NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents of President Donald Trump’s administration took to the streets of communities large and small across the U.S. on Saturday, decrying what they see as threats to the nation’s democratic ideals.

The disparate events ranged from a march through midtown Manhattan and a rally in front of the White House to a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration of “the shot heard ’round the world” on April 19, 1775, marking the start of the Revolutionary War 250 years ago.

READ MORE: 250 years after the start of the Revolutionary War, a divided America battles over its legacy

Thomas Bassford was among the demonstrators at the reenactment of the Battles of Lexington and Concord outside Boston. The 80-year-old retired mason from Maine said he believes Americans are under attack from their own government and need to stand up against it.

“This is a very perilous time in America for liberty,” said Bassford, who was with his partner, daughter and two grandsons. “I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”

In Denver, hundreds of protesters gathered at the Colorado State Capitol with banners expressing solidarity with immigrants and telling the Trump administration: “Hands Off!” People waved U.S. flags, some of them held upside down to signal distress.

Thousands of people also marched through downtown Portland, Oregon, while in San Francisco, hundreds spelled out the words “Impeach & Remove” on a sandy beach along the Pacific Ocean, also with an inverted U.S. flag. People walked through downtown Anchorage, Alaska, with handmade signs listing reasons why they were demonstrating, including one that one that read: “No sign is BIG enough to list ALL of the reasons I’m here!”

Elsewhere protests were planned outside Tesla car dealerships against billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk and his role in downsizing the federal government. Others organized more community service-oriented events such as food drives, teach-ins and volunteering at local shelters.

The protests come just two weeks after similar nationwide demonstrations.

Organizers say they oppose what they call Trump’s civil rights violations and constitutional violations, including efforts to deport scores of immigrants and to scale back the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and effectively shuttering entire agencies.

Some of the events drew on the spirit of the Revolutionary War, calling for “no kings” and resistance to tyranny.

In Anchorage, a colonial reenactor in colonial garb held up a “No Kings” sign while the person next to him hoisted cardboard that read in part: “The Feudal Age is OVER.”

Boston resident George Bryant, who was among those at the Concord protest, said he is concerned that the president is creating a “police state.” He held a sign saying, “Trump fascist regime must go now!”

“He’s defying the courts. He’s kidnapping students. He’s eviscerating the checks and balances,” Bryant said. “This is fascism.”

In Washington, Bob Fasick, a 76-year-old retired federal employee from Springfield, Virginia, said he came out to the rally near the White House out of concern over threats to constitutionally protected due process rights, Social Security and other federal safety-net programs.

The Trump administration, among other things, has moved to shutter Social Security Administration field offices, cut funding for government health programs and scale back protections for transgender people.

READ MORE: As NOAA shrinks under Trump’s cuts, employees speak out

“I cannot sit still knowing that if I don’t do anything and everybody doesn’t do something to change this, that the world that we collectively are leaving for the little children, for our neighbors is simply not one that I would want to live,” Fasick said.

In Columbia, South Carolina, several hundred people protested at the statehouse holding signs with slogans such as “Fight Fiercely, Harvard, Fight.”

And in Manhattan, protesters rallied against continued deportations of immigrants as they marched from the New York Public Library north toward Central Park and past Trump Tower.

“No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” they chanted to a steady drumbeat, referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Marshall Green said he is most concerned that Trump invoked the wartime Alien Enemies Act of 1798 by claiming the country is at war with Venezuelan gangs linked to the South American nation’s government, even though a recent U.S. intelligence assessment found no coordination between them.

“Congress should be stepping up and saying no, we are not at war. You cannot use that,” said the 61-year-old from Morristown, New Jersey. “You cannot deport people without due process, and everyone in this country has the right to due process no matter what.”

Meanwhile Melinda Charles, of Connecticut, said she worries about “executive overreach,” citing clashes with the federal courts, Harvard University and other elite colleges.

