SCRANTON — A large crowd rallied Thursday night to honor the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis by making “good trouble” and protesting President Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s policies.
More than 100 people gathered for a “Good Trouble Lives On” demonstration on Lackawanna County Courthouse Square, many of whom held signs with quotes and photos of Lewis, and some defending democracy, opposing hate and protesting Trump and the GOP. Patriotic music played and passing motorists honked horns.
Sandy Sharpe, the event’s volunteer organizer, said Lewis, who was the last surviving of the “big six” civil rights leaders, spread a message of being good — and that by causing good trouble, you can get things done. Seeing Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his “I Have A Dream” speech also inspired her, she said. (The other four of the “big six” were James Farmer, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young.)
Sharpe, who resides in Scranton, encouraged those in attendance to take chances during tough times. She said one of the definitions of chance is doing something despite it being dangerous or being uncertain of the outcome.
Shawn Reilly, a field organizer for Action Together NEPA, echoed Sharpe’s comments on Lewis, stating he was a great American, patriot and “someone that we can be proud of when we wave the American flag.” He also commended Sharpe for organizing the demonstration.
The Thornhurst Twp. resident invited those in attendance to protest outside the Scranton offices of Republican Sen. Dave McCormick and U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-8, Dallas Twp., on Monday. Reilly said the protest will be in opposition to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law earlier this month.
Shawn Reilly, community organizer for Action Together NEPA, addresses participants in the Good Trouble Lives On demonstration on Courthouse Square in Scranton Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Participants in the Good Trouble Lives On demonstration hold up signs along North Washington Avenue Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Scranton resident Arman Chitsaz, who goes by the stage name Arman Chi, performs a rap during the Good Trouble Lives On demonstration on Courthouse Square Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Participants in the Good Trouble Lives On demonstration hold up signs along North Washington Avenue Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Moscow residents Sarah Balmer, left, and her daughter Lily Mei Balmer hold a banner during the Good Trouble Lives On demonstration on Courthouse Square in Scranton Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Sandy Sharpe, volunteer organizer for the Good Trouble Lives On demonstration, addresses participants in the demonstration on Courthouse Square in Scranton Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Sue Savitski of Madison Twp., left, and Jon Dubiel of Spring Brook Twp. hold signs during the Good Trouble Lives On demonstration Thursday, July 17, 2025 on Courthouse Square in Scranton. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Participants in the Good Trouble Lives On demonstration hold up signs along North Washington Avenue Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Participants in the Good Trouble Lives On demonstration hold up signs along North Washington Avenue Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
The bill contains hundreds of provisions, $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, and permanently extends the 2017 Trump tax cuts. Democrats have blasted the law for deep cuts to Medicaid and reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. McCormick and Bresnahan voted in favor of the bill.
The crowed erupted into boos when Reilly asked them what they thought of the bill, McCormick and Bresnahan.
The lawmakers said in statements the bill will help people in Pennsylvania while increasing funding for border security.
“I am proud to support this bill because it would deliver continued tax relief to millions of Pennsylvania families and prevent the largest tax increase in American history. This bill also delivers on many of the promises that both President Trump and I made — to secure our nation’s border and bolster our national defense to keep Americans safe, and to unleash American energy potential and lower costs for consumers,” McCormick said in his statement. “Pennsylvania’s families and workers will see significant benefits from this bill.”
Bresnahan said in his statement the legislation protects health care access in rural communities, boosts border security funding, which he said protects American jobs, invests $12.5 billion to modernize air traffic control and incentivizes states to control costs, enhance efficiencies and improve outcomes for SNAP recipients.
In addition to Sharpe and Reilly’s remarks, the demonstration included a rap against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the song “Ice, Ice Baby” performed by Scranton resident Arman Chitsaz, who goes by the stage name Arman Chi, and a poem about resistance recited by Tom Cerra, also of Scranton.
Thursday’s demonstration was one of hundreds of protests and events organized nationwide on the fifth anniversary of Lewis’ death. They were described on the Good Trouble Lives On website as “a national day of action to respond to the attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration.”
The Scranton demonstration was one of several planned in Northeast Pennsylvania on Thursday. An event earlier in the evening, described by organizers as an empty chair town hall, was scheduled to take place in Wilkes-Barre in the Stark Learning Center on the Wilkes University campus.