Saturday’s “No Kings” events follow several days of protests against federal immigration raids, and one of the largest has been in Los Angeles. Trump deployed the National Guard there.
The “No Kings” theme is from the 50501 Movement, billed as “a national movement made up of everyday Americans who stand for democracy and against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration. The name 50501 stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement,” according to The Associated Press.
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
“The flag doesn’t belong to President Trump. It belongs to us,” the “No Kings” website says. “On June 14th, we’re showing up everywhere he isn’t — to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings.”
Holly Lawwill from Trenton, who attended the protest in Hamilton, said “I am here to support democracy.”
“I am here to, you know, resist a fascist government that’s coming down on us right now, and it’s scaring me. I am here for my children ... that they have a future that’s going to be OK.”
Another woman who identified herself as Margaret from Hamilton but declined to give her last name said she was attending because she is “worried about our democracy” and those who are more vulnerable now — specifically people of color and gay and trans people — than during Trump’s first presidential term.
“I disapprove of the hatred that Trump and his allies are spouting. He’s dividing the country,” she told the Journal-News. “I don’t think it’s right for a marginal political movement to take over the country.”
Amanda Powell, a Butler County native now living in Athens, came to protest in Hamilton with her 83-year-old mother, who lives in Butler County. She hopes Saturday strengthens the community of people against President Trump’s politics and actions.
“This is what democracy looks like, and it’s going to take all of us. It’s too long until we get to vote (in a national election),” said Powell, who has been attending Middletown protest and rally events. “As a lawyer, this is where it starts. We’re here for our democracy, which is why I’m showing up.”
Greg VonderMeulen from Colerain Twp., also at the Hamilton protest, said politicians in D.C. need to listen “because it’s a mess of what’s going on right now” and is “completely unacceptable.”
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
“I hope that the politicians that we really don’t care about right now get the idea that they’re going to lose a lot of votes coming up,” he said. “Each one of us counts for 1,000 votes or better and they should be worried. They should be very worried.”
Springfield native Heather Stelzer said she was at the rally at the Butler County Government Services Center because she wants to advocate for those in marginalized communities who sometimes cannot advocate for themselves.
“I have a lot of people I work with that are part of these parts of our society that are being hated against. And a lot of them are young, a lot of them have student visas. A lot of them are going through the citizenship process, and they are scared.
“I am representing people who don’t feel comfortable representing themselves,” Stelzer said.
The nearby Butler County Jail was the site of a protest on June 10, where attendees called for the release of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees. Sheriff Richard Jones said recently there are about 350 ICE detainees currently housed there.
More than 100 people attended that rally, many of them holding signs to protest the incarceration of a 19-year-old 2025 high school graduate.
The protest was organized by the Cincinnati Socialists and the Miami Valley Immigration Coalition to demand that Butler County end two programs that use local resources to contribute to the federal government’s immigration enforcement regime and to demand the release of the ICE prisoners in detention there.
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
At the head of the controversy is Emerson Colindres, 19, a soccer player who graduated last month from Western Hills High School in Cincinnati. Colindres and his family came to the United States from Honduras in 2014 seeking asylum, according to reports.
Their case and appeal were denied, and a removal order was issued two years ago. However, family and friends said they had never been told to leave the country, and they regularly checked in with ICE.
Colindres and his mother were informed they needed to check in with ICE in person. During that meeting, Colindres was taken into the back of the facility where agents were waiting to take him into custody. He has been jailed ever since.
More ‘No Kings’ protests
Around 200 people came out with signs and flags to rally in Middletown, which is Vice President JD Vance’s hometown.
WCPO-9 reported protesters were seen standing on each side of Towne Boulevard at the mall, chanting “No Kings” as cars driving by beeped their horns.
In Cincinnati on Saturday, more than a thousand people showed up to a rally on the University of Cincinnati campus at 11 a.m., WCPO-9 reported.
UC sent out an announcement stating that due to the protest, the campus closed all of its garages to the public. Protesters at the site were heard chanting, “This is what democracy looks like.”
In Dayton, hundreds of people, and possibly more than 1,000, poured into and around the Pavilion at RiverScape MetroPark in the city’s downtown.
“The uncertainty, the chaos, the craziness ― I just think people are at wit’s end," said Theresa Gasper, one of the organizers and a member of the Greene County Democratic Party.
Reporter Rick McCrabb, WCPO-9 and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
About the Author
