Honking horns

With political signs, speakers and anti-Donald Trump chants, the No Kings protest movement came to Middlesex Borough on Saturday, March 28. Roughly 75 protesters gathered in front of the Ronald S. Dobies municipal building, their placards visible to the motorists driving by on Mountain Avenue.

The number of demonstrators was modest compared to many of the No Kings events held the same afternoon across the United States. But during the 90-minute Middlesex protest, numerous drivers honked their horns as they went by, showing support to the protestors.

The mid-term elections are more than seven months away. However, Trump appeared to lose the motorist vote on Mountain Avenue on Saturday afternoon. The drivers of two pickup trucks offered a rebuttal of sorts, pausing to heckle the protesters as they went by. One of the trucks was decorated with a Trump 2024 sign. The driver of the other, yelled out the window at protesters – “f***ing retards.”

The Middlesex protest was organized jointly by the Middlesex Borough and Dunellen Democratic organizations. The No Kings events are intended to show opposition to the actions of Republican President Trump 

“Together we are greater. Together we are strong,” Middlesex Democratic Chairwoman Monica Townsend told the assembled crowd. Townsend said local protesters were standing with others throughout the country, who are attempting to safeguard citizens’ rights.

“How dare Trump and his cronies try to take them away from us,” Townsend said.

The event’s speakers included Democratic 12th congressional district candidates Matt Adams, Kyle Little, Sue Altman, Shanel Robinson and Squire Servance; and Middlesex Borough Council candidate Vincent Rouse.

Adams, a Middlesex Borough resident and former councilman, is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. “What happens when a president declares himself king?” Adams asked. “We end up in a war we’re not sure why we’re in.”

“The president is not above the law,” Adams added.

Altman reminded attendees that various protests have been part of American society since the country’s founding. “We are part of a struggle that stretches back centuries,” she said.

Noting that prices are rising while Trump practices cronyism, Altman said, “We are being cut by a thousand cuts every day.”

In America, authority to govern is not vested in a single official, Robinson said. “Power belongs to the people, not one person,” she said. 

Protesters at the Middlesex No Kings event carried a variety of anti-Trump signs. They included:

• I am pro-Democratic, anti fascist

• Hate will not make us great

• It’s so bad even the introverts are here

• We dumped tea for less

• Education not deportation

• You can’t bomb your way out of the Epstein files

• Honk if UR looking forward to that day

• We are the people. We are pissed off!

Trump’s policies, Rouse said, are negatively impacting families and communities. “We are not staying silent in moments like this,” Rouse said. “We believe the power is with the people.”

Rouse noted that he lost a council seat by less than 60 votes in 2025, but added, “We’re going to get it this year.” As a councilman, Rouse said he would ensure that “fairness is not an aspiration, but is a reality.”

While Rouse spoke of the coming municipal election, noticeably absent from the protest was Vincent Lella, who is also a Democratic candidate for council. Commenting on Facebook this week, Lella said he would keep national politics out of his campaign.

“This election should be about taxes and services and bringing balance to an all-Republican council,” Lella wrote. “I won’t allow myself to get caught up in national politics as in my opinion it has nothing to do with governing Middlesex Borough.”

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