What to Know About June 14 “No Kings Day” Protests
Millions of people are set to rally across the nation in opposition to President Donald Trump’s extreme agenda and to counterprogram the military parade in Washington, D.C.
Dubbed “No Kings Day,” the over 2,000 planned demonstrations are set to kick off Saturday morning, June 14. The protests have been organized by hundreds of organizations and grass-roots groups, including the ACLU, Public Citizen, Indivisible and 50501.
A full map and list of events can be found here. For those who can’t attend in person, some media outlets are set to stream protests from multiple cities around the U.S.
“No Kings Day is about standing up for our democracy. Standing up for our rights, our liberties and making sure that we are sending a strong message that we are going to have a free and fair democracy,” Deirdre Schifeling, the ACLU’s chief political and advocacy officer, told Democracy Docket Friday.
“We’ve had this democracy for 250 years,” Schifeling said. “As imperfect as it has been, we are going to keep that democracy.”
No organized demonstrations are planned in D.C over safety concerns, Schifeling said.
Earlier this week, Trump from the Oval Office threatened to meet those who protest the multimillion dollar military parade with “very big force.” The parade marks the Army’s 250th anniversary, but it also falls on the president’s 79th birthday.
“We didn’t want there to be a conflict or any excuse to have a conflict with peaceful protesters and this military parade,” Schifeling said, adding that those in the district can attend close-by events in Maryland and Virginia. She also noted a flagship protest in Philadelphia.
Following Trump’s lead, some Republican governors and law enforcement officials have issued their own threats against protesters.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), mobilized 5,000 Texas National Guard troops in anticipation of demonstrations and dared protesters to “FAFO,” an acronym for “F— around and find out.”
“We will kill you graveyard dead,” Florida Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a warning to demonstrators Friday.
“I think those statements are outrageous,” Schifeling said. “I view this kind of speech and rhetoric as absolutely inflammatory and condoning of violence against peaceful protesters, people who are exercising their First Amendment right.”
Schifeling said those attending events should be aware of what rights they have to demonstrate and highlighted the ACLU’s “Know Your Rights” page.
While the demonstrations are in part response to the military parade, they also come amid Trump’s ongoing use of military personnel in Los Angeles. Trump’s use of the military in California will largely be decided by the courts, but Schifeling said people organizing is also key in affecting what happens.
“Courage begets courage,” she said. “The best thing that we can do to save our democracy is stand up together peacefully and say no.”