Demonstrators participating in a July 17, 2025 “Good Trouble” protest are pictured holding up signs along Butler Avenue in Ambler. (Rachel Ravina – MediaNews Group).
More than 1,200 people took to the streets on Thursday as they participated in a series of “Good Trouble” protests across Montgomery County, demonstrating against the Trump administration.
The gatherings took place in Ambler, Abington, Bridgeport, Collegeville, Eagleville, East Norriton, Lansdale, and Pottstown as grassroots activists estimated 1,200 people in attendance.
Crowds ranged from 60 to 260 in some areas, said Rabbi Elyse Wechterman, a coordinator of a protest in Abington and co-chairwoman of Indivisible Greater Jenkintown.
“I was very pleased to see the turnout,” Wechterman told MediaNews Group on Friday.
“Protestors were grateful to have an outlet for their collective voice to come together in community events. It was heartening to see 1,220-plus people come out despite the heat,” said Melissa Hall, a member of the Community for Change Montgomery County leadership team.
While organic gatherings have taken place in recent weeks in the form of smaller, “neighborhood protests,” Wechterman noted the highest participation rate yet took place in Abington with 260 people showing up.
“People have been getting tired, but not so tired that they’re willing to go out in 95 degree heat and raise their voices,” Wechterman said.
The protests were organized by Community for Change Montgomery County in conjunction with several organizations, including Abington for Peace, the Lansdale Equality Coalition, and representation from Indivisible branches of Montgomery County and greater Jenkintown.
The protests in the county joined a series of others scheduled to take place across the nation that honored the memory of the late Congressman John Lewis. Deemed the “Good Trouble Lives On” protests, they paid tribute to Lewis’ legacy and his signature “making good trouble” mantra.
“John Lewis showed us what courage looks like in the face of injustice. Now it’s our turn. We’re gathering in his memory to say: We will not be silent as our neighbors are detained without due process, our loved ones lose access to health care and crucial services, and our democratic norms are eroded,” Melissa Hall, an organizer with Community for Change Montgomery County, said in a statement ahead of the July 17 demonstrations.
In Ambler, people lined the sidewalks along a stretch of Butler Avenue holding up signs and American flags. Some handwritten signs read “stop the tyrant” and “keep immigrants, deport racists.” Cars could be heard honking as they drove by. Additional signage read “Dump Trump” and “we are ALL immigrants” at other demonstrations across the county, according to Hall.
Demonstrators were observed expressing dissent toward President Donald Trump and initiatives enacted within his administration. Wechterman previously stressed the “encroachment on civil and human rights broadly” as she directed her ire toward the slashing of government services and concerns about due process violations regarding the enforcement deportations associated with Trump’s federal immigration crackdown.
Wechterman noted immigration and LGBTQ+ health care access were issues of concern for those at the Abington protest. This comes a day after federal immigration authorities arrested 14 undocumented individuals at a supermarket in West Norriton Township.
“After the day of ICE terrorizing the local community in Norristown, an evening of well attended protests was much needed,” Hall said.
Community for Change Montgomery County Lead Organizer Stephanie Vincent agreed.
“The ICE attacks on our communities have brought a palpable air of resistance and activation in our county. That was evident in the turnout yesterday, the messaging in signs and the conversations and connects made last night,” Vincent said. “Many locations collected [funds] for affected immigrant families, and attendees donated generously!”
Additionally, food, toiletries and money was collected to benefit a number of local organizations, including the Everywhere Project, Manna on Main Street, Mattie Dixon Community Cupboard, and Unides Para Servir Norristown, according to a statement from organizers.
Around $450 was donated for gift cards, Wechterman said, in order “to help families in Norristown” who’ve had people detained.
Looking ahead, Wechterman said organizers plan to take their advocacy efforts to Harrisburg, with respect to immigration and LGBTQ+ issues.
“We’re turning our advocacy efforts to the state level given that the federal government is actively harming people in these communities,” Wechterman said.
