Undeterred by rain and thunderstorms, thousands gathered in College Square and along Broad and Clayton streets in downtown Athens on Saturday to join millions of Americans protesting the Trump administration in “No Kings” rallies across the country. The demonstration coincided with the military parade in Washington, D.C., officially honoring the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, but also taking place on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.
Crowd estimates in Athens ranged from 2,000–3,000 attendees, who marched, carried signs and balloons, chanted and danced. Across the country, organizers estimated that 5 million people attended one of 2,100 similar protests.
The atmosphere was defiant but festive, with music playing between speeches, and protesters wearing costumes and carrying flags and homemade banners. Many references could be seen to the event’s slogan: “No Kings. No Clowns.”
The rain picked up soon after the official 5 p.m. start time, but many people remained outdoors, some with umbrellas or ponchos. When thunder and lightning came, some sought shelter in nearby businesses, while others stayed outside and danced in the rain.
The event was organized by the Oconee County and Athens-Clarke County Democratic parties, as well as Indivisible Georgia District 10, the International Union of Operating Engineers 926, the Coalition of Athens Scientists, Third Act Georgia and United Campus Workers. Like previous Athens protests, people of all ages attended, including families with children, but the No Kings event appeared to feature notably more teens and twentysomethings then past anti-Trump demonstrations. Turnout was two to three times that of April’s “Hands Off” protest, despite the weather and competition from the Hot Corner festival a few blocks away.
On a makeshift stage at the Clayton Street end of the square, speakers denounced the Trump administration’s targeting of immigrants, cuts to research and to government services, divisive rhetoric and elevation of Trump to a king-like figure. They encouraged attendees to visit the information tables for partnering groups and learn how they can get involved.
State Rep. Spencer Frye (D-Athens) emceed, and speakers included Branch and other organizers, as well as author, historian and politician Michael Thurmond, an Athens native. Writer and artist Stephanie Astalos-Jones offered a comedic take on Trump’s actions. Speakers led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the preamble to the Constitution to the tune of “Schoolhouse Rock.”
Partway through the program, the rain let up. Thurmond encouraged unity and peaceful action, saying that “If we will lock on together, if we stand together, we are going to take this country back” and that we must “resist being turned against anyone.”
The rally took place during a tense national moment, after the president called National Guard troops and Marines into Los Angeles, against the mayor and governor’s wishes, to quell protests. In the early hours of Saturday, two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses were shot at their homes in Minnesota, and papers found in the suspect’s car included information about the No Kings event at the state capitol in St. Paul.
A massive protest at the capitol in Atlanta Saturday morning took place without any reported arrests, but police officers used teargas to disperse a much smaller group of protesters in DeKalb County in the early afternoon and handcuffed some of them.
A few counterprotesters showed up in Athens, including one man who made repeated attempts to interrupt the speakers. Trained volunteers were stationed throughout the crowd on standby for conflict de-escalation. But the event remained largely nonviolent, apart from a shoving incident reported by the Red & Black. Frye told the audience that everyone has a right to voice their opinions.
As with many of the protests on Saturday, American flags were ubiquitous, from the small ones passed out by organizers to massive banners requiring two people to carry. Pride flags, Mexican flags, and other flags were also present. Some crowd members, many of them younger, chanted for Palestinian rights and abolishing ICE. They also chanted “USA, USA,” “liberty and justice for all,” and “no kings.”
Away from the main stage, other protesters took the lead. One young Mexican-American woman, who declined to give her name, said afterward that she was disappointed the organizers did not feature immigrant and Latino voices more prominently, since the threat to their families and communities is one of the major issues people were protesting.
“I want to hear immigrants speak. I want to hear indigenous people speak. I want to hear Latinos speak,” she said. “They are the ones being targeted.”
She said that she was at the protest in DeKalb when police used tear gas, and that she suspected that police were much harsher there because those protesters were predominantly people of color. Since she was not hearing her experience represented, she decided to stand on a picnic table and give her own speech.
Others followed suit, including a young man whose family immigrated from Haiti before he was born, but were affected by hateful rhetoric, like the false story Trump repeated during his campaign that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating their neighbors’ pets. “Our home is here,” said Jimmy, who wanted to be identified by his first name only. When the official speeches ended and the larger crowd dispersed, a younger group lingered, taking turns speaking and leading chants.
Shellby Branch, chair of the ACC Democratic Committee, said she was thrilled with the turnout and participation. “The fact that even with the rain, people were willing to show up and show out shows the heaviness of this moment,” she said. “It gives me a lot of optimism.”
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