Thousands marched to the State Capitol for the latest round of the national “No Kings” rally in Madison.
On Oct. 18, an estimated 15-20,000 people flooded downtown in conjunction with over 2,700 other “No Kings” rallies across the country. The rally called out the current Trump Administration and its consolidation of power. The group met up in McPike Park, 202 S. Ingersoll St., before they moved a little over a mile down East Washington Ave. to the State Capitol, where many more circled the building as they waited for the marching party.
The rally had no outward demand. Rather, it aimed to remind elected officials that they work for the people.
“For many, this moment in our nation and our world feels monumental, if not suffocating. The air is thick with uncertainty,” said Everett Mitchell, a Dane County Circuit Court judge. “Yet despite all of that, major cities are mounting the only line of defense. You got to learn how to organize, and yes, organize we must.”
The lines of our legal and democratic systems are being redefined, Mitchell said. He pointed to the current state of affairs as another war for civil rights. Mitchell urged that the people cannot wait for institutions to take up fights — the people must.
“Why is this the moment? Because I got to remind you, right now, Wisconsin, now is that time. Because if now is not the time, I will never know when the time is,” Mitchell said. “Now is the time to wake up, the time to stand up, the time to build up, the time to sing up, the time to live up, the time to read up, the time to walk up, the time to run up, the time to swim up, the time to lap up, the time to cry up, the time to drive up, the time to preach up, the time to dance up, the time to rap up, the time to sign up… The time is now for us to fight.”
Other speakers included John Nichols, executive editor of The Nation Magazine and associate Editor of The Cap Times, U.S Congressman Mark Pocan and others from local activist groups.
Community members who came to the rally expressed their fear over current events. Peggy Windhorst has a son currently living in Portland, where National Guard troops were deployed Sept. 28 after Trump claimed the city had been taken over by “antifa thugs,” FactCheck reported.
“My son lives there, and he saw, as he was bringing his groceries out and putting them into his truck, guys ran out from a white van and picked him up and threw him in the van,” Windhorst said.
Coming to the rally helped put her mind at ease a little bit. She feels more encouraged being among others who want change.
Marcel and Katie Williams, a married couple who attended the rally, are concerned with how the Trump Administration has been targeting specific marginalized groups.
“In my situation, I have a lot of privilege, so I feel like it’s my duty to use that privilege to advocate for people who don’t have my same privilege,” Katie said. “There’s a lot of marginalized communities getting hit and affected right now.”
Melissa, who did not want to share her full name, lugged around a large cart with a clown on top as a protest piece. She feels extra concern for children being zip-tied in Portland, Los Angeles and Chicago, and the loss of benefits.
“They’re taking people without judicial warrants, they’re breaking the Constitution. I just can’t believe what they’re getting away with,” Melissa said. “This is all ridiculous. It’s affecting the American people.”
She advocated for the protections that the Constitution guarantees all people within the U.S., not just citizens.
“Trump is not the law. The Constitution is the law. They need to start abiding by the law and stop snatching people off the streets,” she said.
