On Thursday, July 17, protesters once again lined Main Street to protest the Trump administration and to celebrate the life of Congressman John Lewis.

Lewis, who passed five years ago to the day of the rally, was an American Civil Rights activist and politician who served in the US House of Representatives for Georgia’s fifth congressional district from 1987 to 2020.

Lewis coined the phrase “Good trouble lives on,” which was the inspiration for Rock This Democracy’s (RTD) most recent rally.

At 6:30 pm, co-organizer of RTD Alex Villamil took up a microphone and clipboard to address the crowd. Villamil said, “It is people who practiced good trouble that started a revolution — created a government that would be governed by the people and for the people.”

He continued on, saying that since inauguration day, the American people would have made Lewis proud as protests and rallies sprung up across the nation. He then localized his speech by mentioning the controversial Legislative Council meeting on Wednesday, July 2 where an assembly ordinance was proposed that would require 30 days of advance notice for a gathering of more than 25 people and to obtain CT Department of Transportation approval.

Villamil said, “Just last week, here in Newtown, our rallies were under threat to be regulated to virtual non-existence. This rally would not have been possible had the people in Newtown and our neighboring towns not stood up on masse … They peacefully held their ground and forced a bipartisan vote against any restriction on the First Amendment and our right to freely assemble and freely express ourselves. Good trouble works! Your efforts and your voice can make a difference.”

He then instructed protesters to stay off the streets and to find volunteers around if anyone had any questions or needed help crossing the street. This is the first time RTD had volunteers to assist with crowd control and traffic, of which there were 12.

After Villamil spoke, Miranda Pacchiana spoke next. Pacchiana is a 32-year resident of Newtown, a social worker, and a plaintiff in a public sexual abuse case back in 2020.

Pacchiana said, “My work focuses on supporting survivors in the face of inevitable backlash. Too often, the systems around us and the people we love deny and minimize the truth about what we went through. They ostracize and victim-blame us, and they side with abusers and enablers against survivors. It’s upside down and backwards, but the truth is that society tends to point at victims of sexual crimes and claim that they are the real problem, and they should just move on, get over it, and be quiet.”

She then discussed Trump in relation to the Epstein files, saying that he is behaving like other “abusers and enablers” by “doubling down” and “blaming the victims of his scams, lies, and abuse.”

She cut her speech short, as the protesters on the other side of the street had a hard time hearing her. She ended by saying that she believes the release of the Epstein files will be a turning point in America’s history, and that the “pendulum will swing back to a kinder way of existence.” Pacchiana urged protesters gathered on Main Street to keep calling local officials, supporting groups like Danbury for Immigrants, Newtown Action Alliance, and Newtown Allies for Change, and helping out neighbors however and whenever possible by donating to the food pantry or giving monetary support to investigative journalism.

“I am a troublemaker, and so are all of you. Let’s wear the label proudly,” Pacchiana said. “Like Congressman John Lewis and his fellow civil rights crusaders, like the recently departed Virginia Giuffre and all the other Epstein survivors, and like the countless revolutionaries who helped us evolve as a country, let’s make waves, let’s speak the truth even though it scares us, let’s fight for everyone’s rights, and let’s go make good trouble.”

After the speeches, the crowd continued to rally for about an hour. Chants popped up across the crowd, including “This is what democracy looks like” and more. Cowbells were rung, horns were honked, and flags and signs were waived. At 7:30 pm, the protest ended, and people returned to their homes.

For those who want to learn more about RTD and its rallies, visit rockthisdemocracy.org.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.