DeKalb County residents stage ‘Free America’ walkouts: ‘We have to fix it’

Demonstrators protesting Tuesday at the corner of Memorial Park in downtown DeKalb had a message for President Donald Trump and his administration after one year in office.

Their signs said “I Prefer ICE Crushed,” “Resist Moral Idiocy, Snub Trump,” and “Fund Healthcare, Not ICE.”

It was all part of a nationwide demonstration in which protestors were encouraged to walkout of work and school and avoid commerce.

The protest coincided with the one-year mark in President Trump’s second term in office.

Anna Wilhelmi, who heads up the DeKalb County Democratic Party, said the turnout for the demonstration spoke volumes about the importance of equality in this country.

“What we are doing here today is we are saying that we are willing to fight for all of us,” Wilhelmi said.

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Protesters chant and carry signs as they march west down the sidewalk on Lincoln Highway in DeKalb Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, as part of a larger national Free America Walkout. The group is protesting what they perceive as an escalating fascist threat under President Donald Trump and his administration. (Mark Busch)

DeKalb County Board member and Democrat Mary Cozad said she blames the president for not doing enough. She called for the government to charge the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who fatally shot Minnesota woman Renee Good during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis.

“They could ... abolish ICE altogether, but if they’re not going to do that, at least they can give them some long-term decent training,” Cozad said.

Renee Good was a 37-year-old mother who was fatally shot by an ICE officer on Jan. 7. Nationwide protests condemning the shooting and calling for an end to Trump’s immigration crackdown – which many have declared unlawful – have erupted since, including in DeKalb.

When asked if Trump is making good on his campaign promises, Waterman resident Patricia Liberty said it’s not important to her.

“It doesn’t matter because I wasn’t listening to him because it was all lies and I knew it,” Liberty said. “And now, look where we are.”

Liberty was marching in the demonstration alongside her husband, Joe Baczek. She said she believes it’s clear that Trump was the engineer behind Project 2025, a political initiative driven by efforts to reshape the United States government by slashing the federal workforce and consolidating executive power in line with conservative policies.

“Everything the Democrats and Kamala Harris said is coming true,” she said.

Cozad said she felt compelled to come out in protest.

“No one can do everything, but everyone can do something,” Cozad said. “This is something I can do.”

DeKalb resident Nancy Emmanuel said she doesn’t believe that Trump has her best interests in mind.

“His whole being is for himself, not for others,” Emmanuel said.

A similar demonstration also took place outside the DeKalb County courthouse in Sycamore. Wilhelmi was present there as well.

Wilhelmi said the president’s intentions are clear, and she doesn’t like what’s happening in this country.

“We just let it ride for way too long,” Wilhelmi said. “I think this country was founded in racism and genocide. It’s never been fixed. It’s never been fixed. So, we have to take to the ground and just face the facts.”

Wilhelmi said the demonstration’s turnout didn’t come as a surprise to her.

“You see that most of these are white people here,” she said. “And that’s because it’s a white people problem. It’s a white people problem, and we have to fix it.”