“No war for oil.” “Resist the regime.” “Freedom over fascism.” “Stop Trump. Save democracy.”

Demonstrators united at Memorial Park in downtown DeKalb on Tuesday, holding signs with those messages in a peaceful protest. Organizers said they hoped to bring community attention to Saturday’s stunning middle-of-the-night U.S. military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The foreign leader faces federal drug charges after the military campaign that was ordered by President Donald Trump without congressional approval.

The actions spurred significant public pushback, with many experts and lawmakers calling into question the president’s legal standing behind the seizure.

Maduro has since been transported to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, pleading not guilty to charges that allege that he had committed multiple federal crimes related to narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking, multiple reports show. If convicted, Maduro could face a life sentence in jail.

Protester Marcy Kalvelage said the president and his administration should have acted differently.

“I think we should have kept our nose out of it,” Kalvelage said.

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Protesters gathered Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, for a Venezuela Rapid Response Rally at Memorial Park on the corner of First Street and Lincoln Highway in DeKalb, to voice their opposition to President Donald Trump and the administrations recent actions in Venezuela. (Mark Busch)

The hourlong demonstration saw protesters confronted by both support and opposition from passersby.

Hinckley resident Bobbi McFarland said she felt compelled to come out in protest to send a message.

“I think it’s very important that we stand up for what we believe in,” McFarland said. “I’m not pleased with the direction ... the country is going in. And I think that the war and his invasion of Venezuela [are] in part a distraction from the Epstein files. And it’s not fair to those young women who were abused.”

The files released in the wake of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s death have come under scrutiny by some in Congress for months, with skeptics questioning the extent to which records have been made public, multiple reports show.

Cynthia de Seife, who heads up the local Indivisible group dubbed Responsive Engagement Activating Civic Talent (REACT), said she takes issue with the actions in Venezuela taken by the president and his administration.

“This is not how our country operates,” de Siefe said. “We have to protect our laws. We have to hold our elected officials accountable to the law, or there is no law. And if there’s no law, then there are no rights.”

[ Duckworth calls Trump ‘a coward and a liar’ with no clear plan in harsh rebuke over Venezuela strikes ]

DeKalb resident Frankie DiCiaccio said he felt Tuesday’s demonstration was necessary for people to send a message to America’s leadership.

“I think it’s important to keep showing up and saying things aren’t normal when they’re not normal,” DiCiaccio said. “I think it’s important to call things what they really are and to be a reminder to folks who maybe aren’t paying very close attention that things are straying and changing rapidly.”

Kalvelage said Trump and his administration should be more focused on improving the quality of life for Americans here at home. In the new year, for example, healthcare costs have skyrocketed for many Americans who get coverage through the Affordable Care Act after pandemic-era subsidies that mitigated costs expired in December. Congress so far has to approve extensions to those subsidies amid the ongoing partisan impasse.

“He’s got to take care of things in the U.S.,” Kalvelage said. “There’s too many things that [people] need.”

Tuesday also marked five years since the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection after pro-Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Jan. 6 is historically the date following every presidential election that marks the point at which federal elected officials are expected to certify the results.

DiCiaccio said the state of the country feels off again.

“In some ways, we’re in such different places,” DiCiaccio said. “When I first heard about Jan. 6, 2021, I was at Barb Food Mart organizing menstrual hygiene products in a mask, sequestered in a room away from other volunteers navigating the pandemic and all of its uncertainty. I would like to say that it feels like we’re in a better place. Definitely feels different than that time, but it doesn’t feel better. Feels even more precarious.”

De Seife said she was pleased with the turnout for Tuesday’s protest.

“The remedy for the pain of watching what’s happening to my country is to work hard, to get out and do things, and make a difference,” De Seife said. “When I see dozens of people show up, it gives me hope.”