Hundreds of U.S. cities are hosting “No Kings” protests on June 14, Donald Trump‘s birthday, as part of a national rebuke of the president and his administration.
What Are The ‘No Kings’ Protests?
The protests, in affiliation with the national coalition “50 Protests, 50 States, One Movement (50501)” and other groups, will take place coast to coast and follow numerous other public events that decry efforts at broader governmental control.
The Flag Day protests also fall on the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday and Trump’s 79th birthday, which is slated to be celebrated with a military-style parade that critics have compared to authoritarian displays of power. The event’s projected cost is currently estimated to be between $25 million and $40 million.
“They’ve defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services. The corruption has gone too. far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings,” the No Kings website states.
Organizers describe the anticipated display of military might in Washington, D.C., as a “spectacle meant to look like strength,” saying that “real power…rises up everywhere else.”
“No Kings is a nationwide day of defiance,” organizers say. “From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism—and show the world what democracy really looks like.
“We’re not gathering to feed his ego. We’re building a movement that leaves him behind. The flag doesn’t belong to Donald Trump. It belongs to us. We’re not watching history happen. We’re making it.”
Groups organizing these protests include Indivisible, the American Federation of Teachers, the ACLU, Public Citizen, MoveOn, 50501, Stand Up America, Common Defense, the Human Rights Campaign, the League of Conservation Voters, and over 100 other organizations.
When and Where Are the ‘No Kings’ Protests?
The protests will take place in cities across all 50 states on June 14. As of June 6, organizers reported that more than 1,500 cities were planning to host protests, including Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, New York, Philadelphia and Charlotte.
Event times vary, and the length differs by location. Some protests start in the morning, while others begin in the afternoon. A list of all events can be found here.
50501
‘Wasting Tens of Millions on a Birthday Party’
Christina Harvey is the executive director of Stand Up America, a grassroots organization with more than 2,000,000 members who, she says, “are standing up every day for the democracy we deserve.”
That includes making calls to lawmakers, turning out at protests, and showing up to volunteer. Their intent remains to fight against authoritarianism, to protect and expand voting rights, and to help remove big money from politics.
The June 14 protests may be the biggest since Trump entered office, Harvey told Newsweek. As of June 6, she said that more people from the Stand Up America community had signed up to attend and volunteer for “No Kings” than had signed up to participate in previous protests, such as “Hands Off.”
“Trump is wasting tens of millions of dollars on a birthday parade to celebrate himself,” Harvey said. “This is what he’s focused on instead of working to make life more affordable, which is what he promised to do and people are fed up.”
She said that Trump and his enablers “have gone too far” by defying court rulings, trying to imprison judges and members of Congress who disagree with him, and “trampling” over the Constitution.
“They’re disappearing and deporting people without due process,” Harvey said. “And they’re slashing essential services like Medicaid so that they can pay for tax handouts for their billionaire donors.
“Enough is enough. Trump is acting like a king, and America ditched kings in 1776. We are not going back now. ‘No Kings’ is a peaceful, powerful response to a president who thinks that he is untouchable. We’re turning out to say he’s not, and the American people are not OK with this.”
Attendees Outraged at Trump’s ‘Self-Enrichment’
Sara Sparks, a mother from Washington State, has attended four anti-Trump protests. She told Newsweek that she’s “nauseous” every time she goes.
“I’m not a fan of crowds or loud noises,” Sparks said. “But it’s one of the things I can do to try and bring more people into the movement, to ask people to open their eyes and really see what’s going on.
“I go to connect with and support other like-minded folks, people who are as angry or scared or sad as I am. By design, being caught up in the flood of horrible news can feel incredibly isolating, and protests are one way to combat that.”
Sparks has admittedly been “pretty far to the left” for most of her life and has voted with the Democratic Party for the most part, but she said she currently wouldn’t associate herself with any particular party.
While she says some Democratic lawmakers have stood bravely to what’s been taking place, many other “establishment” types have shown to be as “corrupt” as Republicans.
“I believe that what we’re facing now is a result of a long-term conservative strategy to create a white, Christian state,” she said. “The regime is using small escalations to see what the population is willing to accept.
“Most everyone is pushing for the three R’s: Remove, Reverse, Reclaim. Put out the constitutional fire, and we can address the litany of other incredibly important issues. And it’s more than that. I don’t know what the future holds, but I need to be able to tell my kids, to tell myself, that I did what I thought was right.”
Suzette Lefevre, 56, is a political independent and plans to attend a protest in her hometown of Providence, Rhode Island. She told Newsweek that she and her husband try to attend all protests, doing what they can to protect the vulnerable.
She acknowledged that “a sense of helplessness rules the day,” specifically referencing how the U.S. Supreme Court‘s May ruling to ban transgender people from the military “is absolutely brutal to explain to my 19-year-old transgender son.”
“As an educator (of high school English) and a parent, my parenting was and remains merged with the ideas of equality I have or had been given as an American,” Lefevre said.
“I also go to the protests because I meet many earnest, smart people who share information and network with one another,” she said. “I am not sure if this is analogous to white knuckle gripping your loved one’s hand seconds before your airplane’s impact into the side of a mountain, but it helps get me through the time until the next protest.”
Holly Feeney, 54, of Reading, Pennsylvania, is protesting with her husband in Pittsburgh. The pair, both criminal lawyers, don’t want to miss the opportunity to tell the Trump administration that they believe in habeas corpus.
They also want to counter “his over-the-top, expensive birthday party.”
“I am just appalled at the lawlessness of this administration,” Feeney told Newsweek. “The Great Writ is the most important tool that regular people have to push back against the government. People here illegally should be deported, but only after a fair hearing where that is proven.
“Disappearing people is what authoritarian governments do, not democratic republics. If the government does not have to prove anything to deport you to a country that is going to imprison you without trial, then no one is safe.”
She described herself as a “far-left” progressive who has attended previous protests statewide, for transgender rights and on Presidents Day.
The Democratic Party, she said, is being pulled in two directions—from its center and its left.
“Too many mainstream Democrats are too timid and afraid to really oppose this regime, and that is sad,” Feeney said. “Our party is thirsting for a transformative leader, and there are too few people who believe in things more passionately than they believe in being bland enough to get elected.
“Plus, it is difficult for any of our leaders to stand up against self-dealing, since they all feed from the same trough. This isn’t ‘both sides are bad’ because no one has seen the depth and brazenness of the self-enrichment in the Trump administration.”
