‘Antithesis of democracy’: Protesters gather for ‘Good Trouble’ rally in Raleigh
As a military veteran, Jenn Bock was never involved in politics. Not before the re-election of President Donald Trump.
But ever since, Bock has attended rallies to protest Trump. At Thursday’s “Good Trouble Rally and Protest,” she wore an outfit from the book “The Handmaid’s Tale” — a long crimson cloak and a white bonnet. She rang a white cowbell every time the crowd cheered a speaker.
“I come here because this is a statement in itself: We are not going back,” Bock said. “I will not lose my rights. I am not somebody else’s property.”
The roughly 300 protesters who came to the “Good Trouble Rally and Protest” at Halifax Mall and the State Capitol came for myriad reasons, from opposing the Trump administration to advocating for voting rights.
The rally took place on the fifth anniversary of civil rights activist John Lewis’ death and was one of hundreds of similar rallies across the country, including events in Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary.
The Wake County Democratic Party held a rally mainly opposing House Bill 958 at 5:30 p.m. at Halifax Mall. At 6:30 p.m., some 150 protesters marched to the state Capitol and joined about 150 others at a rally organized by the 50501 Movement and the NC Poor People’s Campaign.
At present, the State Board of Elections has 68 employees who are all considered civil servants. HB 958 would make 25 of those positions exempt from civil service law, allowing the director of the Board of Elections to hire and fire for those positions, The News & Observer previously reported.
In May, the elections board voted to oust longtime director Karen Brinson Bell and replace her with Sam Hayes, a lawyer who worked for Republican leaders in the General Assembly, The News & Observer previously reported.
The bill would also ban election officials from encouraging voter turnout. So on Thursday, Wake County Board of Elections member Greg Flynn wore a blue “Vote y’all” shirt.
“One reason I’m wearing this shirt is because this bill would make it illegal for me to wear this shirt in public,” Flynn said.
Flynn and other speakers, including Rep. Phil Rubin (D-Wake), decried the fact that the bill could allow hiring and firing based on political affiliation. Rubin, a member of the Election Law committee, said the night before a vote on HB 958, Republicans showed him the bill at “the last possible moment the rules would let them show it to us.”
The next morning, Rubin said the committee hearing lasted 30 minutes and members of the public were not allowed to comment before the bill advanced.
“So it’s a bad thing, but it’s a good thing, because you know that they’re scared,” Rubin said. “You know that this is a bill that they are not proud of.”
Many who attended the Thursday rally said they were not aware of HB 958. Not Bock, who moved to Fuquay-Varina this year. Neither did Paul and Joanne LeSieur, who said they were attending their first rally after hearing about it from a neighbor.
“They only had the room for an hour, and then it was a half an hour,” Joanne LeSieur said. “It’s just wrong.”
Olivia Banks regularly attends “Moral Mondays” demonstrations with her mother, the Rev. Donna Banks. Olivia Banks, who is from Durham and is a medical student in New York, said she had not heard of the bill either, but would spread the word.
“Introducing a bill that discourages people from voting, I think that’s just — it’s the antithesis of democracy,” Banks said.
As protesters marched on the sidewalks surrounding the Capitol, constant horn-honking from cars bearing anti-Trump and anti-ICE messages gave percussion to chants of, “This is what democracy looks like.”
“It’s great to see people coming out who care,” Banks said. “You know, even if it doesn’t directly affect them, that’s probably one of the most moving things about this whole process.”
This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 10:42 PM.
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