Hundreds protest President Trump on Saturday in McHenry

Several hundred people, some who began protesting only after President Donald Trump was sworn in in January, lined Route 31 near McCullom Lake Road on Saturday in McHenry to express their disagreement with social service cuts and other actions taken by the Trump administration.

The protest, dubbed “Families First,” brought out more than 350 people, organizers with Indivisible McHenry County, who put on the protest, said.

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Kathryn Koeune squeezes a chicken that reads "Taco" during a protest against the Trump administration July 26, 2025, in McHenry. Taco is an acronym for Trump Always Chickens Out, referring to the president's stances on tariffs. (Claire O'Brien)

It’s the latest in series of protests against the Trump administration in Republican stronghold McHenry County.

More than 5,000 people had gathered in June in that same spot for a “No Kings” protest that was organized by Indivisible McHenry County. The group also held a “Good Trouble” protest July 17 in Crystal Lake.

A similar protest to the one in McHenry took place earlier Saturday in Crystal Lake, although organizers in McHenry said it was a different Indivisible group that put that protest together.

Protesters also gathered Saturday in downtown Harvard for a protest explicitly criticizing the recent “Big, Beautiful Bill” that Congress passed and President Trump signed into law earlier this month.

Despite the trio of protests Saturday, McHenry County is the last Republican stronghold county in the Chicago area. President Trump won a majority of McHenry County voters last November; the GOP holds all of the countywide elected offices and enjoys a 15-3 supermajority on the County Board.

No counterprotesters were spotted Saturday, and while many passersby honked to support the protesters, some expressed support for the president, and one vehicle “rolled coal” during the protest, their vehicle emitting black smoke instead of regular exhaust.

Did the protesters start this year?

Several attendees Saturday said they attended their first protests this year, but many had voted before.

“We were asleep at the wheel,” said attendee Tom Wendt. Wendt said he voted every four years and occasionally in midterm elections. He said he generally voted blue, but regularly would split his ticket. He said he now realizes he has a responsibility and he has a “need to exercise” it.

Don Francis said he was politically aware but has become more outspoken in the past 10 years. He said he has split his ticket in the past; he tends to vote for the Democratic Party downballot these days, but not always.

“I still have morals,” Francis said, adding that bad Democrats are “just as bad” as bad Republicans.

Protester Barbara Roth said she voted in every election, but split her ticket and would vote for the person she felt had America’s best interests in mind. However, she started protesting when Trump took office earlier this year.

“Trump has turned me into an activist,” Roth said, adding she didn’t agree with what she said were Trump’s “politics of revenge and vengeance.”

What changes do they want to see?

Many of the protesters said they hoped to bring awareness to developments coming out of Washington.

Francis said he also wanted people to be more empathetic. “A little empathy from everyone would go a long way,” he said.

Said attendee Martie Gorman: “We need to vote micro if we can’t do anything macro.”

Roth said she hoped Trump would see people don’t support the cuts his administration is making to programs such as SNAP, education, Medicaid and others.

How do they sustain their emotions?

“I yell a lot,” attendee Zola Grenda said jokingly, although she said she was working to get someone in her life to change their mind.

Said Roth: “I pray a lot,” protest and refuse to be silent.

Attendee Mark Garrett said, “By taking action like this” and talking to like-minded people. “More people should get out.”

Are they hoping to change minds?

Some of the protesters said Saturday they were hoping to change people’s minds.

Kathryn Kouene was squeezing a chicken toy that had “TACO” written on it. It’s a reference to the acronym “Trump Always Chickens Out” that was coined in response to the president’s “tendency to levy extremely high import taxes and then retreat,” according to the Associated Press.

Kouene said she was protesting for her grandchildren and was hoping to convince family members to agree with her political views.

She said she was “working on them” because “this is evil.”

When asked if he was hoping to change minds, attendee Bob Janz said “yes.”

He said he hopes to “enlighten” people he felt had been brainwashed or deceived, and that Trump’s first term got him to start protesting.

“Criminality was too much for me,” Janz said, adding “not to mention the [Jeffrey] Epstein files.”

Grenda, who said her “fury” toward what is happening in the government has brought her out to protest, said she was trying to get through to someone she knew. Grenda said Trump “has no power as far as I’m concerned.”

She said “we need to have” democracy and that she didn’t necessarily mind if another Republican was president.

“Just not Trump,” Grenda said.