Around 15,000 marched against the Trump Administration in downtown Madison June 14 as part of the nationwide “No Kings” protest.
Protests were held around the nation as organizers outcried increased threats against democracy and civil rights under President Trump. “No Kings” was organized by groups like 50501 (short for “50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement”), a national grassroots organization that protests policies under the Trump Administration, and Women’s March and Indivisible.
The rally started in the morning at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Library Mall with a carnival-themed gathering filled with clowns. The rally marched towards the Wisconsin State Capitol down State Street around 2 p.m. with a seemingly unending wave of signs and chants filling the roughly mile stretch from campus.
Speakers like Nick Ramos, executive director of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, called for a restoration of civil rights and an end to authoritarianism.
“These are not normal times when we see federal troops being deployed against communities on American soil, when we see immigrant families living in fear, when we see public schools are attacked and educators vilified, when workers are being denied their dignity and collective power, when our courts and our Constitution are being trampled by authoritarian forces,” Ramos said.
John Nichols, a Wisconsin native and New York Times best-selling author, also came to deliver a message from Senator Bernie Sanders.
Nichols called Sanders over the phone, where the Senator affirmed his push for a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” as crowds cheered.
“What I can tell you is that whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, an Independent, a progressive or a conservative, the American people do not want to see this country [sic] fall because of the oligarch,” Sanders said. “We’re going to stand together, we’re going to defeat Trumpism.”
The rally lasted until around 5 p.m. before it slowly fizzled out. It remained peaceful the entire time, according to the Madison Police Department.