“We’re supposed to have three equal branches of government,” she said, “and to have the executive branch become so strong, I mean it’s just unbelievable.”

Associated Press writers Claire Rush in Oregon, Joseph Frederick in New York, Rodrique Ngowi in Massachusetts, Nathan Ellgren in Washington and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed.

Summary

Companies Largest outpouring of protests against Trump since his return to power

Military parade brings tanks, troops to streets of Washington

Minnesota protests canceled after lawmaker assassination, Walz calls it politically motivated

WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO, June 14 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump ‘s long-sought military parade rolled though the streets of downtown Washington on Saturday, but the celebration of the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary was marred by a day of violence and discord.

In the hours before the parade began, hundreds of thousands of Americans marched and rallied in streets in cities from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles, protesting Trump’s actions while in office, in the largest such actions since his return to power in January.

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Earlier in the day, a gunman assassinated a Democratic lawmaker and wounded another in Minnesota and remained at large.

Meanwhile, Israel and Iran exchanged further attacks early on Sunday, stoking fears of a mushrooming conflict between the two nations.

All of it followed a week of tension in Los Angeles , where protests over federal immigration raids resulted in Trump calling in National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to help keep the peace, over the objections of the state’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.

The parade, which fell on Trump’s 79th birthday, kicked off earlier than expected with thunderstorms forecast in the Washington area.

Tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery rumbled down the parade route along storied Constitution Avenue, an unusual sight in the U.S. where such displays of military might are rare.

“Every other country celebrates their victories, it’s about time America did too,” Trump told the crowd following the parade.

Thousands of spectators lined up along the route. Trump watched the proceedings from an elevated viewing stand behind bulletproof glass.

Some of the president’s opponents also managed to find a spot along the parade route, holding signs in protest. Other demonstrators were kept separate from the parade crowd by local police.

The U.S. Army has brought nearly 7,000 troops into Washington, along with 150 vehicles, including more than 25 M1 Abrams tanks, 28 Stryker armored vehicles, four Paladin self-propelled artillery vehicles, and artillery pieces including the M777 and M119.

ARMY’S HISTORY

The parade traced the history of the Army from its founding during the Revolutionary War through modern day. Trump frequently stood and saluted troops as they marched by.

Members of Trump’s cabinet including Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio looked on.

Trump had first expressed interest in a military parade in Washington early in his first 2017-2021 term in office.

In 1991, tanks and thousands of troops paraded through Washington to celebrate the ousting of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait in the Gulf War.

Item 1 of 10 Members of the U.S. Army’s Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division operate a M1A2 SEP V3 tank down Constitution Avenue as they move past U.S. President Donald Trump during the Army’s 250th Birthday parade in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder [1/10] Members of the U.S. Army’s Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division operate a M1A2 SEP V3 tank down Constitution Avenue as they move past U.S. President Donald Trump during the Army’s 250th Birthday parade in Washington, D.C.,… Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab Read more

The celebrations were expected to cost the U.S. Army between $25 million and $45 million, U.S. officials have told Reuters. That includes the parade itself as well as the cost of moving equipment and housing and feeding the troops.

Critics have called the parade an authoritarian display of power that is wasteful, especially given Trump has said he wants to slash costs throughout the federal government.

Bryan Henrie, a Trump supporter, flew in from Texas to celebrate the Army’s anniversary and did not see any issues with tanks rolling down the streets of Washington.

“I don’t see a controversy. I will celebrate safety and stability any day over anarchy,” 61-year-old Henrie said.

‘SHAME! SHAME!’

Earlier in the day, thousands marched in Washington and other cities in protest of Trump’s policies. The demonstrations were largely peaceful, and marked the largest outpouring of opposition to Trump ‘s presidency since he returned to power in January.

In Los Angeles, however, the situation remained tense. About an hour before a downtown curfew, police officers mounted on horses were aggressively pushing back demonstrators, using gas, flash bangs and other less lethal munitions, causing large groups to panic and flee.

