An estimated 7 million people protested the Trump administration on Oct. 18 in thousands of No Kings Day protests.
“America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people,” the No Kings website reads.
The first No Kings protest was on June 14 to criticize the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, ICE arrests, and the deployment of the National Guard into Los Angeles.
The protests on Oct. 18 drew thousands to Salt Lake City and a group in Cedar City. Cedar City residents and Southern Utah University students said they attended for different reasons.
“I grew up in a very Republican family, and I like some of the ideas there. But even my dad and my brother who voted for him, they’re starting to realize that his policies and everything he’s doing is just not good. And, even if you have to go to a protest to bring attention to it, do it,” said Jo Wiscombe, a junior. She attended the June 14 protest in Cedar City.
Another student, Aidan Roustan, said the political climate has shifted negatively in recent months.
“Our country is going through an authoritarian shift in the political atmosphere, one with Trump at the center. I went to show this community that there’s at least one person opposed to this shift.”
The Cedar City protest was mostly non-violent, with the exception of an altercation near Main Street Park. Protestors allegedly yelled at Briar Adams, an employee of Cedar Music Store & Studio, who asked protestors to remove their cars from employee parking spaces. One protestor then allegedly threw coffee at Adams.
“I love that we have the freedom in our country to protest, but it also disappoints me that people, of any political party, often choose to use this right to express anger,” said Adams. “People already have so much built up emotion going into these protests, and it can often end in violence.” The No Kings website condemns violence.
The next No Kings day protest has not been scheduled.
Author: James Ruble
Photo courtesy of Mike Pesoli, AP News
Editor: Hannah Clove
news@suunews.net
