No Kings in the United States

Americans stood up for themselves and looked out for each other

Donald Trump threw a party with robot dogs and paratroopers, and it was still the lamest party of the weekend.

The “No Kings” protests across the country appeared oodles more festive and fun, and the crowd sizes were massive. This might have been the largest single-day protest in the history of the United States. Attendance was no doubt influenced by the week’s events in Los Angeles—the federalization of the National Guard in CA and the activation of Marines to counter domestic protesters—as well as the morning’s tragic political assassinations and assassination attempts in Minnesota.

I attended the Seattle protest, and I had a blast! U.S. Congressional Representative Pramila Jayapal and Washington State Solicitor General Noah Purcell addressed the gigantic crowd that formed in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, which was a major indication that this protest was well-planned and organized as well as supported by government officials. A giant U.S. Constitution was signed by attendees and paraded through the streets of downtown. Here’s a time lapse from reddit user mbarker2 (note: there’s no looping of the video… it really was this long):

The Seattle Police Department noted that the march from Cal Anderson Park to Seattle Center (the park with the Space Needle) comprised “over 1.5 miles full of people and not a single report of property damage.”

Here are some of my photos that show my sense/experience of the event:

Sure, not all protesters were focused on the primary “anti-Trump” message of the day. I even saw a group of the local communists marching in peaceful protest in the parade, dressed in red and carrying their hammer-and-sickle flags. Did I slightly recoil in disgust? Yes! (I am not a communist.) But you know what? The protest felt like America. Tens of thousands of Americans showed up to express themselves—as is their right. It was a big party and everyone was invited so long as they respected each other.

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Peaceful demonstrations were held across the United States, in small towns and in big cities.

In San Francisco, hundreds (of the thousands) of demonstrators assembled into an impressive “NO KING” banner on the beach, forming the letters with their bodies.

Boston No Kings and Pride organizers claimed that 1 million protesters showed up to their events, a frankly unbelievable number. That’s more than the population of Boston (~650k) and 1/5 of the metro area (~5M). If even half that estimate showed up it would still be shocking. As a former resident of the Boston area, I found it quite inspiring to see throngs of people protesting in Boston Common, the site of so many protests against tyranny and oppression since before the United States even existed.

The protests were overwhelmingly peaceful despite isolated reports of arrests of protesters—see “Thousands demonstrate, 1 arrested after ‘No Kings’ protest in Chicago”, a headline that only emphasizes the peaceful nature of the Chicago protest. Portland’s police declared a riot near the Portland ICE facility, but this was overshadowed by the tens of thousands marching peacefully. In the high-tension environment of LA, there were clashes between police and protesters, but at least one reporter caught in the middle of a police response did not witness any protester provocation. Confrontations between law enforcement and protesters also occurred at anti-ICE protests around Puget Sound, including at the ICE facility in Tukwila, where activists showed up to protect immigrants who were called to a previously unscheduled check-in at the facility.

There were incidents of violence against protesters, including a driver ramming a car into protesters in Culpeper, Virginia, and a shooting in Salt Lake City that left one person critically injured and caused panic among demonstrators.

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Saturday also demonstrated that Americans are here for each other. The United States is full of people concerned about the well being of their fellow Americans. Let’s look at two notable examples from yesterday:

First, this guy in Utah who saw a man with a rifle in his backpack sitting in a crowd of people in Salt Lake City. The local hero didn’t run away to protect himself. He had the presence of mind to quietly “steal” the backpack, removing it from the owner, and when he confirms that there is indeed a gun inside, he shouts and points at the owner who is promptly arrested. I don’t know for sure if this is the protest shooter I mentioned above.

Here’s the video that documents the event, courtesy of reddit user J-MRP:

Second, the local police in Minnesota, especially one clever and concerned officer who, after the shooting of Senator Hoffman and his wife, suggested that they proactively check on Representative Hortman. (See around the 9 minute mark in this press conference.) There, they encountered the assassin and exchanged gunfire. The assassin escaped, but no blame should be assigned to the police for this. They were caught in a surprising situation and had victims inside to attend to. They almost certainly interrupted a more extensive killing spree, as we now know that the assailant had a long list of targets.

JD Vance has had this crazy idea about a circle of love, in which we love people closest to us first and furthest from us least, an argument he has used to buoy his claims that his immigration tactics are moral. (He has erroneously—according to the now-deceased Pope Francis—assigned this belief to his Catholic faith.) Yesterday, millions of Americans showed that they have a much deeper and nuanced understanding of love—that they are capable of caring about people they do not know, that they have never met, and who play no part in their lives.

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On Trump’s big birthday bash: I thought watching the videos and seeing the photos from it would solely make me angry, but instead I was also saddened. It was pathetic. It was an extraordinarily poor showing of our military, who, after all, are not trained to be show animals. Whoever planned the event may as well be considered a traitor, because I don’t know how our military could have looked weaker.

To be clear, I don’t blame the military. I blame whoever thought having commercial sponsors of our military was a good idea. I blame whoever thought it would be a good idea to construct a grandstand that said “U.S. ARMY” with names of those sponsors flashing underneath. I blame whoever thought it was fine to offer parade watchers free Phorm, a new energy drink from Trump’s friend and UFC owner, Dana White. I blame Pete Hegseth, who must have agreed that this was a worthy event to fund. And of course most of all I blame Trump, who clearly understands nothing about what makes the U.S. military so respected and feared throughout the world.

On the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, our armed forces deserved a better showcase. I could have imagined one that didn’t unnecessarily celebrate or flaunt our military might, but that allowed Americans to learn more about what our armed forces do to protect us. After all, air shows are quite popular across the U.S. Imagine a day untarnished by Trump’s ego, partisanship, and excessive pomp; a day that allowed all Americans to learn about the history of our military, see military equipment up close, and ask questions of people serving. It really could have been a nice opportunity. Organizers might claim that this event did all of that, or was supposed to. But really it was just a cheap, gaudy, hollow spectacle. Once again, everything Trump touches, dies.