Weekly Member Update - October 27, 2025

In the wake of more than 7 million Americans taking to the streets in defense of democracy and the American way of life at No Kings 2.0, the question on everyone’s lips seems to be, “What Comes Next?” How do we follow up and maintain the momentum borne of the largest anti-authoritarian protest in American history?

While there are a thousand answers to these questions both large and small, the first thing to remember is that, no matter how buoyant and inspired you felt after No Kings last Saturday, the fact remains that the fight to preserve our Republic against the looming threat of tyranny is a marathon, not a sprint. No singular event, even one containing more than 7 million American patriots, will put an end to Trump’s reign of corruption, violence and lawlessness. We were quickly reminded of that fact in the days immediately following No Kings, as Trump took a literal backhoe to the White House for a gilded $300 million ballroom in honor of his ego, while simultaneously engaging in the extrajudicial murder of dozens of individuals in Caribbean with little to no legal justification. But, as we said last week, the fact that No Kings did not culminate in Trump’s immediate abdication of his throne does not make No Kings ineffective. Rather, the power of No Kings lies in its inspiration and the way that its draws others into our cause and gives politicians and institutions a permission structure to say no to the Orange King in the here and now. But it is now our collective responsibility to capitalize on what No Kings has wrought; to engage the new faces that No Kings ushered through the door and to take a variety of actions throughout our community to continue to build bridges, protect our neighbors and fight authoritarianism at every turn.

Here in the Capital Region, one thing that can be done is to redouble our efforts in the long running campaign against Avelo Airlines. This past Saturday marked an unfortunate occasion, the six-month anniversary of our ongoing monthly protest actions at Albany International Airport. Since May, Capital Region residents have been calling for the expulsion of Avelo from our humble local airport on account of Avelo’s contractual relationship with ICE. Avelo Airlines turns a profit by tearing families apart. It flies deportation flights for ICE with no reasonable basis to believe that the people it has been trafficking to foreign lands on ICE’s behalf have received the process due to them by the US Constitution. Simply put, Avelo Airlines abets ICE’s violent terror campaign against American communities. It therefore deserves not a single red cent from the American public, whether that be in the form of our air fares or taxpayer-funded government subsidies. From our perspective, this is a simple issue; when a corporation facilitates the deprivation of constitutional rights and the violent acts of lawless federal agents, that corporation forfeits the rights and privileges bestowed upon it by the American people, including whatever contractual benefits Avelo receives from Albany County and the Albany County Airport Authority in exchange for two flights a week to Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina. And we’re not alone in this view: just this week, Avelo announced its departure from Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Connecticut, bringing to an end a longstanding campaign against Avelo by Connecticut officials and citizens. The people of Maryland hope to follow suit, calling on Governor Wes Moore to end that state’s relationship with Avelo through sustained and vociferous protest. And this week, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) joined the fight, demanding that Avelo and other air charters stop profiting off of ICE’s cruelty.

Our elected Albany County officials apparently see things differently, because their public silence on the issue has been deafening. Back in August, we wrote to County Executive Dan McCoy, County Legislative Chair Joanne Cunningham and the head of the Airport Authority, seeking an explanation for Avelo’s presence at Albany International. We were ignored. We followed up by having our members reach out to their elected County Legislators for an explanation and, although some of those leaders expressed private opposition to the presence of Avelo, their words were not matched with action of any sort. We’ve submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Airport Authority, seeking a copy of the County’s contract with Avelo in order to see for ourselves just what tax-payer benefits the air carrier is receiving from us. That too has been ignored, in plain violation of state law. Moreover, when it recently came to light that Avelo is a corporate sponsor of events like Alive at Five in the City of Albany, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan was dismissive of the concerns raised by our friends at Guilderland Indivisible, explaining that termination of the sponsorship deal with Avelo would cost the City $4,000 worth of flight tickets for unknown public officials. We cannot help but wonder what is motivating all this silence and inaction by local government officials — in ostensibly deep-blue Albany County, of all places — despite Avelo’s blatant corporate complicity with ICE’s human rights violations. What gives with Dan McCoy — who, unlike most local electeds, was conspicuously absent from No Kings 2.0 but hangs out regularly with Rensselaer County Executive, and noted MAGA troll, Steve McLaughlin; how can it be that he can pick up the phone and get Kristi Noem’s propaganda video removed from the TV screens at Albany International but, when it comes to Avelo, he’s impotent and powerless? Six months in, we have more questions than answers when it comes to Avelo Airlines and Albany International Airport, but if Dan McCoy and Albany County officials think that they can ignore the issue into oblivion, they are mistaken. We aren’t going anywhere.

