“That millions of diverse people came out across the country to stand up together against dictatorship and for human rights for all is testimony to the awakening going on in our country. People feel compelled to act. And they are beginning to get a sense of their own power when they are united.”
Millions of people – estimates range from 11 to 15 million – took to the streets in thousands of protests across the U.S. on June 14 in a direct response to President Donald Trump’s regime, unifying under the message that also named the day’s protest movement: No Kings.
Below are voices and photos from the protests.
The nationwide protest was organized by a coalition of over 200 organizations under the “No Kings Day of Defiance” banner. The protests were put together largely by labor unions, local community and activist groups. The coalition reported at 3 p.m., before many of the protests had finished or even begun, that over 5 million people attended the day’s demonstrations up until that point. No Kings also reported that protests were planned in over 2,100 U.S. cities.
According to a statement by the organizers, the No Kings Day of Defiance is intended to reject authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics and the militarization of the country’s democracy.
Protests took place in larger cities such as Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Detroit, Flint, Lansing, San Francisco. An astounding 100,000 people protested in Houston, TX. Florida saw protests in 70 cities, (a state where the governor announced that drivers can run over protesters if they feel threatened). It was significant that protests were in small rural towns like Pentwater, MI, which saw 400 people protesting in their 800-person town, and in many rural Southern towns in deeply red areas.
The protests were scheduled as a direct response to coincide with the president’s Washington D.C. military parade organized for the U.S. Army’s 250th and Trump’s 79th birthday, which both fall on June 14. The parade is estimated to cost between $25 million and $45 million in taxpayer monies, according to reports from the Associated Press and NPR.
Kathy Blair, an organizer with Indivisible in Las Vegas, said before the protests, “Our rights need to be protected. Our money that we’ve paid into (the government), is being used to throw a parade, a military parade, to intimidate and to boost his ego. That’s not acceptable, and that’s why we chose this day.”
Signs at the protests decried the military parade (which was reportedly sparsely attended, with dispirited-looking members of the armed forces,) and the squandering of taxpayer dollars while food, healthcare, veterans services and other necessities are being cut by the Trump regime.
“I never thought I’d live to see this day,” said Myra Cohen, 98, who attended the No Kings protest with her son, daughter in law and granddaughter. “I just don’t sleep well at night thinking about what’s going on in the world.” Her poster said, “This generation won’t stay silent on fascism.”
The regime’s militarized response to the ICE Out protests drove many to protest. In Los Angeles, a crowd formed outside a federal building chanting, “Leave LA,” at national guard members stationed outside. The sentiment was expressed in handmade signs nationwide, with words like: “Free LA”, “America, A Nation of Immigrants. Love Thy Neighbor”, “No One is Illegal on Stolen Land”, “Crush ICE, Stop Kidnappings, Detainments, Deportations,” “From Palestine to Mexico, Border Walls Have Got to Go,” and “ICE, You’re Fred. Trump Has Led America into Clear Fascism.”
Signs also declared the people’s demand at No Kings for peace, with signs like: “The war economy is Immoral”; They Got Money for Wars, But Can’t Feed the Poor,” and “Stop Supporting genocide! Free Palestine!”
At the Philadelphia protest, attended by a number of faith leaders, followers, and speakers, Reverend William Barber said, “My faith calls us — and the faith of many others — to embrace love and to rebuke hate, to rebuke fear, to rebuke death. So let us do that together in this place, in Philadelphia.”
U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib spoke to the crowd at the No Kings protest in Detroit, empowering the people and criticizing the country’s political establishment.
“No one is doing enough in the establishment, political establishment,” Tlaib said at the protest in multiple videos circulating online. “That’s why you all are doing what you’re doing, resisting in the streets, and demanding that our families stick together, demanding that our rights be protected, demanding that our country come back for the people, by the people.”
That millions of diverse people came out across the country to stand up together against dictatorship and for human rights for all is testimony to the awakening going on in our country. People feel compelled to act. And they are beginning to get a sense of their own power when they are united.