Protesters were firing what police called commercial-grade fireworks against officers, along with rocks and bottles. Some demonstrators wore gas masks and helmets and vowed to stay in the area for many more hours.

A crowd earlier had confronted soldiers guarding a federal building, yelling “Shame! Shame!” and “Marines, get out of LA!”

Anti-Trump groups planned nearly 2,000 demonstrations across the country to coincide with the parade. Many took place under the theme “No Kings,” asserting that no individual is above the law.

Thousands of people of all ages turned out in and around Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan, many carrying homemade signs that played off the “No Kings” theme. “No crown for a clown,” said one. Actor Mark Ruffalo was among the demonstrators, wearing a hat that read “immigrant.”

“We’re seeing dehumanizing language towards LGBT people, towards people with autism, towards people with other disabilities, racial minorities, undocumented people,” said Cooper Smith, 20, from upstate New York. “Somebody’s got to show that most Americans are against this.”

Protesters in downtown Chicago stood off against police on Saturday, with some waving upside-down American flags and chanting: “Who do you protect? Who do you serve?” and “No justice, no peace.”

Members of the far-right Proud Boys, ardent Trump supporters, appeared at an Atlanta “No Kings” protest, wearing the group’s distinctive black and yellow colors.

About 400 protesters, organized by a group called RefuseFascism.org, marched through Washington and gathered for a rally in a park opposite the White House. Trump had warned people against protesting at the parade itself, saying that “they’re going to be met with very big force.”

Sunsara Taylor, a founder of RefuseFascism, told the crowd, “Today we refuse to accept Donald Trump unleashing the military against the people of this country and in the streets of this country. We say, ‘Hell no.’”

Reporting by Idrees Ali, Jason Lange, Phil Stewart, Jeff Mason, Jonathan Landay, Brad Ulery, Tim Reid, Kanishka Singh and James Oliphant in Washington and Brad Brooks in Los Angeles and Karen Freifeld and Patrick Wingrove in New York. Additional reporting by Aarthy Somasekhar in Houston, Karl Plume in Chicago and Alyssa Pointer in Atlanta, writing by James Oliphant, editing by Scott Malone, Howard Goller, Nick Zieminski and Deepa Babington

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23.09 BST Violent acts and threats at some ‘No Kings’ protests around the US

A man intentionally drove an SUV into a crowd of protesters in Culpepper, Virginia, on Saturday, striking at least one person, according to Washington DC’s Fox affiliate.

The man, identified by authorities as Joseph R Checklick Jr, was arrested and charged with reckless driving. Checklick was held without bail at the county jail, the news outlet said.

Authorities alleged that Checklick knowingly accelerated into a group of “No Kings” protest attendees. Organizers reportedly said that more than 600 attended the event, with 200 on Main Street and 400 along James Madison Highway.

As hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest Trump’s military parade and his policies, violence has cast a shadow over demonstrations.

In San Francisco, a car hit at least four “No Kings” protesters in what authorities are investigating as a “possible intentional act”.

Texas authorities closed the state capitol grounds following a “credible threat” toward lawmakers planning to attend a protest.

Early Saturday, Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed. State senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also shot, but are expected to survive.

Minnesota officials said the incidents appeared to be politically motivated attacks.

On a sunny late September day in 2019, a crowd flocked to the “Gichi-gami Gathering to Stop Line 3” on the shores of Gichi-gami (Lake Superior) in Duluth, Minnesota. Indigenous leaders from the Ojibwe Nation, along with the Dakota, Navajo, and other Native Nations, had called on water protectors to march to raise public awareness of Line 3, an oil pipeline operated by the Canadian company Enbridge Inc. Both in solidarity with the movement and out of my interest as a graduate student investigating Indigenous-led engagements with fossil fuel developments in the Upper Midwest, I took the Sierra Club bus from southern Wisconsin to join the crowd.

