The 1,800 “No Kings” protests across the country are meant to express frustration over President Trump’s actions that organizers say are authoritarian
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Protests are planned for 1,800 communities across the country June 14, the same day President Donald Trump holds a military parade in Washington.
For decades, the GOP has claimed most of the symbols of patriotism, including the American flag, but the people protesting Trump, a Republican, say they are the true patriots now.
“We don’t want to cede the narrative ground to Trump and MAGA that they they own the flag, they own patriotism,” said Indivisible cofounder Ezra Levin, one of the organizers. “In fact, the most patriotic thing you can do (in) America is to show up peacefully and petition your government for something better.”
The rallies, named “No Kings Day” to oppose what they see as Trump’s power grab, are expected to be the largest and most numerous protests since Trump’s second term began, dwarfing the Hands Off protests in early April that drew as many as 1 million Americans to the streets at more than 1,000 rallies.
Levin said putting American flags and American imagery front and center is “very intentional” because the protesters believe Trump’s actions, from attacking universities and political institutions to holding a military parade, are “un-American.”
“Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Continental Army was formed to fight back against a king, and there is an opportunity right now for Americans to come out and say: ‘No, wait, this isn’t what America stands for. We didn’t sign up for this guy to concentrate power in his own hands, to come after the pillars of political democracy.'”
No Kings Day was organized by grassroots groups in cities and towns of all sizes to coincide with the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary celebration, which is also Trump’s 79th birthday and Flag Day. Administration officials insist it is a coincidence that the parade falls on Trump’s birthday.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office June 10, Trump warned protesters not to interrupt events in Washington.
“For those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force,” Trump said. “This is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.”
No protest in Washington
Levin said organizers intentionally avoided having a protest in Washington to avoid a narrative on the right that they are anti-veteran.
“We saw Trump trying to take over this day and make it all about him, and we saw the opportunity to actually make this about the American people and the democracy we’re defending,” he said.
The largest protest is instead scheduled for noon ET in Philadelphia, where the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence.
“We made that choice to not feed into any narrative that Trump might want that we’re counterprotesting him directly or give him the opportunity to crack down on protesters,” Levin said.
Hosting organizations include long-standing groups like Indivisible, MoveOn, Human Rights Campaign, Working Families Power and Public Citizen, along with multiple unions and grassroots groups like 50501 that have formed since Election Day.
The national organizers set the date and held training on how to hold an effective protest, but the planning and organizing was left to local activists.
“It comes down to normal everyday people,” Levin said. “I think it’s important it’s not just in blue or even purple states. This isn’t inherently a political act about an election. This is about our democracy. This democracy is for you, and the power that elected officials are wielding legitimately or illegitimately, unconstitutionally or illegally, it derives from you.”
American flag imagery is ‘very intentional’
The American flag should be prominently displayed at these protests, said Common Defense spokesman Jacob Thomas, an Air Force veteran. The veteran-led organization is one of about a dozen veteran groups who partnered with Indivisible to create the protests.
“For some people they feel like its been co-opted by Republicans or extremists. It can feel uncomfortable to use,” he said. “We have to reclaim them for their higher purpose.”
Patriotism is standing up for your community and your neighbors, he said. And loving your country means standing up for its values.
The protests, and veterans’ presence, is even more important after Trump called in the National Guard and 700 Marines in to quell immigration enforcement protests in Los Angeles over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom, Thomas said.
The militarized response “betrays the principles veterans and the military swore to uphold,” he said.
‘This is what loving your country means’
Veterans carrying flags representing the different branches will lead the Minneapolis/St. Paul march, Thomas said.
“This is what loving your country means … fighting for your country and fighting to make it better,” Thomas said.
The group is urging veterans to identify themselves to others in the crowd by wearing service hats, shirts, pins, medals and patches. He said he has heard from veterans who plan to protest for the first time.
“We think it’s really important that veterans are visible in these protests,” he said. The goal is to “remind people that we are here and we are speaking out against the harm that he has created.”
Thomas said veterans are frustrated the Trump administration is spending more than $100 million on a military parade celebrating the Army while also cutting Veterans Affairs staff. They worry less staff will mean cuts to benefits and services that veterans have earned and were promised.
The group also wants to counter the narrative that all veterans are conservative and are in lockstep with a Republican administration.
“We exist in all of these spaces, and we’re going to show up for our communities just like we swore to do when we raised our right hand” to take the oath of service, he said.
Veterans served the country to protect their neighbors from “being disappeared” and from being discriminated against, from losing social services and from losing due process, he said. He said they served to protect America from tyrants, authoritarians and kings.
“This is not how things are supposed to be. This is not how things are supposed to go.”
