the rally was met with overwhelmingly positive support.

“These are the brave souls who are willing to go out and put their face to the cause and stand up for what they feel is right,” said Brannan. “We understand there’s a lot of people who can’t, but we fight for them too.”

For her, “silence is compliance.”

HUNTER SMITH/THE EXPRESS As part of a nationwide day of action on Saturday, which marked the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution, community members gathered in Triangle Park in Lock Haven to exercise their First Amendment rights — along with many others throughout the nation.

One attendee, Elsa Winch, said her concern for her and her fellow Americans’ freedoms motivated her to stand along Bellefonte Avenue.

“It seems so broad-based that I just can’t let it go,” she said, specifically voicing concerns about voting and women’s rights and her distress over recent deportations.

She also expressed worry about the loss of social services, including Medicaid, various funding sources for children and the disappearance of federal agencies.

“The fact that they disappeared the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) — that affects everyday citizens in Pennsylvania,” said Winch, a local librarian.

She pointed out that many people in the area believe these national policies won’t impact them, but “they will,” she warned.

But Winch also says that she believes, “courage is contagious” and that standing up will inspire others to do the same.

Celesta Shemory, a recent college graduate from the area, said she attended the rally to stand up against what she calls Donald Trump’s unconstitutional behavior.

“Seeing all of this illegal stuff happening, it makes me cry, honestly,” Shemory said.

She and her sister, Celia, stood alongside Lois Day, who told the girls that when she was their age, she protested segregated lunch counters in the south.

She said upon witnessing the mistreatment they were subject to, she remarked, “Not in my country.”

The same sentiments, she says, brought her out to Triangle Park.

Day expressed appall over the treatment of individuals being forcibly deported without due process under the Alien Enemies Act, a law last used during the Japanese internment in World War II. Deportations under the act were blocked 7-2 by the Supreme Court in a rare, overnight order issued early Saturday morning.

“They’ve had their heads shaved, they had them bowed and they had them in chains. The constitution says we don’t treat people like that,” Day said.

She continued, saying she is also deeply disturbed by the administration’s disregard for the Constitution and its undermining of democratic institutions, as well as the growing alienation of the United States from its longtime allies, like Canada.

In response to online allegations that rally goers were paid to participate, organizer Bre Brannan set the record straight: “We’re not being paid. These people aren’t being paid,” she said. “We’re just people who love our country, our constitution and democracy. And we’re out here on a beautiful Saturday when we could be doing a million other things.”