Demonstrators have taken to the streets nationwide on Oct. 18 to protest against President Donald Trump and his administration.
Large-scale events, as part of the “No Kings” protests, are taking place in cities including Washington, New York, Boston, New Orleans, and Atlanta.
Washington Attendees
Several attendees of the city of Washington rally told The Epoch Times why they joined the protest.One of them, a woman from Maryland named Christi, who didn’t provide her last name, works as an attorney. She said some of her concerns stem from her work, as she represents people who rely on public benefits.
“I’m feeling inundated by the constant barrage of fires and issues, it’s really difficult to pick one,” Christi said when asked about her top issue.
She said she had come in part for the sake of her friends who work in the federal government, who Christi said are worried they’ll lose their jobs if they take part in protests.
The Epoch Times also spoke to a man in an inflatable dinosaur costume named Paul, who also declined to provide his last name.
Dozens of attendees wore similar inflatable suits, dressing as chickens, lobsters, donkeys, and other animals. The costumes have been observed at various protests across the country prior to the “No Kings” rallies.
Paul said he was concerned primarily about what he said to be “the general destruction of the rule of law in the country.”
“The Republicans in Congress, the wannabe dictator for life in the White House, and the cowards on the Supreme Court are failing to ensure that the government follows law,” Paul said.
William Scott Kelly, a Washington rally attendee who identified himself as a U.S. Army combat veteran who deployed to Iraq in 2007, was there to express his disapproval of the Trump administration’s policies toward the military, including the deployment of the National Guard in cities around the United States. The president has said he deployed the troops to protect federal properties and help combat crime amid increasing threats against federal law enforcement officers.
“The Posse Comitatus Act is important to keep our people safe,” Kelly said, referring to legislation that constrains the use of the U.S. military in domestic law enforcement matters.
Another Army veteran, who identified herself only by her first name, Ashley, raised similar objections over the administration’s deployment of the National Guard around the country. While speaking with The Epoch Times on the sidelines of the Washington rally, she described the National Guard deployed around the country as “citizens being turned against their own people.”
The Epoch Times spoke with another man who identified himself as Alan and said he wasn’t part of the rally, but had stopped in Washington during a road trip along the East Coast of the United States. He described being met with suspicion by rallygoers as he spoke with them about their reasons for attending.
“I don’t follow politics that closely, so I don’t have a lot of knowledge on what [Trump] is doing wrong or right. I mean, there’s some stuff I’ve heard that I support, some stuff I don’t support that he does,” Alan said.
Dallas Protesters Weigh In
In Dallas, thousands of “No Kings” protesters turned out Saturday to object to the Trump administration’s focus on illegal immigration enforcement, as well as cultural issues.Protesters’ signs, many homemade, criticized Trump’s policies on immigration, abortion, and LGBT issues, while others accused him of being a fascist.
Rainbow flags mingled with American flags as some people in chicken and dinosaur costumes carried anti-Trump signs. Others brought Trump effigies, prompting attendees to pull out their cell phones for a quick video.
Speakers at the event called for a day of peaceful protest, while criticizing the Trump administration and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over less funding for social programs long popular among Democrats.
Police officers were spotted atop a parking garage and several emergency vehicles were on hand, while organizers, which included socialist groups, encouraged protesters to remain peaceful.
“We are here because Donald Trump has gone too far. This is way bigger than a political disagreement. This is about humanity,” said organizer Samantha Mitchell with Indivisible Dallas as she led the crowd in a No Kings chant.
She criticized Trump and Abbott as “authoritarian” leaders whose policies oppressed non-whites and LGBT individuals.
“Trans people are not the reason you are worried about sending your kids to school. Left-wing indoctrination in our schools is not the reason your kids can’t read at grade level,” she said.
Supporters framed the No Kings protest as a patriotic defense of free speech and condemnation of government overreach. Critics have labeled the protests anti-American.
A mother and her daughters, aged 19 and 22, drove to Dallas from East Texas to protest what she considers “neighbors being kidnapped” by federal immigration officers.
“We’re tired of it,” she said.
Kristi Barrera, who dressed up as the Statue of Liberty, and Tonya Trepinski, who wore stars and stripes, drove in from Waco to support their children on the issues of immigration and transgender rights.
Trepinski, a California transplant who has lived in Texas for 23 years, said she has a child who identifies as transgender who left Texas for Colorado, which is more transgender friendly.
What to Know About ‘No Kings’
The protests’ hundreds of official sponsors, or “partners,” include the American Civil Liberties Union, Reproductive Freedom for All, Human Rights Campaign, MoveOn.org, People for the American Way, and an array of labor unions, according to the website.No Kings spokesperson Eunic Epstein-Ortiz told The Epoch Times that the Communist Party USA is participating only in a New York event and “is not a host of any other event.” The Communist Party’s participation in New York is “not a reflection of ... the national arm” of No Kings protests, she said.
Protesters are asked to wear yellow.
Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said he will march in the rally.
That event coincided with Trump’s birthday and a military parade in the nation’s capital that day to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.
Cities Prepared in Advance
The first event was mostly nonviolent, but some states are increasing law enforcement presence for Saturday’s rallies, just in case.“Anyone destroying property or committing acts of violence will be swiftly arrested. Law and order will be enforced.”
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin also said he has authorized National Guardsmen to be placed in a state of active duty, along with “substantially increased” police presence in his state.
The No Kings website states that event organizers are committed to “nonviolent action” and expect “all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events.”
“Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events,” the website states.
Shutdown Pressure
The rallies will take place as the nation enters the third week of a government shutdown that slogs on amid a GOP-Democrat feud over expiring COVID-era health care subsidies.Republicans have sought to pass a short-term spending bill that will give lawmakers more time to prepare lasting funding legislation and negotiate differences in spending priorities with Democrats.
Meanwhile, Democrats are holding out for a repeal of Medicaid cuts and an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, which expire at the end of the year.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he was informed that Democrats can’t vote for the short-term spending bill to reopen the government until after the rally “because they can’t face their rabid base.”
The comment comes amid speculation that Schumer is trying to fend off a primary challenge by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) by taking a hardline stance against the Trump administration.
“The theory we have right now—they have a hate America rally that’s scheduled for October 18 on the National Mall. It’s all the pro-Hamas wing and the Antifa people ... some of the House Democrats are selling T-shirts for the event,” Johnson said in an interview on Fox News last week.
Schumer said he believed Republican criticism of the event was meant to “intimidate” protesters into silence.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), discussing the shutdown, told The Epoch Times earlier this week that she hoped the protests would motivate Republicans to negotiate with Democrats regarding their demands.
“On the 18th, my hope is that some of my Republican colleagues will listen to their constituents,” she told The Epoch Times earlier this week.
Republicans have said that negotiation should continue after the government reopens, calling for Democrats to back a stopgap bill that would fund the federal government at the existing level before the Oct. 1 shutdown.
