The Wild Reed: “Protesting Is What Patriotism Looks Like in Public”: The “No Kings” Protests of June 14, 2025

Earlier today my friend Kate and I joined approximately 80,000 others in the “No Kings” march and rally in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was one of thousands of similar events held across the country protesting the increasingly fascist rhetoric and actions of Donald Trump’s presidency. In fact, with an estimated 11-million people participatng in the “No Kings” day of nonviolent civil disobedience, it was the largest protest against a president in U.S. history. This number represents almost 3.5% of the population, a figure that political scientists refer to as the “3.5% rule” and one that should give us hope.

For as the BBC reported in 2019:

Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist at Harvard University, confirms that civil disobedience is not only the moral choice; it is also the most powerful way of shaping world politics – by a long way. Looking at hundreds of campaigns over the last century, Chenoweth found that nonviolent campaigns are twice as likely to achieve their goals as violent campaigns. And although the exact dynamics will depend on many factors, she has shown it takes around 3.5% of the population actively participating in the protests to ensure serious political change.

Yet in the midst of this hope there is also today in Minnesota horror and grief as in the early hours of the morning, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were fatally shot at their home in Brooklyn Park by a man impersonating a police officer. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has called their deaths “a politically motivated assassination.” Hortman was the top Democrat in the Minnesota House and a former House speaker. Walz said another prominent Democrat, state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife Yvette were also shot and wounded at their home in Champlin. Officials have named 57-year-old Vance Boelter of Green Isle, Minn., as a suspect in the shootings and are asking for the public’s help in finding him. Boelter remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous.

Because of this, the majority of “No Kings” events were cancelled across Minnesota, not only because Boelter remains at large but bcause flyers for the St. Paul event at the State Capitol were found by police in his car. Despite this, 80,000 people, including Kate and I, chose to attend the St. Paul “No Kings” march and rally. We would not let fear silence us, choosing instead to embody the words of one of the event’s speakers: “Protesting is what patriotism looks like in public.”

Last night I shared with friends on Facebook images of the two-sided sign I made for today’s “No King” event, along with the following:

It’s a big day tomorrow, what with “No Kings” marches and rallies taking place in thousands of locations across the country. I’ll be attending the one in St. Paul, MN, and for the occasion I’ve made a two-sided sign, the message of which seeks to acknowledge and convey a deeper awareness of what’s being protested.

Yes, Donald Trump has clear authoritarian tendencies and is taking actions that are undermining and dismantling the democratic and humanitarian institutions of the U.S. This needs to be highlighted, resisted, and stopped. For the vast majority of people, this will be their message tomorrow. I support this message. Yet at the same time, many of us don’t see Trump himself as the sole or even primary problem; we see him as a symptom – an undeniably extreme and terrible one – of a deeper reality which for decades has undermined and made a mockery of democracy in this country.

I’m referring to the corrupting influence of corporate money, of special profit-obsessed interests. I’m talking about the corporate capture of our political system; the rise and devastating influence of a corporate aristocracy, an oligarchy to which both major parties bow.

Although such subservience benefits these parties’ coffers, it has proven profoundly detrimental to the well-being of their constituents, the environment, and democracy.

In choosing to appease their corporate donors at the expense of the needs of the people, both parties can be said to be oligarchic; both parties comprise a corporatist/oligarchic duopoly, the policies of which created the economic conditions of profound inequality that make the authoritarian populism of Trump so appealing to so many.

The oligarchy we’re up against is every bit as anti-democratic and thus un-American as any king. Indeed, it’s sadly accurate to say that in the U.S. “money rules,” that “money is king.”

“King” Trump could keel over tomorrow, but the kingship of the oligarchy would remain. It’s this “money is king” reality that I’ll be highlighting and protesting at the “No Kings” rally in St. Paul tomorrow. . . . I look forward to seeing many of my Minnesota friends there!

About the other side of my sign, one friend wondered if I’d get pushback from any “salty Democrats” in attendance; from the “vote blue no matter who” crowd (sometimes referred to as “Blue MAGA”).

I was kinda curious too. After all, the other side of my sign says: “How about next time we dump the duopoly by all agreeing to vote Green.” Yet as my concerned friend pointed out, “Whether offended or not, people gotta wake up.” As it turned out, I received no negative feedback, only the occasional knowing nod of recognition and agreement to the messages of my two-sided sign.

At least one person who shares my perspective opted to skip altogether any “No Kings” events. Dorothy Lennon, who describes herself as a “revolutionary intellectual trying to make the world a better place,” shared the following earlier today on Facebook.

Today there will be dozens of [“No Kings”] rallies organized across the nation. . . . Most of them are centered on President Trump’s flagrant violation of the constitution and his deportation of peaceful immigrants.

I won’t be attending any of them.

Most of these rallies are organized by organizations or people who are “vote blue no matter who” propagandists. They are a covert attempt to grow the ranks of the Democratic Party. That, and the hypocrisy of these rallies is overwhelming.

I didn’t see any of these rallies spring up when Barack Obama was treating the rule of law as a doormat. I didn’t see any of these rallies when both Obama and Joe Biden were deporting millions of undocumented immigrants.

They don’t care about the rule of law or our immigrant brothers and sisters. They care their version of fascism and xenophobia is implemented. The oligarchy isn’t afraid of these rallies. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them are financing them.

Lennon makes a number of valid points. Yet it felt important for me to be part of the “No Kings” movement today, and to convey the deeper message regarding the "kingship" of the oligarchy that I wanted to convey.

Following are some photos I took at today’s “No Kings” march and rally in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Above: My friend Kate, holding the sign I originally made for the inaugural Women’s March in January 2017.

As I noted at the time:

I had decided about a week before the march that I wanted to carry a sign that shared a positive message from an inspiring woman. I therefore decided on words of hope and encouragement from legendary singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. They’re actually lyrics from her song “Getting Started” (from her phenomenal 1992 album Coincidence and Likely Stories). The image incorporated in my sign is one I took of Buffy when I saw her in concert last summer [2016] in Bayfield, WI.

Kate was more than happy to march with my sign from 8 years ago, and it was great to have Buffy be a part of today’s important and inspiring event.

Following are some of my photos from today’s “No Kings” march and rally in St. Paul, Minnesota.