Loudest and most visible at the Bayfront rally in Sarasota: A group of veterans, complete with drums and big flags.
By Mason Chambless
Original Air Date: July 18, 2025
Host: Thursday was Good Trouble Day, in memory of civil rights icon John Lewis. In Sarasota, it was a group of veterans who made the biggest noise. Mason Chambless has that report.
[marching percussion]
Florida’s Veterans for Common Sense were also present for Sarasota’s No Kings protest on Saturday, June 14. Photos: Mason Chambless
Mason Chambless: The snare drums rumble on to a military cadence. But these are not your typical marching drums. This is not your typical military parade, nor is it happening at any usual event to feature veterans. These are the Veterans for Common Sense. Yesterday they joined other participants for the Good Trouble Lives On protests on Sarasota’s Bayfront.
In solidarity with over 1,600 other rallies across the country yesterday, protesters honored the memory of Congressman John Lewis, who passed away 5 years to the day at 80 years of age. Lewis, a civil rights leader, frequently referred to causing “good trouble” as a way for creating change in the world.
Nadia came out with her veteran father. Here she is leading the protesters in a chant.
Nadia: What do we do when Congress no longer works for us? We make good trouble, good trouble! What do we do when our senators turn their back on democracy? We make good trouble, good trouble! What do we do when the White House no longer belongs to the people? We make good trouble, good trouble!
MC: I asked one of the organizers of the Sarasota protest about what the idea of “good trouble” means to her. Here’s what Julie Forestier, who heads the Democratic Women’s Club of Sarasota, responded:
India X (left) and Julie Forrestier (right).
Julie Forestier: It means standing up and organizing and resisting what we are seeing unfold in our country right now. It means doing what we’re doing today, showing up and protesting. It means showing up at school boards. It means showing up in county commission meetings. It means organizing people to overtake the fascist takeover of our government.
MC: An estimated one hundred protesters showed up yesterday. They displayed their outrage towards many of the current administration’s policies. Signs against ICE raids, deportations and suppression of minority rights, filled both sides of US 41 where protesters waved at passing drivers. I spoke to one protester, Larry, about what brought him out yesterday.
Larry: This is all part of our effort to turn things around in our country and reestablish some of the norms we have for society and have our whole country’s populace represented better. What’s been happening is just terrible. I can’t remember historically anything like this happening except in history books when the Nazis took over. This is our way of hopefully stemming the tide and turning it around again.
“Impeach Trump again! Practice makes perfect.”
Julie Forestier encouraged the crowd with a quote from the late congressman.
JF: “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful. Be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month or a year. It is the struggle of a lifetime.”
The truth is, there is backlash building across the country. The latest Gallup Poll shows that 62% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration.
[Crowd cheers]
“Cage ICE.”
JF: A record breaking 79% now say immigration is good for the country. 79%!
It’s a signal that people are waking up.
If we want to stop this slide into authoritarianism—if we want to build real local power—we need to show up not just here at Bayfront today but where decisions are being made. And right now, that means the school board.
[Crowd cheers, horn toots]
JF: Next Tuesday, we’re calling for a full day of action. We need every single one of you to show up for the rally, for the strategy session, for the school board meeting, because the same cruelty we’re fighting nationally is showing up in our schools in the form of funding freezes and in attacks on our students through proposed changes to the student code of conduct.
MC: In a moment of solidarity, protesters sang together the gospel song “We Shall Overcome,” which was often sung during civil rights mobilizations.
Protesters: We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome someday
Deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome someday
MC: This has been Mason Chambless, reporting for WSLR News.
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