{"id":212272,"date":"2026-03-30T22:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/212272\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:30:09","slug":"cape-coral-rally-part-of-nationwide-no-kings-protests-saturday-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/212272\/","title":{"rendered":"Cape Coral rally part of nationwide \u2018No Kings\u2019 protests Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Protesters carry No Kings signs to a rally held Saturday in Cape Coral.
\nCASEY BRADLEY GENT<\/p>\n

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Bonnie Waldschmidt is among those attending Saturday’s No Kings rally in Cape Coral. Attendees began lining up before the official start time, waving at drivers along the busy intersection, garnering honks and flashed headlights. Ultimately, the stretch on Santa Barbara Boulevard and Veterans Parkway, saw protesters lining the sidewalk three people deep. <\/p>\n

CASEY BRADLEY GENT <\/p>\n

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Protesters gather Saturday in Cape Coral along Santa Barbara Boulevard at Veterans Parkway as part of the nationwide No Kings movement in opposition to actions taken by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

CASEY BRADLEY GENT <\/p>\n

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No Kings protester Frank DeCelie, a New York transplant, said he believes the interrogation actions being taken by ICE, sometimes directed at children, are unconstitutional and he could not continue to witness such things without protest. <\/p>\n

CASEY BRADLEY GENT <\/p>\n

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One of the first No Kings rally attendees at the protest held on Santa Barbara Boulevard near Veterans Parkway Saturday.<\/p>\n

CASEY BRADLEY GENT<\/p>\n

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Cape Coral No Kings rally participants gathered Saturday morning along the intersection of Santa Barbara Boulevard at Veterans Parkway.
\nCASEY BRADLEY GENT <\/p>\n

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Joining efforts across the country, No Kings rallies took place throughout Lee County Saturday, including one in Cape Coral.<\/p>\n

No Kings Cape Coral was a volunteer-organized event, with participants lining the 2500 block of Santa Barbara Boulevard, carrying homemade signs for a peaceful protest scheduled to run from 10 to 11 a.m.<\/p>\n

Attendees began lining up before the official start time, waving at drivers along the busy intersection, garnering honks and flashed lights. Attendees continued to stream out of the nearby shopping center parking lot onto the sidewalks, even after the event\u2019s scheduled 11 a.m. end time. Ultimately, the stretch on Santa Barbara Boulevard and Veterans Parkway, saw protesters lining the sidewalk three people deep. <\/p>\n

Participant Barbara Hall was blunt as to her reason for taking part.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerican soldiers did not land on D-Day for us to have a fascist government,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Others were equally to the point.<\/p>\n

When asked to explain why she chose to attend the Cape Coral No Kings rally, Bonnie Waldschmidt\u2019s voice shook with emotion. <\/p>\n

\u201cJust listen to my voice,\u201d she began. <\/p>\n

Waldschmidt\u2019s words, nearly silent at first, quickly gained volume. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur president needs to be impeached. He has created Alligator Alcatraz, concentration camps, tariffs and death because of his ICE thugs in Minnesota,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Waldschmidt, who had a photograph of 5-year-old detainee Liam Ramos pinned to her shirt, added that if ICE met three criteria, \u201cno face coverings, bodycams on at all times and no homes entered without legal warrants,\u201d the organization would appear, to her, less corrupt. <\/p>\n

Frank DeCelie, a transplant from New York, said he attended Saturday\u2019s protest, \u201cBecause I just can\u2019t take this president anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n

He said he believes the interrogation actions being taken by ICE, sometimes directed at children, are unconstitutional, and he could not continue to witness such things without protest. <\/p>\n

Jim Rosinus, president of Lee County Democrats, said he was incredibly pleased with Saturday\u2019s turnout. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe first No Kings protest was held in Cape Coral in front of the tax office,\u201d Rosinus said. \u201cWe had about 400 attendees at that event in June. I am told the event on Saturday, on Santa Barbara Boulevard, had a headcount of 700. So, we almost doubled our attendees.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rosinus said the rallies held throughout Southwest Florida received \u201ca tremendous turnout.\u201d <\/p>\n

According to the website NoKings.org, the original No Kings rallies held on June 14, 2025 were designed to squelch the president\u2019s then-planned military birthday parade; a parade protesters decried as \u201cTrump\u2019s attempt at a coronation.\u201d <\/p>\n

Four months later, according to the website, the second No Kings events held nationwide on Oct. 18, 2026, rallied more than seven million peaceful demonstrators.<\/p>\n

According to various news accounts, Saturday\u2019s turnout was estimated at more than 8 million participants, including protestors opposed to the conflict in Iran.<\/p>\n

A virtual follow-up to Saturday\u2019s rally is planned by mobilize.us<\/a> on Tuesday, March 31, at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n


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