Photos From Weekly Anti-Trump Protest On Rt. 35 In Middletown

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Here are photos from the weekly protests against President Donald Trump and his administration, held every week along Rt. 35 in Middletown.

These are photos from the Wednesday, April 29 protest, where more than 65 people participated.

The group has been protesting on Rt. 35 every week for the past year now, said one of the organizers, Theresa Blackburn, a member of liberal grassroots advocacy group Shore Area NOW.

Every Wednesday afternoon, anywhere from 12 to 30 people meet on the side of the highway, just north of the Middletown Post Office, holding signs, American flags, cow bells and occasionally someone wears a chicken costume.

The group protests the de-funding of scientific research under President Trump, as well as reduced access to abortion, "the abandonment of due process and other constitutional rights, the expansion of ICE and border patrol activities, the concealment of the Epstein files, and most recently, the Iran War," said Blackburn. They call it the Stand Up for Democracy Rally.

"We have Democrats, Independents and Republicans who protest with us that reside in Middletown, Red Bank, Eatontown, Hazlet, Colts Neck and a few other local towns," she said.

The protests started last April as a demonstration against Republican Congressman Chris Smith’s support for the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Smith used to have a district office on Rt. 35 where the group protests, but the Republican congressman has since closed that office and moved. Some protesters said he relocated his office because he was scared to clash with protesters. However, a spokeswoman for Congressman Smith said that this incorrect:

“Due to the current vitriolic political climate — including the killing and targeting of Minnesota legislators; Charlie Kirk's assassination; and the Brown University mass shooting Congressman Smith closed the office in December, 2025. Congressman Smith's Middletown office had already been defaced, and he was greatly concerned about the safety, security and protection of his staff and other people who work in and patronize the building, which has no security and only glass doors. The FBI told Congressman Smith that it was wise to move all staff to his Toms River office, which has significant security features including sheriff's officers patrolling the building, metal detectors at each entrance, and numerous other security enhancements."

“We have persisted through the heat of last summer and the aftermath of two blizzards," said local resident Steven Lewis. "It hasn’t always been easy, and we all have other things we’d rather be doing, but we feel so strongly about supporting democracy, freedom and opportunity for all, we are compelled to protest what is happening under this administration."

The weekly rallies are organized by a coalition of liberal, anti-Trump advocacy groups, including Shore Area NOW, Jersey Shore Blue, Outrage into Action, a subcommittee of the Middletown Democrats and the Monmouth County Chapter of National Organization for Women. Learn more here: mobilize.us/indivisible/event/941491/?referring_vol=659092&share_context=dashboard-event-details&sharer_role=2