Saturday’s No Kings rally at Kingston’s Academy Green was more than a local rejection of presidential pageantry—it was part of a sweeping chorus of dissent, echoing through thousands of demonstrations from coast to coast and even abroad.
In Washington, DC, President Trump’s $45â¯million military showpiece—featuring 6,600 troops, 150 military vehicles, and fighter jets overhead—was billed as a celebration of the Army’s 250th anniversary and Trump’s 79th birthday. But as tanks rolled past the National Mall, a countercurrent surged across the country, mobilizing under the banner of No Kings Day. The protests repudiated the president’s taste for militarism, his penchant for authoritarian optics, and the symbolic elevation of executive power over democratic process.
Kingston: Brass and Banners
At Academy Green, a lively parade of dissent unfolded—towering puppets, a ragtag brass band, papier-mâché effigies, and a homemade flotilla of protest signs. The crowd marched through midtown with an energy that was part circus, part civic ritual.
The gathering drew a broad swath of the public: first-time protesters, seasoned activists, parents pushing strollers, teens with face paint, retirees in folding chairs, and dogs sporting protest signs. The president’s proposed military parade may have been the flashpoint, but the crowd’s concerns ran deeper. Protesters denounced ICE raids in immigrant communities, the deployment of federal troops to cities like Los Angeles, the erosion of asylum protections, and what many see as an increasingly corrupt and unaccountable federal government.
It was not just a protest but a kind of anti-parade—a joyful, unpolished spectacle that pushed back against the hollow grandeur of state-sponsored theatrics.
Across the Nation: From Seattle to Savannah
Kingston was not alone. Demonstrations unfolded in nearly every major American city: Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix, Denver, and dozens more. In some places, the No Kings rallies dovetailed with Pride events or immigrant rights actions. In others, they stood as standalone rebukes to what critics describe as the creeping authoritarianism of the Trump administration.
Some protests were tense. In Salt Lake City, a protester was caught in the crossfire of a shooting at the march and was killed. In St. Paul, tens of thousands gathered just days after the targeted shootings of lawmakers there. In Texas, the governor activated the National Guard in anticipation of unrest.
Despite these flashpoints, the vast majority of the protests remained peaceful, creative, and determined.
A National Refrain Against Authoritarian Display
What united these rallies was more than timing—it was a shared message. Protesters rejected militarized spectacle and executive aggrandizement, decried the normalization of force in domestic policy, and demanded accountability for policies that harm immigrants, suppress dissent, and concentrate power. Chants of “No tanks, no tyrants”, “Democracy not dynasty”, and “No kings, no crowns” echoed across time zones.
Kingston’s Voice in the National Choir
Kingston’s puppets and brass band were not just local color. They were one note in a nationwide harmony—or perhaps a dissonant chord—played in opposition to the pageantry of power. At the same moment F-35s screamed over the Capitol, thousands of homemade signs of dissent bounced down Clinton Avenue. No tanks, but plenty of tuba.
Saturday’s protest in Kingston, like so many others across the country, affirmed that democracy is not celebrated with a parade—it’s defended with presence, persistence, and people in the streets. No kings. No parade. Just the sound of resistance—loud, messy, and very much alive.
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This article appears in June 2025.
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