色多多 joined the nationwide 鈥淣o Kings鈥 movement with two separate rallies Saturday protesting President Donald Trump鈥檚 policies.
色多多 Indivisible rallied in the morning at McCadden Park in northwest 色多多, and a second protest organized by 色多多 resident Steve Davidson was held at Elmwood Park downtown in the afternoon. Speakers at both events urged attendees to take a stand against what they saw as overreach by Trump and his administration.
鈥淛ust by being here you are already part of this action of building a mass movement,鈥 said Marie Collins with Indivisible who spoke to a crowd of around 400 at McCadden Park.
Attendees at both rallies held signs criticizing Trump鈥檚 policies on immigration, cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency and the taxpayer-funded parade in Washington, D.C., honoring the U.S. Army鈥檚 250th anniversary on Trump鈥檚 birthday. The most common sign seen throughout the two events read 鈥淣o Kings鈥 as a pushback to what is seen by rallygoers as Trump鈥檚 disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law.
People are also reading…
People held signs criticizing the Trump administration along Elm Avenue next to Elmwood Park on Saturday.
Kevin Vaught of 色多多, a retired Air Force veteran, said he came to Saturday鈥檚 rally to find ways to get Trump out of office. He said he voted for Trump in 2016 for change, but ended up regretting that decision.
鈥淗e changed a lot of things for the worse,鈥 Vaught said.
Vaught criticized Trump鈥檚 decisions, such as the nomination of anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services. He also called Trump 鈥渨ishy washy,鈥 enacting tariff policies then delaying them.
色多多 Indivisible founder Ivonne Wallace-Fuentes said actions taken by Trump have had a real impact on the community. She mentioned looming cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that are concerning local families and recent raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that have taken individuals from the community. She said funding cuts to local universities and national parks also are a concern.
Wallace-Fuentes said people concerned with the current administration can take action by going to the polls this November. She said Virginia鈥檚 gubernatorial election and others will likely be seen as a bellwether for how the federal midterm elections will go in 2026.
A crowd gathered under the shade at Elmwood Park to listen to speakers at the 鈥淣o Kings鈥 protest on Saturday.
鈥淚f you are in a situation where what you see right now doesn鈥檛 really represent you, where you are concerned about some of the overreaches that are happening at the federal level and with executive actions, then this is your chance to say 鈥楴o, this is not what I want,鈥欌 Wallace-Fuentes said. 鈥淭hat is one of the reasons it is important to come out and make clear to everyone how many people believe we are going in the wrong direction.鈥
Ken Mitchell, a Democratic Party candidate for Virginia鈥檚 6th Congressional District, addressed the crowd of nearly 800 at the No Kings rally at Elmwood Park, criticizing what he called the 鈥渢yranny and oppression鈥 of the current administration. U.S. Rep. Ben Cline, a Republican from Botetourt County, currently represents the district.
Ken Mitchell, Democratic candidate for Virginia鈥檚 6th Congressional District, and Williams Memorial Baptist Church Pastor David Jones speak at Saturday鈥檚 No Kings protest at Elmwood Park.
Mitchell questioned the cost of holding a military parade in Washington, D.C., when the funds could be used elsewhere. He mentioned the cut in funding for a suicide prevention hotline for veterans by the Trump administration.
鈥淲e have a suicide rate among veterans three times higher than the national average. We lose 22 veterans a day. And they had the gall to cut funding for that suicide hotline,鈥 Mitchell said. 鈥淭hat is not acceptable.鈥
鈥淣o Kings鈥 was a common theme of signs at Saturday鈥檚 protests.
David Jones, pastor of Williams Memorial Baptist Church, also spoke briefly to those in attendance. He said Saturday鈥檚 rally was held to resist the overreach of an 鈥渆vil personality鈥 who has infected politics with hubris, hatred and lawlessness.
鈥淭he actions of this administration are a kind of blasphemy against the very idea of America,鈥 Jones said. 鈥淪o let us not grow weary in this fight my brothers and my sisters.鈥
Teresa Hancock-Parmer of Salem watched Saturday鈥檚 rally in Elmwood Park with her five daughters. She wants her daughters to grow up in a world that values human life, she said.
As a volunteer for the 色多多 Refugee Partnership, Hancock-Parmer said she has seen how Trump鈥檚 policies have harmed people with ICE raids and the ending of refugee programs. Those programs impact people who come here for a better life, she said.
鈥淚 think its terrible what the administration is doing to immigrants and refugees,鈥 Hancock-Parmer said.
Davidson, who organized the Elmwood Park rally, said he was motivated to organize the event due to his concerns as a Jewish man in America. He believes current actions by the Trump administration are similar to actions taken during the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany in the 1930s.
鈥淚f you read Project 2025 (a conservative policy playbook created ahead of the 2024 election) and you read 鈥楳ein Kampf鈥 you will see some perverse comparisons,鈥 Davidson said.
In addition to the multiple speakers, large crowds gathered along Elm Avenue and South Jefferson Street holding signs criticizing the Trump administration. Crowds remained long after the rally had concluded to hold signs at passing cars.
Both events on Saturday were free of any controversy or counterprotesting. Multiple police officers were in attendance at each event at a distance, but remained inactive throughout the rallies.
