Denver Good Trouble Lives On Protest Causes Little as Thousands March

The Good Trouble Lives On protest in honor of late Congressman and civil rights Icon John Lewis saw a lower turnout than expected on Thursday, July 17, but it marked a peaceful turn compared to recent demonstrations.

"At this point, if you don't say something or do something, this is going to be Nazi Germany," protester Angy McKenzie said. "I came out here because this is nothing that we've ever seen before in the United States. We're watching the signs happen in front of us."
According to the Colorado State Patrol, about 2,000 people showed up at the State Capitol for the march and protest against President Donald Trump and his administration. Local organizers with 50501 Colorado and Political Revolution, both part of national progressive activist groups, had hoped to see up to 10,000 people, according to their permit for the July 17 event. That would have made it larger than the No Kings protest on June 14, which was Denver's largest anti-Trump protest since he returned to office in January.


The Good Trouble Lives On protest included a march, when demonstrators left the Capitol at around 5:45 p.m, marched up West 13th Avenue towards Speer Boulevard, and circled back via West Colfax Avenue to the State Capitol. The march was led by members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
At the Capitol, protesters congregated around Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park, with almost no one at the west steps of the Capitol, which has typically been the center of recent protests. The permit for the event included that area as well as the park, where the Good Trouble Lives On organizers had set up an activist fair similar to the one at the June 14 No Kings protest.

"Losing our democracy, that's what concerns me most," said protester Corina Aragon as she roamed the fair. "That's [Trump's] goal: to destroy this country. Everything he's doing is doing that. He's an ass."

The fair featured tents where people could find more information on local activist groups, including the Denver Communists, Resistance 5280 and the Denver Justice Project. A van serving ice cream that had been at the No Kings protest even returned.

"I think it's awesome. It's actually a lot safer than I thought it was going to be. I was a little worried about safety," said Bridget Taylor. "This is my first protest in Denver. I've always had something in the way."  While the Good Trouble Lives On event was largely peaceful, protests have gotten testy this year.

On June 10, an ICE Out! protest of around 1,500 people took place in Denver. Approximately seventeen people were arrested that night, and Denver Police officers used smoke and pepper pellets against protesters during a confrontation near the Broadway on-ramp to Interstate 25.

The June 14 No Kings protest also saw standoffs between demonstrators and police that resulted in three dozen arrests, including a teenager. Police used smoke and pepper pellets at that protest, too. Protesters report smelling tear gas, which can irritate eyes and lungs, but DPD denied using the chemical munition.

On Monday, July 14, law enforcement in tactical gear and unmarked vehicles protected the offices of Denver-based software company Palantir. Protesters had marched to Palantir's downtown offices to protest the company's support of ICE and the Israeli Defense Forces.
At the Good Trouble Lives On protest, about fifty people began marching down Lincoln Street at 7:30 p.m., circling back on Broadway and never going south of 11th Avenue. When they returned to the Capitol, they burned an American flag on Lincoln. After that, they and other protesters who'd hung around Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park called it a night.

Denver's Good Trouble Lives On protest was planned in coordination with actions throughout Colorado and around the country on July 17. At least two more Denver protests are planned over the next two weeks in coordination with national protests.

General Strike U.S., a labor rights group with a Colorado chapter, has a permit for 10,000 people to gather on August 1 at the Capitol. On August 2, a protest at the Capitol is planned in coordination with 50501, a national activist group that cropped up after the Fifty State Protest. That permit is also for 10,000 people.

See more photos of the Good Trouble Lives On protest in Denver below.