“No Kings. Stop Trump. Save Democracy.”
The painted cardboard sign was hoisted high in the air as over 500 protesters gathered in Cross Creek Linear Park in downtown Fayetteville on Saturday morning, voicing opposition to President Donald Trump and his administration. Demonstrators congregated in the park after marching from Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse and down Hay Street.
This peaceful demonstration, one of thousands being held around the country, has been named “No Kings Day” by activists.
An anniversary, a birthday, a protest
The “No Kings” movement, which national organizers have called “a nationwide day of defiance,” protests Trump administration policies and actions, especially those regarding recent federal immigration raids in Los Angeles. The Trump administration sent thousands of immigration agents, National Guard members and U.S. Marines to LA in the past week in response to protests, a decision that kicked off a court battle over the legality of the president’s actions.
“A commitment to non-violent action” is a core principle of the No Kings movement, according to the official website.
The protests were scheduled to coincide with a military parade being held in Washington, D.C., that commemorates the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, also falling on Flag Day and Trump’s 79th birthday.
The parade has been estimated to cost U.S. taxpayers between $25 million and $45 million, according to NPR. Millions of dollars are expected to be used to repair streets damaged by heavy military vehicles following the parade — an event critics have called a display of vanity for Trump.
Large military parades during peacetime are an uncommon occurrence in the United States, usually reserved instead for times after major wars, such as World War II and the Gulf War, according to NPR. The last parade of this type happened in 1991, following the end of the Gulf War. The use of military equipment in large-scale parades declined in popularity in the later decades of the Cold War, CBS News reports, possibly due to opposition to the Vietnam War in the late 1960s and throughout the 70s.
No kings in America
As the hundreds of protesters marched their way through downtown Fayetteville on Saturday morning, their chants rang through the streets.
They shouted in unison: “Love, not hate, makes America great,” and “No ICE, No KKK, No Fascist U.S.A.”
Joe S., one of the organizers of the Fayetteville demonstration who did not give his last name, emphasized the importance and mission of the demonstration as he marched along with the crowd.
“There’s over 2,000 protests sending the same message,” Joe told CityView. “No kings in America, and we want our leaders to obey the Constitution.” He said that when he and his co-organizers heard about the “No Kings” movement, they knew they had to do something. “I wanted to bring that energy to Fayetteville,” he said.
Richard Ojeda, a retired U.S. Army Major, former West Virginia state senator and now congressional candidate for North Carolina’s 9th district, gave a passionate speech to the crowd that filled Cross Creek Linear Park. Fayetteville City Council Member and mayoral candidate Mario Benavente also spoke at the protest.
“We took an oath to the Constitution,” Ojeda said, after calling on veterans in the crowd. “We did not take an oath to a tyrant.”
Ojeda said that he is fighting for his daughter, who was somewhere in the mix of protesters. He said he wants his children to grow up in a free society. “A year ago, not one of us thought that a year later we’d be fighting for our own democracy in the United States of America, but here we are.”
“If you don’t believe that we are moving toward a dictatorship, or that they are pushing us towards a dictatorship, look at what happened last week in California,” Ojeda said. “Our democracy is under attack by people who want nothing more than to create a dictatorship where they stay in power.”
The statement was met by thunderous cheers and applause from the crowd.
Kelly Walter-Carney, an English professor, also attended Saturday’s protest. She carried a quilted banner that read: “Free people read freely, think freely, speak freely.” She told CityView that, having been a German major, she reads a lot about Germany in the early 20th century.
“Things sound familiar, and I worry,” Walter-Carney said.
Mariah Miranda, another protester, held a sign which, through several bullet points, compared Trump to Adolf Hitler. Miranda, a military service member, felt it was particularly critical for her to participate in the protest.
“As a service member, especially with everything going on, it’s important that civilians know that there are service members here that are still upholding our oath,” she said. “To protect the citizens and uphold the Constitution.”