That sentiment was expressed eloquently by a young Georgia woman pictured above: “They are saying if you step out of line, we will destroy you. We will take everything you love away. And I’m not going to stand for it. This is America. And you are nothing without the American people. If you’re not angry, you’re not listening. You need to be aware. It is your civic duty to care about what is going on. I don’t care if you are a Democrat or a Republican. You have a Constitution that says freedom of speech, freedom of the press. You have a living document that lives and breathes for the people. And that man is using it in corrupt and demonic ways; and he wants to talk about LGBTQ, about how Black communities, how immigrants, are the devils. You should be angry. You should be out here with the people. These people out here are the people. This is our country. They are supposed to come here and represent us. But they won’t. So, I will represent me.“
Here are more photos and voices from the protests:
RUE SADLER: “I’m 15 years old, and I use any pronouns. I’m here because I’ve seen firsthand how much destruction Trump’s impact has caused on especially queer and trans youth. I’ve seen, like, how hard people have taken it. It’s really hard to be a child in a society where you feel like people don’t want you to exist. So I’m out here to give a voice to the people who don’t have one and to show that we’re still here, we’re still going to be fighting.” (Democracy Now!)
A military family member in Santa Cruz, CA said: “To see Marines in the streets… we’re not supposed to be in the streets, that’s not what we’re designed for. . . It’s scary to see that, it’s not something that should be happening in the United States.” (SF Chronicle)
Hazel was protesting in LA when police descended and attempted to push protesters from downtown Los Angeles. They fired flashbangs and gas, she said, adding “it was wildly unnecessary.We have to stand up to them. …Trump needs to get out of office.” (SF Chronicle)
Jane kIm, Director for the Working Families political party, rallied Oakland, CA protesters to have optimism for a future where “hundreds of thousands march against deportations and families (are) reunited.” (SF Chronicle)
Actor Mark Ruffalo, at the New York City protest on No Kings Day: “This is only the beginning of a movement. It is an awakening of democracy, a reimagining of what this country means and should mean. They are pointing the guns in the wrong direction. It’s not the immigrant that is taking anything. It’s not that there is not enough in this country for everyone. It’s that there are a few very very wealthy powerful people who are taking too much. It is the billionaires and the people in power that are taking from the American people, and making people desperate. When a senator is tackled by the head of U.S. Homeland Security in a press conference for the American people, representing his constituents with a question of Homeleand Security invading that state, you know you’re at turning point. This is the beginning. We are not going away. We love this country so much that we are leaving our homes in the rain to express our love for the people. Unless you are a Native American, you are an immigrant.”
A senior in Baltimore: “The stories you hear about families being ripped apart, about the breadwinners being sent to countries where they don’t even know the language. And without due process. I see people in line saying if they came in with due process then they don’t deserve it. I say to them, They do deserve it. And, I’m standing here for your rights too.” (WBAL-TV)
Natalie Sawyer: “I went to the rally in southwest Detroit, which has a large Hispanic immigrant population, because “There’s a lot of blatantly illegal s – – – happening that’s destroying people’s lives.” (The Detroit News)
Jennifer Diab, Detroit: It feels like the country is “becoming an oligarchy.” Of Native American descent, she said to Trump: “Your ancestors came here and were not documented. They had no ICE to go through. If you’re Nativist, then you have to be a full blood Native American.” (The Detroit News)
Bruno Gaillard, Berkeley: “We outnumber them,” said his sign that included an acronym for the phrase “Middle Aged Against Fucking Fascism.” “We are more of the good people, who believe in kindness, respect, diversity, equality; than the bad guys who are trying to take over the government and trying to crush the working class,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon, who succeeded representative Barbara Lee, said: “We are witnessing the reality of the rise of totalitarianism in this country. … Violence against elected officials, the FBI being used to weaponize regular folks, children are sleeping under their beds. The fact that there is a durable movement here should give us some comfort because this is our democracy to win back. We are losing it. But we’re developing a movement that is going to see us through.” www.berkeleyside.org
“All you fascists are bound to lose,” read Amber Young’s sign, quoting the classic Woody Guthrie song.
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