More “No Kings” protests are planned across the country on June 14, the latest anti-Trump protest organized amid his second term in office.
What Are the ‘No Kings’ Protests?
The “No Kings” protests are a “nationwide day of defiance” to “reject authoritarianism,” according to the event’s organizers. Dozens of grassroots groups are organizing the nationwide protests.
Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, one of those groups, told Newsweek that the goal of the protest is to send a message that the United States “has no kings” amid Trump’s military parade in the nation’s capital, which coincides with the president’s 79th birthday.
“He is planning to roll tanks through the streets of D.C. in celebration of his birthday, and that’s the kind of thing you normally wouldn’t see in a constitutional republic, certainly not America,” Levin said. “It’s something you’d see in North Korea or other authoritarian regimes.”
The point of the protest isn’t just to “show up and be covered,” he said.
“This is actually to send a strong message to leaders and institutions who are considering right now whether to capitulate or whether to fight back, and to send a message that this period we are in right now, this period of authoritarian breakthrough, is temporary. And democracy will reassert itself,” Levin said.
The protest also coincides with Flag Day, and Levin said that it’s crucial protesters do not “cede the narrative of patriotism or the ownership of the flag to the right wing.” Instead, Levin said he looks forward to protesters waving the flag and marching with veterans at the June 14 demonstrations.
“I think it’s very important that we show up and we embrace the flag. We demonstrate what patriotism actually looks like, and we show what pluralistic democracy looks like,” he said.
When And Where Are the ‘No Kings’ Protests?
There are hundreds of “No Kings” protests scheduled for June 14 in every single state, from Florida to Alaska, and even a few planned for outside the U.S.
There is, however, one major city where protesters won’t be gathering as part of the movement: Washington, D.C., itself.
Levin explained that decision to Newsweek.
“What we didn’t want to happen on June 14 were counterprotesters for that parade. We didn’t want Trump the excuse to crack down on peaceful protests. We didn’t want him to have the excuse that peaceful protesters are protesting the military,” he said.
“Instead, we wanted to create an alternative narrative out in the country, that Donald Trump is not all powerful.”
There are more than 1,550 events across the country, Levin said. A full map of protests can be found here.
‘No Kings’ Protests Address ‘Broken Down’ Political System
Levin urged protesters to spread the word and show up peacefully with their families, friends and neighbors. He emphasized the importance of having “everyday people who aren’t professionally engaged” in politics to join the movement.
“We’ve got to face the fact that our political system has broken down in one thousand different ways, and politics is just too important right now to be left to the politiciaans,” he said.
“No Kings on Presidents Day” protests were held across the country on February 17 with a focus on demonstrating against Trump, Elon Musk (who recently departed the administration) and the Department of Government Efficiency task force.
There have been many other protests organized by groups like Indivisible and 50501 since then, including on Memorial Day weekend, “Hands Off” protests in April and May Day demonstrations last month.
According to 50501, more than 3 million people turned out for the protests in April.
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