Appleton, WI – On October 18, about 7500 people gathered in Appleton, for this town’s No Kings protest. It was a humid Saturday for northeast Wisconsin’s fall; crowds gathered for a mile along College Avenue, the business district’s main thoroughfare, and filled Houdini Plaza, protesting against Donald Trump, and particularly immigration enforcement and the thuggery of the reactionary state.

Estimates of attendance varied, and as the day went on the number present grew and grew. Several of the organizers remarked that it was the largest protest in the Fox Valley metro area’s history, and for some it was the most people they had ever seen gathered in one place for any occasion in the area.

From the many signs it was obvious the people of the area are fed up with the government failures, atrocities committed by ICE, and an economy that does not function for working families.

Organizations leading the event were Hate Free Outagamie, NOW Appleton, Indivisible, Forward Fox Valley, and the Democratic Party of Outagamie County. Mary Bogen, chair of Hate Free Outagamie said, “The establishment has failed us. It’s up to the community to save each other and fight for a better world. That’s not a protest; that’s a promise we make to each other.”

The thousands who attended were in high spirits. They were of many age groups, from high school students to seniors and all in between. Several dozen people wore inflatable Halloween costumes, recalling the Portland, Oregon protestor who went viral on social media after being pepper sprayed wearing such a costume.

Protests in towns large and small have ramped up in frequency and intensity in the last year. Very clearly the masses are looking for a change and are waking up to the power they have when they work as a united collective.

#AppletonWI #WI #PeoplesStruggles #ImmigrantRights #Trump

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