Protesters rally at Westmoreland County Courthouse to oppose Trump agenda

Andrew Wilson said he never attends political protests.

On Saturday, he and about 600 others gathered in front of the Westmoreland County Courthouse for one of the hundreds of rallies conducted across the country, including a similar event in downtown Pittsburgh, to protest President Donald Trump and his administration’s actions in the early months of his presidency.

“I am angry,” said Wilson, 52, of Greensburg. “This is what happens when we don’t have all three parts of our government following the Constitution. Imagine if any of our previous presidents did this. There’d be violence, but you don’t see violence today.”

Organizers said they were surprised by the large turnout in Westmoreland County for the coordinated “Hands Off!” rallies to protest the Trump administration’s efforts to cut jobs and federal programs across the government. They include threats to Social Security, Medicaid and other social service entitlements.

Abigail Graham-Pardus, founder of a progressive movement she calls WTF Can I Do Westmoreland, said the goal of Saturday’s gathering was to bring attention to the discontent of voters in what has become a ruby red county that has overwhelmingly supported Trump and Republicans for the past eight years.

Trump received nearly 64% of the vote in Westmoreland County last fall, further cementing Republicans’ stranglehold on local politics. Democratic registration has seen substantial dips over the past decade and is now fewer than 90,000, compared to Republicans that have surged to more than 130,000 voters.

“We want people here to be aware there are people willing to speak up against Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” said Graham-Pardus, 42, of Murrysville. “When people see an event like this, they know we’re not all red ‘Trump Country’ here in Westmoreland County. This is so much more than I expected.”

Democrats in Westmoreland County have struggled to gain political traction since the November election and have no candidates seeking countywide elected office this spring.

Democratic Committee Chairwoman Michelle McFall said Saturday’s large turnout shows the party still has life.

“This is a reflection, especially among Democrats, that we are very concerned about the Trump administration and it’s stopping of our essential services,” McFall said.

Protesters filled the public areas of the courthouse courtyard. They lined sidewalks in front of the building and across Main and Otterman streets in downtown Greensburg.

Cheers greeted horn honking motorists as they drove through the city, and there were chanted calls for Trump’s jailing and for a halt to his domestic and economic policies.

Speakers included Westmoreland Commissioner Ted Kopas, the county’s lone elected Democrat, and a number of residents who discussed Trump’s proposed cuts to Social Security, environmental causes, social services and the U.S Postal Service and the tariffs announced earlier in the week.

Kopas called on residents to contact U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, whose district includes most of Westmoreland County, to complain about the Trump agenda.

“This is what democracy looks like right here. People, we are on a mission,” Kopas said. “We are sick of the chaos.”

Patricia Brant, 71, a Republican from Greensburg who voted for Trump in 2016 but not in 2020 or 2024, said she wanted to show her opposition to the president.

“I don’t like what he is doing,” Brant said. “Trump is going to take away my Social Security, and I don’t like that all these people are losing their jobs and the tariffs.”

Grant Stewart, 66, of Greensburg said he did not expect to see so many people protesting Trump in Westmoreland County.

“We need to let people know there is another path and that people truly believe in democracy,” Stewart said, “especially in a place where it seems like everyone is a Trumper.”