A small but committed group of protesters opposed to the Trump administration have become a familiar site on Saturdays at the intersection of East Putnam Ave and Indian Field Rd in Cos Cob.
While Indivisible Greenwich’s No Kings rallies have drawn over 1,000 people to the Havemeyer lawn, with officials including Governor Lamont and Attorney General Tong speaking, the grassroots demonstrators in Cos Cob stand out for their persistence.
For more than a year, and in all types of weather, the small group has appeared with handmade signs at the highly visible intersection for an hour every Saturday.
They count their support in honks.
Dan Edelstein from Old Greenwich said no permit was required for the weekly protests. Greenwich Police had stopped by to say the only rules were not to go in the street, not to impede traffic, and to always cross with the light.
“Everybody makes their own signs, but I bring extras,” Edelsein said amid honking horns while Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up,” played from the speaker he totes to Cos Cob on Saturdays.
“We feel like we should be here as a conscience – to let our neighbors know, especially our moderate neighbors, know that we are not okay with what’s going on in Washington, DC,” Edelstein said. “We are not okay with the threatened end to democracy. We are not okay with the President acting like a king. We are not okay with the actions of ICE.”
Dan Edelstein and Chris Day with signs and the American flag at the intersection of East Putnam Ave and Indian Field Road in Cos Cob. Aug 29, 2026 Photo: Leslie Yager
Cos Cob resident, Chris Day, explained his participation. “I can’t just do nothing. I can vote, but I can’t wait until November.”
“Every hour something different that’s crazy comes out, which just waters down all the other crazy, and then everyone just gets used to crazy,” Mr. Day said.
“I don’t want to be out here doing this,” he added. “But that’s how they win.”
Mr. Day, who waived a large American flag, said there were more honks of support than a year ago, which he said was heartening.
But he and Edelstein were particularly unhappy with ICE tactics in Fairfield County.
As Edelstein’s playlist moved on to The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” Mr. Day criticized the President.
“He didn’t win the presidential election. He was caught in Florida with the documents. In Georgia tried to fix the vote,” he said. “If he loses ground in November, different versions of the same ridiculousness will be back because he’s given us, virtually every day, doing something illegal. He’s a felon. He’s a rapist.”
A few feet away, Pat Ferris pointed out that the drivers honking weren’t just workers in trucks and vans, but Porsche and BMW drivers beeping and giving the thumbs-up gesture.
“Once it’s near you, it makes a difference,” Ferris said of the ICE activity in Connecticut last week.
“What I notice is I’m not getting any negativity. In the past we were told to shut up. Last week we were called ‘retarded.’ They’ll give us the thumbs down or they’ll root for Trump. But, today it’s amazing. It’s so much beeping and thumbs up.”
As for ICE rounding up immigrants in Connecticut, and the refrain that ICE is only targeting people with criminal records, she exclaimed, “Don’t we all want the criminals gone!”
“It’s just such a cover up. They’re blanketing all immigrants. It’s just evil. Stephen Miller and his quotas, and hiring all these goons. It’s sinful.”
Local residents protest at the intersection of East Putnam Ave and Indian Field Road in Cos Cob. Aug 29, 2026 Photo: Leslie Yager
“The mass deportation policy is among all the terrible policies inflicted on the American people,” Edelstein said. “They’re sending them to these camps with terrible conditions, where they are denying people medication and treating them terribly. The conditions are miserable to the point that people are dying. It’s a completely cynical policy. No one in this administration actually believes that these people have anything to do with the downturn of our country. They are not criminals.”
“Statistically, average Americans are much more likely to commit crimes than these so-called felons. These are gardeners, teachers and people who work in kitchens. They are the foundation of America. They are not a threat to society.”
Last week ICE made arrests in Stamford, Bridgeport and Danbury.
“They kidnapped about 100 people,” Edelstein said. “I can guarantee you that almost none of them have any criminal record at all, and many of them have not been accused of, much less convicted of a crime.”
“These are all hard working people. On Monday at Home Depot in Stamford on Main Street, a mother of three kids – one of whom is disabled – was kidnapped in front of her family by ICE. If people think this happens elsewhere or only in Minnesota, they are wrong. This is happening here and now,” Edelstein said.
Edelstein said ICE was rounding up groups of people and using facial recognition software to scan faces.
“If they get a hit, there is absolutely no due process. They are quickly taking people to other states so they have less resources, and to make it harder to get an attorney,” he added.
At a press conference in Danbury on Wednesday, Governor Lamont decried ICE activity in Fairfield County coinciding with the start of the school year.
Approximately 50 members of the Danbury community were detained in the first three days of the week, with the effort starting on the first day of school.
Governor Lamont said people being picked up included those “doing it right” – those participating in the asylum process and those married to US citizens.
The Governor said he was outraged.
“We stand for due process, not the secret police. That’s what this country is about – the fifth and sixth amendment,” Lamont continued. “I was on the phone with Secretary Mullin, and I said, I’m outraged. This is the first day of school…and you have people patrolling around our courthouses and patrolling around schools. Stay away. Let our kids get to school safely.”
Mayor of Danbury, Roberto Alves, who appeared at the press conference with the chief and deputy chief of police, said the Danbury Police Dept does not partner with ICE. He said it was important that the immigrant community knows they can call police if they are victims of crime, victims of domestic abuse, or witness a crime being committed.
“This isn’t a targeted campaign on folks who have committed serious crimes. We are now seeing racial profiling,” Mayor Alves said.
A statement from ICE on Wednesday said, “Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences. Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.”
See also:
Lamont, Blumenthal, Himes Issue Statements on ICE Activity in Connecticut
Aug 26, 2026