Thousands of people gathered in Tallahassee Saturday for a so-called No Kings Protest. Participants decried President Donald Trump and his administration, whose practices, some say, reflect those of a would-be king or dictator. The rally took place on the same day as similar gatherings across the state and throughout the country, and hours before a Washington D.C. military parade requested by Trump in conjunction with his 79th birthday.
In Tallahassee, thousands filled the lawn in front of the state’s historic Capitol building and lined both sides of Monroe Street. They made speeches, chanted, and waved signs emblazoned with phrases like, “ICE melts in Florida,” “If there’s money for a parade, there’s money for Medicaid,” and “Make America follow the Constitution again.”
Andrew Falls brought their ukulele to “add to the noise” with protest songs along with members of their band Pineapple Tuesday.
“There’s so many things to protest here today,” Falls says. “There’s a whole list.”
For Falls that list includes policies that have targeted members of the transgender community, as well as the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and deportation efforts. Then there’s the president’s musing about seeking a third term—something Falls calls “dictator behavior,” and now a military parade that’s estimated to cost between $25 million and $45 million.
“The fact that Trump is spending so much money on a military parade when there’s so many people out there who are dying because they can’t afford healthcare, can’t afford food, can’t afford housing—it’s messed up,” Falls says.
The government’s spending and its funding cuts are also a concern for Breanna Stamper, a Tallahassee local who was among the crowd Saturday. She says she joined the protest because she thinks it’s important to stand up for what she believes in.
“What’s going on is not right and I feel like we need to use our rights before we lose them,” Stamper says.
Stamper says she thinks recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE raids are “unfair.”
“I think if you’re going to deport people you need to give them Due Process,” Stamper says. “Everybody here deserves Due Process. Like every single morning we recited the pledge of allegiance—‘liberty and justice for all’—I’m not willing to back down on that now.”
Across the street, Josh Iben is standing with a small handful of counterprotesters. He’s here, he says, because he supports the Trump administration’s immigration policy. He says he’s worried undocumented immigrants are filling jobs that could otherwise be taken by American Citizens.
“They don’t want to hire somebody for $14 an hour to do a job that they can hire an illegal immigrant $9 to do, so that’s what they’re going to do and that hurts the people who are in line waiting for those jobs,” Iben says.
Iben says he came to the protest to show his support for the president, but also, he admits, because he wants to troll.
“I’m not really taking this seriously,” Iben says. “This is my first protest. I’m just out here to have fun and experience what I’ve been seeing on tv and the news. I’m having fun with it. I’m not here with any malicious intent.”
At one point a small skirmish broke out between a No Kings Protestor and Iben and a member of his group. Police issued a trespass warning to the protestor and directed him to leave. Iben and his small group were allowed to stay.
He says he doesn’t believe the protest will have any impact.
“I’ve been kind of fighting the system my whole life and I’ve come to the realization that the average Joe doesn’t have any impact on huge national policies like this,” Iben says.
“We can scream out here and hoot and holler all day, but at the end of the day the Trump administration is going to do what they’re going to do regardless of how Tom Dick and Jerry feel,” he went on to say.
But the local activists disagree. They say each protest raises awareness, grows momentum and creates the opportunity to build a movement.
