I am genuinely curious, I don't try to be smug. So please don't get this wrong, but I have to ask: is it legal & OK in the US to take pictures of people w/o their consent?
Outside of using someone's likeness for commercial gain, pretty much anywhere that is public property you can't be stopped from photographing anything you can see. Private property can make their own rules but all they can do is trespass you and kick you out, it's still not illegal. Public photography is generally protected under the first amendment free press.
While it is legal to take pictures of people in public without their consent in the US, it is generally frowned upon.
That being said, people who vote the way this guy does take pictures of queer people just existing and share them around online to doxx them, so turnabout is fair play. Fuck these pricks, they deserve every bit of awfulness coming to them.
In a lot of places in the EU, I think it's legal to take pictures. What you can do with said picture, differs quite a bit. Uploading it, like this, would be very much illegal. Which begs the question: is it legal in the US to upload such images, without consent?
Yep, freedom of speech and freedom of press. You have no expectation of privacy in public, I have the right to take pictures of whatever I want in public (including of you).
I own the right to every photo I take, so I can publish whatever I want.
There are a few exceptions.
I use your likeness commercially without your permission, you can sue me for royalties and to force me to stop using your likeness, since you didn't have a contract with me to be used to promote. The more famous you are, the more you can sue for, because your likeness is worth more.
If I use your name or likeness to spread rumors or misinformation about you, or to attempt to cast you in a bad light, you can sue me for libel or slander, since I did reputational damage to you, you can exact monetary damage from me. The more famous you are, the harder it is to sue without proving obvious malice, because being famous comes with the expectation of being talked about publicly in weird ways.
For example, if I accuse my next door neighbor of being a child rapist by plastering fake wanted posters around the neighborhood, he could sue the shit out of me for slander, and I would have to prove that I had evidence to say such a thing. If I did the same thing to Trump, however, he would have to prove I was lying to get anywhere, which is why you never see him sue over that kind of thing.
If Trump sues under these circumstances, then the person being sued can file for discovery. Discovery is a search to prove that Trump did the thing that he is accused of doing.
Fear of discovery also has the hazard of uncovering other hidden crimes. Trump drops suits before discovery.