In Springfield a total of about 120 people attended protests on February 4 and 5. The goal was to get Democrats in congress to try to stop many or all of Trump's plans. “It was a success,” Wendy Penner told the Valley Post in a voice phone interview on February 6. She was one of the organizers of the second protest and she is part of the group Greylock Together. “There were about 60 people there even though it was really cold. Staff people from both our U.S. senators' offices were there. We told them we want the senators to disrupt what Trump is trying to do. That night, the senators stayed up all night to stop votes in congress. That's great.”

Andrew Kennard was at the February 4 protest. Asked if the Gazette's article about the rally was accurate, he told the Valley Post, “Unfortunately I think the reporter misunderstood me when I told him I’ve never done anything 'like this' before. I have been involved in a number of protests over the years since Trump took office in 2016. I specifically meant that I have never directly visited my senator’s office in person to make demands, as opposed to calling the office.”

Kennard has a PhD and works as a scientific researcher at UMass Amherst. He said he opposes Trump's cuts to medical research that can save lives. One of the groups that organized the first protest is Indivisible Massachusetts.

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On February 6, Trump issued sanctions against the International Criminal Court to punish the court for issuing an arrest warrant for the leader of Israel. In Brattleboro on February 8 at noon there will be a rally to call for the ceasefire in Gaza to be permanent. The rally will be outside the main post office. A group that's promoting the rally has a web page at:

https://grassrootsfund.org/groups/upper-valley-action-affinity-group