Opponents of President Donald J. Trump’s administration are once again rallying today at thousands of locations around the U.S. – and dozens upstate – as part of the latest round of “No Kings” protests.
At least 20 gatherings are planned between Glens Falls and Ossining. They are just a portion of the rallies planned across upstate New York.
The first “No Kings” protests were held on June 14, a date organizers picked to coincide with the military parade in Washington that marked the Army’s 250th anniversary, which fell on Trump’s birthday.
Saturday’s rallies come as the federal government remains shut down. On its website, No Kings lists a variety of grievances against the Trump administration, ranging from the cost of living to its aggressive approach to immigration enforcement.
This mobilization is expected to be the largest, with more than 2,400 rallies scheduled throughout the country, up from 2,100 in June, the Associated Press reported. More than 280 coalitions have signed on as partners, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Indivisible and the Human Rights Campaign.
Republican leaders and the White House have denounced the effort, with House Speaker Mike Johnson, of Louisiana, calling it “the Hate America rally.”
2:55 p.m.: A diverse crowd has filled the Seventh Street Park in Hudson, where speakers are taking turns delivering speeches to the crowd.
Jackie Salvatore, a candidate for Columbia County sheriff, has spoken as well as state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, Hudson mayor Kamal Johnson and Tom Gerety, a lawyer and philosopher.
Guillermo Maciel, from the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement, encouraged people in the crowd to volunteer with immigration organizations and to stand up for “your friends and neighbors.”
A crowd of protesters fills Hudson’s Seventh Street Park for a “No Kings” rally on Saturday. (Maria Silva/Times Union)
Indivisible Columbia New York, which organized the “No Kings” rally in Hudson, estimates there are about 800 people in attendance.
Indivisible Columbia New York received support from the Columbia County Democratic Committee, Volunteer Protestors Hudson and Melmar Heavy Industries to put on the rally.
Protesters could be heard chanting “Climate can’t wait,” and “This is what democracy looks like.”
Crystal Perry, a political organizer from 1199 SEIU, the health care union, is in Seventh Street Park handing out petitions demanding that members of Congress stand up against cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.
“Everything that built America is at jeopardy right now,” she said. – Maria Silva
1 p.m.: More than 100 people are gathered in the Albany County hilltown of Rensselaerville for a “No Kings” rally.
People are scattered throughout the town park. Carrying signs that read “It’s not right or left, it’s right or wrong,” or “Democracy now,” many are watching as speakers rally the crowd from beneath a park shelter.
More than 100 people gathered in the town park in Rensselaerville for its “No Kings” rally on Saturday. (Will Waldron/Times Union)
The crowd eventually left the park and marched up Delaware Turnpike to the firehouse.
Meanwhile, roughly 300 people are in Saugerties for its “No Kings” rally.
Around 300 people attended a “No Kings” rally in Saugerties on Saturday. (Susan Farkas/For the Times Union)
Protesters are gathering for what’s expected to be a one-hour rally at Market and Main streets. – Will Waldron, Elizabeth Izzo, Susan Farkas
12:40 p.m.: Elected officials were seen at “No Kings” rallies in both Albany and Catskill.
U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, a Democrat from Amsterdam, was shaking hands and talking to marchers and those along the route in Albany. He was beaming from the energy in the crowd as he stood at the corner of Western Avenue and Parkwood.
“This is what democracy looks like,” Tonko said, glancing at the assembled crowds. “I mean, really, along this stretch, so many people are enthusiastic, and they’re offering their time here because they believe in our republic, and they want to maintain the democracy, and they see the abuses.”
Rep. Paul Tonko, a Democrat from Amsterdam, speaks with protesters at the “No Kings” rally on Western Avenue in Albany on Saturday. (Larry Rulison/Times Union)
In Catskill, state Sen. Michelle Hinchey also spoke to protesters.
State Sen. Michelle Hinchey speaks through a megaphone at a “No Kings” rally in Catskill on Saturday. (Maria Silva/Times Union)
“Our First Amendment right, the right to peacefully protest, is what we are exercising here today, and we have to show the people in the Trump administration and in the federal government that we will not ignore the fact that they are systematically dismantling the institutions that have built this country,” Hinchey, a Democrat who represents the Hudson Valley and Catskills, told the Times Union. “We have to make sure that we are standing up for our rights, that we actually believe in the rule of law, and that we are living by the values that the founding fathers of this country set out to believe or set out to create with the promise of America.
