Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies represented the largest one-day protest in US history as Americans protested a trend toward “authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics and the militarization of democracy.” Organizers of the “No Kings” Day estimated more than five to seven million people marched in over 2,100 cities and towns across the United States for the national movement spreading their message of unity.
The protest movement was a direct response to the 250th Anniversary Parade of the US Army that rolled through Washington, DC on President Trump’s 79th birthday. After weeks of protest against ICE raids in major cities, many Americans seemed to be fed up with the current President’s political agenda and the parade was not very well attended as thought it would be.
The protests, on the other hand, were well attended and for the most part were peaceful across the country. However, one man in Utah did lose his life when he was shot during a confrontation between armed volunteers who were assisting with crowd control at the protest and a man dressed in all black, who removed an AR-15-style rifle from his back pack and started running toward the crowd, holding it in a firing position. As this happened quite quickly, security fired three rounds, wounding the gunman but unfortunately hitting a bystander also, who was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
In Oklahoma there were several cities and towns where locals marched in patriotic colors and brought signs supporting their civil liberties and speaking out against immigration injustices and their democratic form of government.
Thirteen “No Kings” protests took place in Oklahoma, including three in Tulsa. They included the following cities/ towns: OKC, Tulsa, Bartlesville, Lawton, Ada, Ponca City, Tahlequah, McAlester, Ardmore, Durant and Idabel.
Several locals from the county went to various protests in OKC, Tulsa, Tahlequah and McAlester.
Karen Weldin and her wife Susanne Bain from Eufaula were among protesters at the McAlester “No Kings” rally. As was former State Sen. Richard Lerblance who is an attorney in Muskogee and serves on the Muscogee Nation Supreme Court. Lerblance, was among the guest speakers at the McAlester rally and gave a brief history lesson about the United States form of government.
“We have a truly great Constitution for the United States of America,” Lerblance said. “You know a lot of people talk about how we have a democracy and that is true to a certain extent. However, the United States is actually a Republic, not a Democracy. However, they are merged together. So really, we are known as a Democratic Republic. The basic way the Constitution was written and provided for in our government makes us a Republic, because a Republic is a power of sovereignty.”
Ultimately the power lies within the hands of the people, who elect their representatives.
“We need to be sure that we do not lose the freedoms and rights that we have,” he said.
Protesters at McAlester’s “No Kings” rally marched up 1st and Main then east to 3rd and Main as Trump fans drove alongside them with their Trump flags flying. They stated they were not there to protest anything, but to show support for their president. However, it did make for some protesters questioning their intentions.
Another local Shana Webster from Checotah and her sister, Shannon Wester, attended the “No Kings” protest in Tulsa at the Promenade Mall.
Shana stated that she and her sister were “raised in a strict, conservative, southern Baptist home in Small Town, USA, but even that couldn’t stop us from knowing what the true meaning of humanity should be. Today (while protesting on June 14) I’m proud to be an American and that’s not something I’ve been able to say for a long time.”
Webster also stated there’s been enough of “Love Thy Neighbor… Unless they look different, love different and believe differently than you.”
Some of the signs across the state read: “No Kings, No Crowns” “When Cruelty Looks Normal –Compassion Looks Radical,” “No human is illegal,” “Defend Democracy” “Immigrants Make America Great,” and “Stand United or Fall Divided.”
As June 14 came to an end, the “No Kings” protesters dispersed and descended upon their homesteads, happy to have used their voice and their presence to get their point across to the President.
National organizers stated “Two things remain true in this country: we have no kings, and no president can stop people from peacefully speaking out.”
