‘No Kings Day’ draws over 16,000 to Burlington to protest Trump and authoritarianism. Vermonters turned out in force around the state Saturday as part of the nationwide “No Kings Day” protests, championing myriad causes but generally united behind opposing President Donald Trump.
Thousands of people peacefully marched and rallied at the Minnesota State Capitol Saturday as part of the national “No Kings” protest, despite advice from local law enforcement to stay home after the assassination of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and the shooting of Democratic Sen. John Hoffman.
DC Bureau reporter Ashley Murray says the HIMARS, or High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, passed by in the Army parade. The U.S. provided them to Ukraine as part of the last military aid package. It can fire six guided missiles in rapid succession. It can also fire new precision strike missiles that can reach a 310-mile distance.
In Louisville, Kentucky, crowds hoisting homemade signs gathered in front of city hall and marched through downtown as police blocked traffic as part of No Kings demonstrations nationwide. Andrew Schmidt, 46, who identified himself as an Army veteran and retired police officer from Vine Grove, wore his field uniform and carried a U.S. flag. He said he loves the flag and was holding it upside down to express his conviction that the country is in distress.
“It is your duty to honor your oath, and I feel like I’m doing that now as a retired officer and as a veteran,” Schmidt said. “That oath is to the Constitution first and foremost, and it is also to defend the American public against enemies, foreign and domestic. Well, I feel we’re at the ‘domestic’ part right now.”
Mac Farish was visiting Topeka, Kansas, from Portland, Oregon, said she felt joy to see hundreds of people attend a No Kings rally in a red state. "A lot of people here might be lifelong Republicans, but we're standing here together because there is a line where tyranny shows up," Farish said.
A member of the crowd who brought a protest sign, Tom Moore, 57, of D.C., said he took issue with Trump's words this week that any parade protesters would be met with force. "That's not acceptable. He didn't say violent protesters. I wasn't planning on coming down here before that."
The Army 250 parade has now begun, as troops walk down Constitution Avenue NW headed east toward the reviewing stand. Soldiers in camouflage lead the way, followed by the United States Army Band, known as "Pershing's Own," based in Virginia and founded in 1922.