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It was part of a nationwide day of peaceful, nonviolent action rooted in the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and inspired by the late Congressman John Lewis’ call to make “good trouble, necessary trouble.�

It is one of a series of such protest that have taken place this year “to call attention to the threats taking place to our constitution and democratic institution,� said Coral Swanson, moderator of the event that included a video tribute to Lewis, speakers, a pastoral reflection, an audience sing-along, a candlelight vigil and a march.

Tables were set up to write messages to elected officials, along with a petition to Alliant Energy to provide a clean air monitoring system in Beloit, which already had three pages worth of signatures.

The event began with a recitation of both the U.S. oath of office and the preamble to the U.S. Constitution.

Speakers included representatives of local groups including the Diversity Action Team of Rock County, Zonta Club of Janesville, the Beloit Branch of the NAACP, Family Services of Southern Wisconsin and the Rock County LGBTQ+ committee.

Pastor Bob Gross, the pastor of First Congregational UCC, said the event aimed to call attention to a recent “rollback of our human rights and civil rights to protest, to speak, to vote,� and he directly challenged the notion of Christian nationalism.

“Jesus taught, ‘You will know them by their fruits.’ If our actions result in exclusion, in control, in violence, in hate, in the maintenance of the status quo, then we must ask, ‘Is this the faith of Jesus?’� Gross said. “I don’t believe that there is anything Christian about Christian nationalism or the current administration.�

Gross continued on, drawing on vivid imagery to criticize Trump administration actions, particularly in relation to immigration and social services.

He urged attendees to imagine a church where ushers handed out shields, the fellowship hall was lined with cages, and the children’s ministry consisted of detention cells.

“Now imagine that someone stands up and says, ‘We’re doing this in Jesus’ name.’ You’d flip the pews. You’d storm the pulpit. You’d say, ‘This is blasphemy,’ and you would be right,� Gross declared. “So why remain silent when ICE is doing the exact same thing?�

He continued, “ICE turns border towns into trauma centers. It converts poverty into punishment. It crucifies compassion at the altar of nationalism. If it’s not okay in the sanctuary, then it’s not okay at the border, in workplaces, in schools, or in other of our cities and towns.�

Gross frequently as he spoke evoked the legacy of John Lewis. He frequently repeated the phrase “It’s time to make trouble!� to which the audience responded with “Good trouble!�

Brad Munger, the board vice president of the League of Women Voters of Janesville, said the U.S is facing a “constitutional crisis� and an “accelerating and calculated erosion of civil, legal, and human rights.�

“America is in retreat, not from battlefields, but from the battlefield of ideals,� like liberty, equality and justice for all, Munger said, warning that “the foundations of this democracy are being dismantled in real time.�

Munger called the current situation in the U.S. more than dysfunction, but rather “a steady rise of an autocratic oligarchy, a government by the wealthy few for the wealthy few.� He said the Trump administration “punishes dissent, protects power and silences the public good.�

Munger went on to call Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for governance, a plan to “consolidate executive power, purge... civil servants, dismantle agencies like USAID and the Department of Education, defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, eliminate protections for marginalized communities, and politicize every level of government from justice to science to the military.�

He emphasized a message of resistance, also quoting Lewis, stating, “we must get into good trouble, necessary trouble.�

The League of Women Voters has launched a nationwide Unite and Rise 8.5 initiative, aiming to “mobilize a critical mass of 8.5 million voters in defense of democracy� Munger said.

“This isn’t a campaign. It’s a line in the sand. It’s a movement to say democracy is not theirs to dismantle,� Munger said, adding that “it’s ours to defend.