An estimated 7 million people in the U.S. took part in No Kings 2 rallies across the country in a nationwide day of protest organized by the 50501 Movement and local partners. In Charlotte, Indivisible CLT and other community organizations hosted a rally and 1.1-mile march on Saturday, October 18, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at First Ward Park.
The No Kings movement began earlier this year with a coordinated series of protests held on June 14, coinciding with Flag Day, the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, and President Donald Trump’s birthday. Organizers said that event, which drew an estimated five million participants nationwide, was the largest single-day protest mobilization since Trump took office. Demonstrations filled city streets from New York to Los Angeles, with marchers carrying American flags and banners declaring “No Kings.”
The rally held in Charlotte is said to have attracted more than 7,000 people, according to a report in The Charlotte Observer. Additional rallies took place in the Charlotte Metro area in Concord, Cornelius, Denver, Gastonia, Huntersville, Monroe and Waxhaw.
Nationwide, the 7 million protester count puts the number of Americans involved up two million from the previous rally, with participants in all 50 states, according to organizers and various media outlets.
The protests organized by the 50501 Movement are part of a national coalition of volunteers that stand for democracy and against authoritarian actions of the Trump administration. The name 50501 represents “50 states, 50 protests, one movement.” The group’s website states that it was founded by “everyday Americans” who reject political corruption, voter suppression, and the concentration of executive power.
The protests came in direct response to a wave of new federal actions since the summer, including the deployment of the National Guard to several U.S. cities, the government shutdown and renewed efforts to centralize executive authority. Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, recently claimed during a live CNN interview that Trump had “plenary authority” to send federal forces anywhere in the country. Legal experts have described that phrase as meaning “broadly construed and often limitless” power.
According to the No Kings website, the movement’s message is rooted in the nation’s founding ideals. “The president thinks his rule is absolute,” it states. “But in America, we don’t have kings, and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty.”
In what read like a statement of desperation, Trump responded to the rallies via social media, saying that “the people weren’t representative of America” and that he “wasn’t a king.”
More information is available at https://www.nokings.org/.