While non-Native allies handed out pamphlets warning of the environmental, social, and cultural dangers of Line 3, Native advocates gave speeches about Indigenous genocide and its many forms throughout history. Their passionate testimonies made evident that supporting the pipeline resistance movement would also mean acknowledging the struggles of Indigenous peoples who have, since time immemorial, occupied the lands now known as the United States. The protest was just one of the many ways the Ojibwe people, along with other Native and non-Native allies, have fought oil infrastructure.

At the Gichi-gami Gathering to Stop Line 3, protection of water and Indigenous sovereignty were key demands. Photo by author, September, 2019.

Despite stark opposition demonstrated through direct action, marches, public hearings, lawsuits, and beyond, Enbridge Inc. was granted, in late 2020, all required permits to start construction of Line 3 in Minnesota. This included water permits which allow the pipeline to cross streams, wetlands, and rivers in northern Minnesota as well as wild rice lakes. According to their oral histories, when the Ojibwe people migrated from the East Coast to what is now known as the Upper Midwest, they were looking for a place where food grows on water, namely Manoomin (wild rice). Little did they know that one day their descendants would be fighting a Canadian oil company that threatens their ways of living, including their land, water, and wild rice.

We Are Still Here

Line 3 is an oil pipeline that transports tar sands—a highly viscous mixture composed of sand, water, clay, and bitumen—from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. Threatening the land and the water in its path, it puts Native and non-Native communities in jeopardy. The extraction of tar sands in Canada releases three times more greenhouse gases than regular oil extraction and has been hailed the world’s most destructive oil operation. Line 3 has been operating since the 1960s and its history is fraught with spills, including the U.S.’s largest inland oil spill which occurred in Minnesota.

Native peoples and Non-Native allies march along the shores of Gichi-gami at the Gichi-gami Gathering to Stop Line 3. Photo by author, September, 2019.

In 2013, Enbridge Inc., the Canadian company responsible for Line 3 and many other pipeline corridors in Canada and the United States, decided to replace the old corroding Line 3. The company does not plan to remove the aging pipeline, but rather aims to build another while rerouting some of the Minnesota corridor across 200 bodies of water, including the headwaters of the Mississippi River. This means that not only is Enbridge Inc. leaving a dirty old pipeline in the ground, which itself can contaminate soil and water from the residual oil remaining within, but is also building a brand new one.

Enbridge has already completed all the pipeline segments in Canada, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. It is in the state of Minnesota that Line 3 has faced most opposition to the so-called ‘replacement’ project. The Ojibwe people lead the fight against Line 3. They, like many other Native Nations in the U.S., have both been forcibly removed from their lands and had their lands reduced through historical treaties with the United States. Their movement against Line 3 represents part of a larger historical struggle, since colonization, against genocide and erasure.

Indigenous-led opposition to fossil fuel infrastructure is often referred to as a fight, but it is also part of a nationwide movement to uphold Indigenous treaty rights and sovereignty. Indigenous-led grassroots movements and organizations, such as the Giniw Collective (led by Indigenous women), Honor the Earth, Indigenous Environmental Network, Spirit of the Buffalo Camp, and others have played a central role in resisting fossil fuel infrastructure. “We are still here.” I heard this phrase from Indigenous speakers at the Gichi-gami Gathering to Stop Line 3 and have heard it again and again at many other Indigenous rallies protesting fossil fuel developments. It is an outcry of peoples who have seen their ability to coexist as sovereign increasingly undermined. Economic and political interests delegitimize Indigenous treaties and self-determination. Systemic racism underpins the case of Line 3 as well as numerous other cases across the U.S. in which people of color are disproportionately exposed to the dangers posed by oil and gas infrastructure. Fossil fuel developments sharply illustrate the continuation of injustices against Indigenous, Black, and other marginalized peoples.

Not without resistance, Enbridge Inc. is leaving its now-defunct Line 3 pipeline in the ground as it builds a new one. Photo by Lori Schaull, June, 2018.

