Thousands turn out for ‘No Kings’ demonstrations in Coastal Georgia

An estimated 2,500 people gathered at Thomas Square Park to participate in the rally, co-hosted by Savannah Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and Coastal Georgia for Democracy (CGD). 

“We are just here to fight for the working class of America,” said Kendra Clark, co-chair for Savannah DSA. “We want to make sure that not only our government but our economy helps to help us be able to afford our rent and our groceries, and make sure that we are maintaining our rights.” 

At least 7 Savannah Police Department (SPD) officers littered the perimeter of the rally and followed both on foot and in cars as the march moved from Thomas Square to Forsyth Park. 

On Friday night, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson released a statement reaffirming the city’s “unwavering respect” for the right to peaceful protest. At the same time, Johnson warned residents that law enforcement and public safety teams were ready to respond swiftly to any emergency situation.

Denise Bell, a Savannah resident who moved here from New York, said that No Kings Day is a testament to the democratic nature of America, though that nature seems to be “slipping away.”

During the rally, speakers made multiple demands from federal, state and local governments. Federal demands included protecting Medicaid, SNAP benefits and stopping attacks on gender affirming healthcare. State and local demands focused on resisting alignment with “federal cruelty.”

While attendees were primarily in support of the movement, a few, like Ronnie Allen, showed up determined to be a presence of opposition. Allen, along with his group, declared the rally “ridiculous” on the basis that there is no king in America. 

Around noon protesters began to march down Bull Street toward Forsyth Park, and attendees spanned all demographics with babies in strollers and adults using canes alike. As the crowd walked, there were chants like “What do we say? No Kings Day!” and “No kings, no crowns, we won’t back down.” 

The march ended at the fountain in Forsyth Park, where protesters circled until around 12:30 p.m.

When asked what inspired him to organize today’s movement, CGD Chairperson Kris Mecholsky said it all boiled down to one word: unconstitutionality. 

“No matter what your politics are, the current administration is acting unlawfully and dangerously,” Mecholsky said. “The single reason we all got together today and had this is unconstitutionality by this administration. The president is acting like a king, and we do not have kings in the United States.” 

Mecholsky wants people to focus their energy on continuing to put pressure on elected officials, such as Coastal Georgia’s U.S. Rep. Earl ‘Buddy’ Carter. 

“If people are silent, they’ll get away with whatever they can get away with. [Carter] supported the recent budget that they’re trying to push through that will add to the deficit, cut Medicaid and SNAP benefits for millions of Georgians, keep AI unregulated,” Mecholsky said. “He’s only doing it as long as nobody stands up to him, but if enough people stand up to him, he’ll have to stop. He’ll recognize that he doesn’t have the support he wishes he had.”

He also wants people to focus on supporting organizations who are protecting the rights of citizens like Greyhound, which does not allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents onto buses without a warrant. 

When asked what message he has for Trump, Mecholsky simply advised the president to talk with the people he’s deporting and come face to face with the issues he’s creating. 

“This [administration] is impacting everyone, and they may not realize it yet,” Bell said. “Even if they voted for him, they don’t realize exactly what’s coming. But they will.”

– Tyler Davis

Around 30 people turned out for the “No Kings” protest against President Donald Trump in Richmond Hill late Saturday morning.

In direct sun and sweltering heat, protesters gathered outside of the Bryan County Courthouse Annex alongside a busy Ford Avenue. For 90 minutes, the rally received a cacophony of encouraging honks from passersby, although several individuals heckled as they drove past with calls to “make America great again” — the rallying cry of Trump’s supporters. Of the 24,817 people who voted in November in Bryan County, which encompasses Richmond Hill, 16,738 voted for Trump.

“I’ve just felt that ever since Trump’s taken office, he has put on display that he is nothing but a monarch,” Shelby Parsons, who came from Port Wentworth, said. “It’s just very plain to see that he’s only serving himself, not the interest of anybody on any side.”

