'Good Trouble' rallies return to protest Trump policies
Source: USA Today
July 17, 2026, 6:06 a.m. ET
Activists are expected to gather at hundreds of locations across the country July 17 through July 19 for "Good Trouble Lives On" rallies focused on civil rights, voting rights, democracy and faith.
Like other large-scale protests held since President Donald Trump began his second term, the protests are decentralized, with people focusing on organizing in their communities rather than attending a single protest in a major city. Events are scheduled in all but a handful of states.
"It's important for us to meet people where they are and to teach them about the laws that are in their states because it varies," said Jalisa Giles, campaign coordinator for the Declaration for American Democracy, a coalition of left-leaning advocacy groups that is among the organizers.
The flagship, or largest, event is scheduled for July 18 as the "Freedom Summer Atlanta Rally" in Georgia. The name of the protest is based on the term "good trouble," coined by civil rights leader and Georgia U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who died July 17, 2020. It means peaceful, nonviolent action meant to challenge injustice. Lewis, who was often called the “moral compass’’ of the House, was one of the most vocal critics of Trump's first administration.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/07/17/good-trouble-rallies-return-to-protest-trump-policies/90935774007/