Crossing through the 1863, 1855, and 1854 treaty territories in Minnesota, the new proposed Line 3 pipeline is a direct threat to Ojibwe treaty resources. Treaties are meant to safeguard Indigenous self-determination, sovereignty, and rights on both ceded and unceded lands. On treaty territories, Native Nations also reserve the right to hunt, fish, gather and practice sacred ceremonies. However, history has shown that Indigenous treaty rights are regularly ignored.

Consultation is Not Consent

The Line 3 permitting process in Minnesota is largely being carried out by state agencies which have the obligation to consult with tribal nations regarding any development or activity that affects tribes on ceded or unceded lands. States and federal agencies alike are responsible for coming up with the means to ensure consultation with tribal governments through a process of clear and meaningful communication. This relationship between the government and tribes stems from the Constitution, treaties, and documents signed across presidencies, such as Executive Order 13647, which established the White House Council on Native American Affairs in 2013.

A grandmother and granddaughter protest the pipeline outside the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission hearing on Line 3. Photo by Lorie Schaull, June, 2018.

Native Nations are sovereign. They are independent political units recognized by the federal government. Although this might imply they should have the power to veto any development on their territories, decisions made by federal court rulings over time have deemed tribes “domestic dependent nations,” meaning U.S. Congress has the power to alter tribal sovereignty. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act does however require consultation with tribes on projects impacting their lands.

The permitting stage of a project like Line 3 triggers a process with state agencies and the Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that oversees federally-protected waters. These agencies analyze the documents submitted by the developer, containing (for example) the proposed route and need for the project, and assess the associated environmental impacts before deciding whether to grant the project permits. Enbridge Inc. officially sent an application for its multi-billion project in 2015. Ever since, Line 3 has been a highly contentious fossil fuel development project, perhaps as controversial as the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).

Despite staggering opposition to the pipeline—demonstrated through comments and expert testimonies provided in public hearings and lawsuits filed by Indigenous-led grassroots movements and tribes in tandem with established environmental organizations, such as one challenging the adequacy of the Environmental Impact Statement—Line 3 has been issued all permits required to move forward with pipeline construction. A federal lawsuit filed in December 2020 to stop construction was recently denied. In the meantime, Enbridge Inc. continues clearcutting northern Minnesota forest amidst concerns that the influx of Enbridge-hired workers to the region could exacerbate the spread of COVID-19, putting tribal members and nearby communities at risk. A request to shut down construction was blocked by the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Beyond directly violating Indigenous treaty rights, Line 3 also promises more insidious disruptions to Native communities. The “man camps” set up to house pipeline workers have been directly linked to an increase in the occurrence of drug and sex trafficking as well as other violent crimes which affect Native communities disproportionately, especially Native women. Native American women are murdered and assaulted in such high numbers as to compel a movement for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) as well as the creation of a unit in the U.S. Department of the Interior to investigate and solve cases involving MMIW. Fossil fuel extraction and pipeline construction exacerbate these atrocities.

An Enbridge pipeline burst in 2010 released over a million gallons of oil into a Kalamazoo River tributary in Michigan. Photo by Rocky Kistner, February, 2012.

In terms of environmental (in)justice, Line 3 is poised to defeat every attempt by the state of Minnesota to mitigate climate change. Climate change disproportionately impacts Indigenous populations and other marginalized communities. Despite Enbridge Inc.’s notable record of spills, such as the tragic 2010 spill in the Kalamazoo River, the company claims to have cutting-edge technology that ensures pipeline safety. Yet, all pipelines spill. It is only a matter of time.

Despite their rights and strong arguments in opposition to Line 3, Indigenous voices have gone unheard. Consultation of tribes often fails to gain, and can even undermine, tribal consent.

Industry and Indigenous Justice at Odds

Not only do Indigenous peoples disproportionately suffer from the impacts of fossil fuel developments, but they are also the ones actively leading opposition, along with non-Native allies, through grassroots organizing.