Parsons criticized “the massive amount of resources” Trump used for a military parade held Saturday evening in Washington, D.C., which marked the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army and the 79th of the president. She also condemned his decision to send the Marines and National Guard to Los Angeles “to rip families apart from each other.”

“I have an issue with authoritarianism versus democracy,” a Richmond Hill man who declined to provide his name said. “I believe that the current president is, of course, a wannabe dictator, and I think he has demonstrated that quite thoroughly by a lot of the executive orders he’s issued.”

— Lily Belle Poling

Hundreds took to the streets of downtown Brunswick, starting from Mary Ross Waterfront Park, to resist what they perceive as “authoritarianism.” The predominantly white crowd of demonstrators marched peacefully, chanting, “Donald Trump has got to go,” and waving signs that read, “No Kings Since 1776,” highlighted in rainbow colors. The group included at least 300 individuals, ranging from prepubescent to elderly. 

As they chanted their way through Newcastle Street, they met their first and only counterprotester: wheelchair user Christopher Bower, 63, who charged back that “Trump is the president and this is not going to change anything”. Bower came to Brunswick three years ago from Boston after an accident. He said he felt that their efforts could be placed elsewhere, particularly in the local community. “You should be supportive as you can because that’s what we have to deal with,” he said. 

Ava Bostick, 22, and Chloe Henderson, also 22, are both native to Brunswick. Bostick attends Georgia Southern, studying English, and Henderson attends the College of Coastal Georgia, majoring in Psychology but looking to switch to Elementary and Special Education. Bostick said she was compelled to come because of the mass deportations in the country and the war in Gaza. 

Henderson said she believes that Generation Z does a lot of advocacy on social media, but added that it is difficult to come together in person.”I think a lot of people are afraid to come to to this, because of all the stuff on Facebook right now, there’s a lot of people who see the news and they think that, you know, people are rioting and breaking things and destroying things so they think that they’re like, oh, they’re gonna retaliate,” she said. 

Sonya Peacock, 49, organized the event; she describes herself as a grandmother who keeps her grandkids during the week and in her free time, working on her activism. She said that the coordination was taxing, given that Glynn County has over 200 nonprofit organizations, but worthwhile. “There’s been no king in America since 1776, and until January 20th of this year, we didn’t have anyone who acted like a king. Now, ever since the first, he’s been inaugurated, everything he’s done has been king mentality, ” she added.  

Peacock had to obtain a permit for the park, and off-duty Brunswick Police Department officers were paid to keep watch. Glynn County Sheriff Neal Jump and some of his deputies blocked off the street as the protestors crossed back into the park. Some of the groups participating were the Glynn Dems, Women Voices of Glynn and One Voice Southeast Georgia.

– Jabari Gibbs

About 20 protestors from around Liberty County turned out for a hastily-called No Kings Day demonstration in Hinesville Saturday. A passing thunderstorm drenched the assembly gathered outside Bradwell Institute within sight of Fort Stewart’s front gate. Many said they were Army veterans who said they were disturbed by the commander-in-chief sending Marines to guard against people exercising their Constitutional rights to free speech and to petition the government for redress of grievances.

Co-organizer Jamie Marie Cartright, whose parents fled the Duvalier dictatorship in Haiti and who is a native-born American citizen, said both Haiti and Cuba suffered under dictatorships, but that, “unlike Senator Marco Rubio (now U.S. Secretary of State), I’m not going to pull the ladder up behind me. I’m going to speak out for the people who can’t, who are being silenced. Until we win, or until they silence me, too.”

Roberto Lopez arrived flying an upside-down American flag from his pickup truck. He said he had just rolled through Fort Stewart to show support for active duty troops in uniform.

 “You can’t speak when you’re in there,” he said. “But when you get out, if you can speak to them and their families, you can and must.” He said he’s been getting care from the Veterans Administration for 12 years, “and the benefits are being cut.” 