Why is this issue so important? Ask the people of Chicago. Without the help of corporations like Avelo and the detention center contractors CoreCivic and GEO Group, among many others, ICE’s operations would grind to a halt. ICE and the alphabet soup of federal agencies working alongside them grow more menacing with each passing day, revealing themselves to be poorly trained, quick to violence and unburdened by the rule of law. This past weekend, in the NW Chicago suburbs, federal agents attacked a residential neighborhood with tear gas, before ultimately being driven out by the shouts and whistles of barefoot and pajama-clad residents. The actions of ICE in and around Chicago has led to the mobilization of thousands of everyday Chicagoans who routinely patrol their City, whistles in hand, to stymie the actions of ICE.

And it’s not just Chicago (and Los Angeles, Portland and Memphis). This past week, ICE staged a made-for-right-wing-TV raid on longstanding open air market on Canal Street in New York City’s Chinatown, resulting in the detention of dozens, including numerous US citizens. With federal agents likely to continue to expand upon their operations in New York City in the lead up to next week’s Mayoral election, our downstate neighbors are steeling themselves for the fight. Our New York Attorney General, the indomitable Letitia James, has established a tip line to report and document the actions of federal agents within New York borders. The citizens of New York are standing up for themselves as well, following the lead of California organizers to monitor and warn of ICE activity and establishing Hands Off NYC, an alliance of unions, community groups and faith leaders committed to protecting New York City from federal intervention. Hands Off NYC is holding a mass call this Wednesday night, and we’ll be joining in solidarity and to learn from their example.

Are you confident that our fair Capital Region cities will somehow be spared from the widespread federal “enforcement actions” now befalling Chicago and arriving in NYC? Because, when you think about it, we do check some of Trump’s boxes, after all. Capital city of an adversarial blue state? Check. Enough diversity and marginalized communities to make it worth ICE’s time? Probably, because ICE is performative and indiscriminate and can find enough nonwhites to bully in pretty much any urban setting, so long as they can generate content  for propaganda and recruitment. In addition, the City of Albany will soon have a black woman for its Mayor, and we all know how much Trump resents black women with power. And, you could even argue that old Fort Orange makes logistical sense to federal authorities, hub that we are for travel between Buffalo, Montreal, Boston and NYC.

We’re not trying to be alarmist, here, merely realistic. So, when we get asked what comes next after No Kings, we try and direct the focus to our own community. Especially at this moment, with winter approaching and SNAP benefits ending, we think it is important to take the momentum from No Kings into our communities, to care for our neighborhoods in the approaching season of giving and to work to protect our neighbors from those that would do them harm.

Again, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So the work just continues.  In addition to the Hands Off NYC mass call on Wednesday, we’re training up with the four-part No Kings, Know Your Rights Resource Guide, with a particular emphasis on section 3 and its teachings on organizing against ICE activity locally. In addition to expanding and diversifying our work against Avelo, we are also taking the fight to Home Depot. This Saturday, we will join with Guilderland Indivisible for a Disappeared In America Day of Action protest at the Home Depot in Guilderland, where we will pay tribute to the hundreds of workers kidnapped by ICE on Home Depot properties, and call upon Home Depot to take steps to impede ICE activity in and around their stores.

Finally, there is one more thing you can do as a follow up to No Kings 2.0. Go vote!!! Early voting runs through this week (Albany County locations here) and ends Sunday in advance of Election Day next Tuesday. Even if you don’t have a race in your own local community this year, you still have the opportunity to vote in the race for State Supreme Court Justice in the Third Judicial District between Albany County Court Judge Will Little and Republican Dana Salazar; this race is for a 14-year term on one of the most important judicial forums in the state, so we strongly encourage you to take the time to cast a ballot in this crucial race.