I have attended a few public hearings and witnessed Indigenous knowledge consistently warning of the perils of fossil fuel developments. Ecosystems and sacred sites are disturbed. The land and water are hurt and polluted, impacting significant tribal resources. Manoomin and the ecosystems where it grows have been detrimentally impacted by climate change. Fossil fuel developments expedite the process of loss.

The Ojibwe people see their Manoomin harvests threatened by Line 3. Photo by George Stringham, September, 2015.

Industry, often supported by science and technology founded in settler colonialism, overtly defies Indigenous knowledge in the case of Line 3, and other fossil fuel developments, as well as the mounting evidence that the new corridor would harm the environment and Native tribes. This is not an accident. Industrial encroachment is legitimized through decisions made by those who are expected to uphold treaty rights. Agencies have failed to consider Ojibwe and other Native and non-Native allies’ adamant opposition to Line 3.

Why is the future of tribal nations in the hands of a few powerful non-Native people who deny both Indigenous and scientific knowledge that explicitly show the dangers of fossil fuel developments? Is it fair for a Canadian company to transport tar sands across tribal territories in the U.S. while threatening the environment and Indigenous ways of living only to meet an international demand for oil in a context of a fossil fuel industry in sharp decline?

While the complex answers to these questions are embedded in systemic racism and ongoing colonization, opposition to Line 3 and the fight for Indigenous justice continue. As I write this, Indigenous and non-Native water protectors are engaged in non-violent direct action in Aitkin County in Minnesota near the Mississippi River around Line 3’s water crossing. From Aitkin County to the shores of Gichi-Gami to all across the U.S., Native peoples fight to defend their sovereignty and rights to clean water and cultural practices. Amidst direct and indirect attempts to undermine treaty rights, Native peoples stand strong.

Featured Image: Leading the march against the pipeline at the Gichi-gami Gathering to Stop Line 3. Photo by Fibonacci Blue, September, 2019.

Murilo Alves Zacareli is a Ph.D. student in Environment & Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. His research looks at Indigenous-led engagements with oil pipelines in the Upper Midwest of the United States as well as the social, cultural, and environmental impacts of such developments on wetlands, especially wild rice lakes on tribal lands. Contact. Twitter.

“Our current economic system values profit above people and the planet,” Sierra Club organizer Dominique Diaddigo-Cash said at a recent press conference in Minneapolis. “The same factors that drive owners to pay unlivable wages,” he continued, “drive them to pollute our air, water, and threaten our climate.”

The press conference was co-hosted by SEIU Local 26, Minnesota’s janitor and security officer’s union, and a coalition of environmental groups. These allies stood in solidarity to announce a newly-released report: Sky High Pollution: How Minnesota corporations pollute our planet and politics, and how community collaboration can help the state reach its 2050 greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

It may not be immediately obvious why labor unions and environmental organizations should work together, but SEIU Local 26 has been in the news a lot lately for doing just that: Local 26 has made fighting climate change and protecting the environment key platforms in their contract negotiations. On Saturday, February 8, janitors and security officers even voted to authorize a strike if necessary, highlighting how seriously they are taking the threat of climate change.

SEIU Local 26’s fight puts into practice something that we often talk about as advocates for change: that all fights for justice are connected, and that we cannot separate out the fight for environmental justice from the fight for economic justice. That’s why the Sierra Club stands in solidarity with these workers in their demands for fair pay, good benefits and a healthy planet. Members of SEIU Local 26 clean and protect the offices and retail stores of some of the biggest corporations in the world: General Mills, UnitedHealth Group, U.S. Bank – just to name a few.

Green Cleaning & Climate Change

How are labor rights and the environment connected? First, SEIU Local 26 is calling on their employers to create new janitorial positions focused on green cleaning. The new positions proposed by the union would help sort out recycling and compost from trash, ensure janitors are using environmentally friendly chemicals, and work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the buildings they clean. As folks on the ground, they are positioned to put sustainability goals into practice. And many members have personal experience on why this matters as 40% of Local 26 members cite the Climate Crisis as part of their reason for migrating to the U.S.