Conor Burbet, 18, a Bradwell alumnus, heard about the protest online: “I think that what Trump is doing is completely unconstitutional and shouldn’t be allowed, and the last time we had a president this crazy was Woodrow Wilson, who was a known KKK sympathizer.” 

Erin Wallace, who has 12 nieces, said, “I’m here because I want a better world for them.” She said she’s fed up with how Trump is running the country. “As the daughter of a veteran, as the partner of a veteran, I don’t have the words. It’s corrupt, it’s wrong. He thinks he can do anything, but he can’t. And there are people in Washington that are like ‘Oh, whatever’, but it’s not ‘whatever.’ It’s against the law…..You can’t just walk in and make your own rules.”

Protesters drew the occasional middle finger from the open window of a passing car. Over the course of two hours, a Georgia State Patrol car, a Hinesville Police car, and a military police car from Fort Stewart passed by. Many cars honked in support and the occasional clenched fist. One woman repeatedly yelled obscenities about Trump from her car window. Another cheered, “Yay, Trump!” 

Jamie Kay came over after the Richmond Hill No Kings event, where she said “there was so much more support than I was expecting.” Although “there was a few impolite gestures,” she said, “I would honestly say that more of the interactions we got were positive than negative, and that was surprising and nice.” She wanted to demonstrate because “It kind of feels like people are losing a little bit of their liberties. Wanted to come out and show a little support, a little bit of blue support in an otherwise maybe not-so-blue area.”

Co-organizer Micah Smith, bedecked in ministerial regalia and wielding a rainbow clacking fan, said she was pleasantly surprised that people stayed put despite the heavy downpour. As a veteran, she said, “I don’t support a Kim Jong Un style parade in Washington” and questioned spending $130 million on a parade instead of getting mold out of base housing or making sure soldiers didn’t have to use food stamps in the commissary.” 

Mea Freeman, 17, a Hinesville native who attends Liberty County High, decided to skip the Savannah protest to attend this one. She said she’s burned out on Trump: “It’s exhausting to hear about him every single day making negative comments about things that have nothing to do with politics — attacking trans humans, attacking queer people. It’s disrespectful. And now he’s attacking a whole entire race who have worked hard in America. It’s not only Hispanic people. It’s multiple races. Everybody is affected by this.”

For Josh Elias, an Army veteran who did 2 tours in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the tipping point for him was “accountability. These people are elected to lead our country. Instead, they choose to divide it….gaslight everything that’s asked upon them, and the simple things like protecting the Constitution. Being a decent human being.” He also said he didn’t like seeing “immigrants being turned into bad people. Not only immigrants but people who are of Hispanic heritage. That’s real troubling because I myself am of Hispanic heritage, and my children, and looking back at history, with Hitler, how he ostracized the Jews, turned them into subhumans, criminals, and it’s the same narrative today.”

Chris Eastridge, who along with his wife Jamie, and teenage son, whose name he did not want to give, said they brought their “F*&^ Trump” flag because “I wanted to make sure that everybody knows [Trump] sucks. He’s screwing over our immigrants, which we need.” He gestured at four Army trucks headed toward Fort Stewart’s main entrance. “He’s screwing over our veterans, which these people will be when they’re done with their service.” They found out about the demonstration on mobilize.us.

Jamie Eastridge said she wanted to see more protests, possibly every day. “People can rotate out their days off of work. You can still work to pay your bills and come out and do it.” She said she was worried about “Our friends. Our daughter, who’s only 13, and has a lot of dreams and goals and ambitions.”

Around 1:40 p.m., the heavy humidity gave way to a passing thunderstorm, but no one left. Lopez held up the flagpole from his truck as the rain poured down at an angle and the wind blew, a one-man Iwo Jima image outside the gates of Fort Stewart.

Smith said plans are underway for another demonstration on July 4.

– Robin Kemp and Domonique King