Op-Ed: “No Kings” Protests

This past Saturday, June 14 (Flag Day), along with millions of people around the United States and in other countries, local people turned out in protest on No Kings Day. Partly in response to a president who was throwing a military parade birthday party for himself in the nation’s capital, many among us were sending a clear message that this nation has never had a king, nor does it want one.

Locally, protests were held in Quincy, Truckee, and Grass Valley. In all those locations — and in many others — crowd sizes were considerably larger than even recent protests against the regime in Washington, DC. Crowd estimates were 350-400 people in Quincy (based on on-site counting), more than 1,000 in Truckee (reported by the organizers), and 3,700-4,000 in Grass Valley (as reported by YubaNet). Nationally, the most reliable and sustainable estimate (determined by Alt National Park Service, utilizing 140,000 coalition members who attended events across the country) indicates at least 13.14 million people in more than 2,300 locations.

The “No Kings” protest in Quincy was sponsored by local Indivisible groups and supported by both Plumas County and Sierra County Democrats, among other organizations. One of the many speakers at the event was Heidi Hall, currently chair of the Nevada County Board of Supervisors and a declared candidate for Congressional District 3 in the 2026 election.

A great variety of signs was seen in Quincy and other area protests, including these: “I didn’t know I’d spend my golden years opposing a dictator”; Queens Yes! A King Never!”; “We the people saying No to kings since 1776”; “I don’t want Canada, Greenland or Panama; I want PBS, Social Security, and DUE PROCESS”; “Silence is UnDemocratic”; “Down with Tyranny”; “Only you can resist fascist liars”; “No kings since 1776; let’s keep it that way”; “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty”; “Send the troops home”; “I’m not a paid protestor; I hate Trump for free”; “Veterans are not suckers or losers”; “Dethrone the pretender; Americans bow to no king”; “Don’t make hate great again”; “We the People means everyone”.