“We were not alone, millions of people from the areas near my village left too, in one of the biggest migrations ever out of South America… Now I clean buildings that are some of the biggest polluters in Minnesota, which furthers the same problem that made me immigrate. This must be addressed. I think if we win green cleaning, we can send a message.” Elsa Guaman, Local 26 member

Burning Trash

But the interconnections between our different progressive campaigns are most obvious at the HERC garbage burner in downtown Minneapolis. The HERC burner is discussed at length in the new report, Sky High Pollution.

The HERC garbage burner is located in downtown Minneapolis. Trash from around Hennepin County, including trash from many downtown buildings, is brought to HERC, where it is burnt to heat up water, spin a turbine, and generate electricity. Xcel buys most of the electricity produced by HERC, and part of the steam helps heat and cool downtown office towers and the Target Field.

Pollutants from the burner – including dioxin, lead and mercury – end up blowing over North Minneapolis, a predominantly black and brown neighborhood.

“I collect trash in downtown Minneapolis. At the end of my workday I go to my home in North Minneapolis and breathe in the polluted air from the HERC incinerator that is burning the garbage I collected. This is the reason I am fighting for a healthy planet for my kids.” Maurice McLaurin, Local 26 member

Shutting Down Dirty Energy From Trash to Coal

The Sierra Club is supporting local leaders in their campaigns to highlight the racial health disparities caused by HERC and shut down the HERC burner – but that’s not the only way we’re connected to it. The HERC burner is operated by Great River Energy (GRE), which also runs the Coal Creek coal fired power plant in North Dakota. The Sierra Club is campaigning to shut down this plant.

The Coal Creek plant is North Dakota’s biggest coal fired power plant. It emitted over ten million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere in 2018–the equivalent of over two million cars on the road–as well as thousands of tons of other pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. The dirty energy this plant provides is used to power the homes for almost 2 million rural Minnesotans. This means that many Minnesotans are stuck using dirty coal as their power source – and paying too much for it, to boot!

Climate Migrants Now Fighting For Their Rights in MN

GRE’s dirty coal plants are contributing to climate change, and climate change is creating a whole new class of climate refugees. Some of those refugees come to Minnesota to build a new home, and may end up collecting trash for the HERC burner – including Elsa Guaman, quoted above.

This creates a vicious cycle in which refugees flee the impacts of climate change and many come to the U.S. Some become janitors in SEIU Local 26 where they work to collect garbage from downtown office buildings. That trash is then burnt at the HERC burner to heat the buildings they clean, and the burner pollutes the neighborhood where many Local 26 members live. In addition, the burner contributes to climate change by pouring CO2 into the atmosphere, and climate change creates even more climate refugees.

We’re all in this fight together

SEIU Local 26 reminds us that there are also practical reasons for solidarity: we’re all in this fight together. If we want to stop climate change, we’re going to have to stand with workers in their fights for good jobs – especially when those workers are fighting climate change in their campaigns.

They are using their power to fight for a better world for all of us: can you join them?

Rally for Workers’ Rights & Climate Justice, Thursday Feb. 27 at 5 pm in downtown Minneapolis

We’ve got an opportunity to stand with members of Local 26 in their campaign. On Thursday, February 27 from 5-8pm, environmental organizations will be downtown with Local 26 members on Nicollet Mall rally for Workers’ Rights and Climate Justice.

Workers are putting their jobs on the line if they strike. The Sierra Club is asking volunteers and members to show up in solidarity. We have committed to turning 100 people out to the rally – we’ll have volunteer roles for you or you can simply join the rally.

This is a fun, powerful way to support your fellow Minnesotans and support a healthy planet for us all.

Please RSVP here, so we know who is coming!