Protesters put US Rep. Glenn Thompson on ‘naughty list’ in last weekly rally of 2025

If you’ve driven past the Bellefonte office of U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Howard, around noon on any given Tuesday since March, you’ve likely seen protesters participating in “Thompson Tuesdays.” The group meets there wielding picket signs and singing chants against the Congressman’s recent political actions — but this week was a little different.

A special, Christmas-themed edition of the protest was held Tuesday by Keystone Indivisible, where 18 attendees dressed in their best holiday garb sang carols outside the Congressman’s 3555 Benner Pike office after delivering a stocking of coal to his door.

Dotty Delafield, a Keystone Indivisible member, said that Thompson’s votes to cancel Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, increase the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) budget and allow invasive bodily searches of unaccompanied immigrant children are among reasons for the continued rallies.

“We are very, very opposed to the kinds of choices that our representative, Glenn Thompson, has made this past year,” said Delafield, donning a bright red jumpsuit and white beard. “We’ve been coming here every week, and we’ve tried repeatedly to get him to talk to us or meet with us to no avail, so he leaves me with no choice but to put him on the naughty list.”

The Keystone Indivisible press release also highlighted Thompson’s votes against Medicaid, and his recent sponsorship of a bill to bring whole milk to schools “while cutting support for economically disadvantaged students in his district.”

Tuesday’s protest started out as all “Thompson Tuesdays” do, with attendees gathering at the traffic light outside Thompson’s office. Instead of staying there though, the group marched to the office’s front door, called the office, left a message and tied a bright green, coal-stuffed stocking with “Glenn” painted on it onto the door.

From there, the protesters sang “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” before heading back to the roadside, where some drivers passing by offered support in the form of a honk or wave.

“The whole Christmas theme may seem a little silly, but we’re still here, sharing the same message that we’ve always been,” Delafield said. “It’s pretty impossible to miss someone dressed up like Santa Claus and a bunch of people dressed up in holiday gear protesting on the roadside, so it keeps eyes on us too, and keeps our message fresh in their minds.”

The “Thompson Tuesdays” protest was the last one of 2025 — the first protest took place in March, and saw over 200 people gather outside Thompson’s office. The group size has varied by week, with protesters showing up in conditions including a record-breaking heatwave in June.

Delafield hopes that “Thompson Tuesdays” will continue into 2026, for as long as it takes the Congressman to hear and address the protesters’ concerns. Ray Bilger, a “Thompson Tuesdays,” organizer, Air Force veteran and former member of Thompson’s advisory board, agreed.

“I would love to be able to sit down and have a conversation with [Thompson], because the only way you’re going to have any resolution of any issues is to sit down and talk about it,” he said. “You have to extend that olive branch across the table, and we have been reaching across the table, but it’s just been slapped down.”

Kelsey Holt, Thompson’s communications director, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.

In March, the Centre County Democratic Committee invited Thompson to join a town hall to address his constituents, but he did not attend and has not held other town halls since.

Thompson told the CDT in April that he often makes himself available to constituents — he pointed to his Bellefonte office and said he attends many events — but he saw no reason to attend a town hall organized by county Dems. “It’s not logical,” he said.

Bigler and other “Thompson Tuesdays” participants say an open town hall would be beneficial for Thompson and his constituents.

“Just having an open town hall where he is present would be amazing, and I think he would find that a lot of the people here — Republican, Democrat, independent, whoever — we all share the same problems,” Bigler said. “He needs to listen to us because he represents all of his constituents, whether he likes it or not.”

For now, Delafield invited others to attend “Thompson Tuesdays” events into 2026.

“It’s been frustrating, but our efforts are far from finished,” Delafield said. “If you feel the same way we do, that you’re not being represented, then please join us. We’ll be here from noon to 1 p.m. each Tuesday, so come join us and make your voice heard. If that’s not possible, please reach out and contact [Thompson] and let him know what your opinions are on these issues.”