Several thousand people showed up to Cary’s No Kings rally on Saturday to protest President Donald J. Trump’s administration and assert that “America has no kings.”
It’s a movement supported by hundreds of political scientists who say the United States is less democratic and more authoritarian under Trump. Protesters told me they attended because of the Iran war and concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s expanded presence in Cary, among many other reasons.
According to Martha Glass, one of the founders of Cary Indivisible who helped organize the rally, it drew between 3,000 and 4,000 participants at its peak. Demonstrators lined both sides of Kildaire Farm Road for several blocks, toting colorful signs, cowbells, and assorted sizes of American flags.
For an event tied to the collapse of democratic norms, the mood was upbeat: Someone dressed up as King George, velvet robe and all. A man paced the sidewalk with a drum strapped to his chest, sounding out a patriotic tattoo. Many protesters brandished posters with pithy, profane slogans I won’t repeat in this family-friendly newsletter.
Rallies in Raleigh and Durham, and Apex also turned out thousands of protesters, the News & Observer, NC Newsline, and WRAL reported. According to the No Kings organization, an estimated 8 million people protested nationwide.
