{"id":4500,"date":"2025-10-15T10:25:56","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T10:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/4500\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T10:25:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T10:25:56","slug":"st-petersburg-among-more-than-70-florida-cities-taking-part-in-no-kings-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/4500\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Petersburg among more than 70 Florida cities taking part in ‘No Kings’ protests"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the largest mobilization against the policies of the Trump administration since the president returned to the White House in January, Floridians gathered in more than 70 cities as part of the nationwide \u201cNo Kings Day\u201d protests.<\/p>\n

In Tallahassee, several groups came together four weeks ago to organize the protest that drew thousands to the Florida Historic Capitol, said Claudia Sperber, one of the co-organizers and president of the Leon County Chapter of the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida.<\/p>\n

Organizers emphasized safety training in their preparations for Saturday, in light of the warnings earlier this week from state and local officials promising to quash violent protests by any means necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to be careful, but we refused to be bullied,\u201d Sperber said. \u201cWe know it is a classic playbook from a dictator to make people feel afraid, and we refused to be afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Approximately 5,000 protested in Tallahassee, according to the organizers. That number is not independently verified.<\/p>\n

During a Thursday press conference with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey warned protesters that disobeying or hurting law enforcement would lead to arrests and death.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you throw a brick, a fire bomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at because we will kill you, graveyard dead,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Tallahassee event was unfolding as news flashed about a shooting in Minnesota<\/a>, where a Democratic legislator and her husband were killed, and another legislator and his wife were seriously injured. That prompted authorities in that state to warn people against attending the rallies.<\/p>\n

However, the demonstration in the state capital, which started at 10 a.m., remained peaceful. There was a group of four Trump supporters in the crowd.<\/p>\n

Chants, songs, and speeches filled the air for four hours. \u201cStand up, fight back. Stop the madman now,\u201d a group of women sang.<\/p>\n

Even as the official programming ended, crowds remained in front of the Florida Historic Capitol and lining up along Monroe Street, one of the city\u2019s main roads. Among those who attended the event were Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, and Rick Wilson, the famed anti-Trumper and co-founder of the Lincoln Project.<\/p>\n

Brizeida Pati\u00f1o, 19, said she came to the protest to stand up for her parents, who immigrated from Mexico, and the immigrant community in Tallahassee. More than two weeks ago, federal immigration officials and Florida Highway Patrol conducted the largest raid<\/a>\u00a0in the state so far to crack down on illegal immigration, targeting a construction site near the Florida State University campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents immigrated from Mexico, trying to seek a better life for me, my siblings, and they\u2019ve done a great job, and they\u2019ve done no harm to this country,\u201d she said. \u201cMatter of fact, they\u2019ve definitely made it better. They\u2019re hard-working people, the same way all these other Hispanic, Latino, people of color.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a video from the No Kings protest crowd near the Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, and story featuring reporting from St. Pete protests www.cltampa.com\/tampa\/st-pet\u2026<\/p>\n

[image or embed]<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u2014 Creative Loafing Tampa Bay (@cltampabay.bsky.social<\/a>) June 15, 2025 at 7:49 AM<\/a> St. Petersburg There were protests all over the state, including one near Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach resort and home of Trump. Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg, more than 1,000 demonstrators gathered on the street corners of three intersections. <\/p>\n

Many of the protesters\u2019 signs in St. Pete expressed anger about the unprecedented number of raids of undocumented immigrants performed by the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) in recent months. Public protests against one such raid last week in Los Angeles compelled President Trump to call up 2,000 soldiers from California\u2019s Guard against the wishes of Gov. Gavin Newsom, which has few precedents in U.S. history.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s deporting people unlawfully,\u201d said St. Petersburg resident Neil Pajwa. \u201cThey\u2019re not getting proper due process. He\u2019s using the military, which has almost never been used before. I think he\u2019s setting himself up to basically be a dictator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pajwa said he was particularly disturbed by a speech Trump gave at Fort Bragg, N.C., this week at which uniformed soldiers cheered the president\u2019s political comments.<\/a>\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve never seen the military vocally supporting such statements,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was very scary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhonda Keller said she\u2019s not confident that protests bring about change but felt it was important to participate. She noted that in the past 48 hours, Trump has told ICE to pause raids and arrests in the agriculture industry, hotels, and restaurants. For Keller, the reversal of policy shows that Trump is a \u201cmasterful manipulator.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe he\u2019s a bright human being, but he is a masterful manipulator, and for him to control the narrative and to say, \u2018Oh, we need to not hurt our farmworkers this way or our hospitality industry this way.\u2019 Like dude, you were literally the one who is hurting them and now the MAGA people are going to be able to say, \u2018See, he doesn\u2019t want to hurt farmworkers,\u2019 even though we are actively hurting them,\u201d Keller said.<\/p>\n

Several people in the crowd said that to date they have been disappointed with the Democrats, who are in the minority in Congress and Florida government.<\/p>\n

Ruth Liss, a senior citizen, walked through the crowd with a sign that read, \u201cCongress: Sale on Balls \u2014 you need \u2018em!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just surprised that he has people who keep kowtowing to him,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m sick and tired of having to hide under the sofa and that\u2019s exactly what Congress is doing. That\u2019s what everybody in a suit seems to be doing,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel that the country is frightened. I think that the country is fed-up, and we don\u2019t know what to do and this is the only way we can start.\u201d<\/p>\n

While most in the St. Petersburg rally expressed optimism about the future, none thought the political situation in Washington would course-correct anytime soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to get worse before it\u2019s going to get better but it starts here, right?\u201d said Keara Kersey. \u201cIt just brings awareness, and we\u2019re getting a lot of support here. Maybe it changes some minds.\u201d [content-1] Kearsey said she had been uncertain about attending Saturday\u2019s event because of fears of violence breaking out. She said she was disturbed to hear Gov. Ron DeSantis say<\/a>\u00a0this week that drivers who feel threatened by protesters should hit them with their cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our right to free speech to protest,\u201d Kearsey responded. \u201cYou don\u2019t see any violence around here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Protesters near Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 14, 2025. Credit: Courtesy photo\"\"<\/a>Protesters near Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 14, 2025. Credit: Courtesy photo\"\"<\/a>Protesters near Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 14, 2025. Credit: Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Protesters near Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 14, 2025. Credit: Courtesy photo\"\"<\/a>Protesters near Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 14, 2025. Credit: Courtesy photo\"\"<\/a>Protesters near Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 14, 2025. Credit: Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Protesters near Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 14, 2025. Credit: Courtesy photo\"\"<\/a>Protesters near Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 14, 2025. Credit: Courtesy photo\"\"<\/a>Protesters near Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 14, 2025. Credit: Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Protesters near Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 14, 2025. Credit: Courtesy photo\"\"<\/a>Protesters near Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 14, 2025. Credit: Courtesy photo\"\"<\/a>Protesters near Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 14, 2025. Credit: Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

Additional Slideshows\t<\/p>\n

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