“And right now we are seeing, as I said, a systematic effort to ignore those principles and to empower the billionaire class, incredibly wealthy people, and big corporations at the expense of working people across this country and being here in Catskill in Greene County is really important,” she said. – Larry Rulison, Maria Silva
12:30 p.m.: Sisters Lauren and Leah Gardner of Clifton Park were standing along Western Avenue in Albany with a big homemade “No Kings” sign that drew many of the marchers’ curiosity. Some took selfies with the sisters and their banner.
Leah Gardner, left and her sister Lauren Gardner, holding their sign at the “No Kings” rally in Albany on Saturday. (Larry Rulison/Times Union)
Leah is in a master’s degree program at the University of Albany and Lauren just graduated from Albany Law School.
“One of our friends made the sign. She’s a much better painter than we are,” Gardner said. “And we’re just here to show solidarity with the rest of the country and showing that we want this tyrant out.”
Chris Ruthman of Guilderland was standing at the corner of Western Avenue and Elmwood Street, waving an American flag and wearing a Viking helmet. He said he had been waiting all week to attend. He said he believes peaceful, organized protests are the way to express displeasure with presidential policies you don’t like.
“This is the best we can do. We’ve been voted out. Democrats are out of power. A peaceful protest is the maximum thing you can do,” he said.
He added that just by showing up, it sends a message to others.
“Show that you aren’t afraid to express your descent. If you’re afraid to express that, then you might as well live in an autocracy,” he said. – Larry Rulison
12:30 p.m.: A portion of Catskill’s Main Street was closed to traffic early Saturday afternoon as people quickly gathered for one of the dozens of “No Kings” rallies organized across the region.
According to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, approximately 250 to 300 people are now in attendance.
One of the attendees was Chris, a woman from Santa Fe, Calif. who declined to share her last name out of fear she could be targeted by the Trump administration. She interrupted her trip from San Francisco, Canada and New York to have her voice heard on Saturday.
One woman, who identified herself only as Chris for fear of retribution by the Trump administration, interrupted her trip from San Francisco, Canada and New York to have her voice heard at the “No Kings” event in Catskill on Saturday. (Maria Silva/Times Union)
Holding a sign that read “Life, Liberty and Pursuit of happiness Justice for all,” Chris said she’d grown concerned at the National Guard being deployed in cities like Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.
“I’m gravely concerned about the inclinations towards fascism shown and exhibited by this administration,” she said.
Some attendees dressed up in costumes for the rally, including one protestor who arrived wearing a gorilla suit. – Maria Silva
Nearly 100 people, including Ken Segal, pictured, gathered outside the Greene County courthouse in Catskill on Saturday as part of a wave of nationwide “No Kings” protests. “I’m here because I believe that the current leadership of the country is fascist oriented, is limiting free speech and is increasing inequality and benefiting the super wealthy to the detriment of poor people,” Segal said. (Maria Silva/Times Union)
Noon: Outside of the Greene County courthouse in Catskill, nearly 100 people are standing on the courthouse steps and on the sidewalks.
Some are carrying signs, some American flags. One man, Ken Segal, held a framed poster featuring a list by Laurence W. Britt on the early warning signs of fascism.
Segal traveled from his home about 25 minutes away to attend the rally.
“I’m here because I believe that the current leadership of the country is fascist oriented, is limiting free speech and is increasing inequality and benefiting the super wealthy to the detriment of poor people,” he said. – Maria Silva
11:30 a.m.: Further down Western Avenue in Albany, toward Fuller Road, a large crowd is gathering.
Protesters are carrying signs reading slogans such as “We will not be silenced! Defend Democracy” and “We the people have the power.”
As cars pass by, a chorus of honks is ringing out.
Protesters gather at Fuller Road and Western Avenue in Albany on Saturday as part of a second wave of “No Kings” protests throughout the country. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Nearby, University at Albany football fans were also seen driving onto campus for early tailgating as the band was practicing, adding to the overall din of drums and anticipation.
Marianna Achlaoug, co-chair of organizing for Indivisible Albany, said she was hoping to see 20,000 people at the Western Avenue event.
About 25 minutes before the start of the march, she was telling people where to stand in a long line of protesters that stretched down Fuller Road as they prepared to walk down Western Avenue toward Manning Boulevard, where the procession was expected to end.
She was asked how many people she thought had already arrived.
“Oh, gosh, from the amount of people that I have been telling to get to the back of the march line to be the new caboose to the people who are coming dressed as inflatable animals, I would say we have quite, if not over a few thousand already,” she said, megaphone in hand.
She said 50 community groups and numerous elected officials were invited. Congregations from seven churches were expected to participate. They also organized a food drive happening today, she added.
“If you can think of it, this is going to be the best community event of the season,” Achlaoug said. – Larry Rulison
11 a.m.: Expected to be one of the largest rallies in the Capital Region, protesters were already beginning to gather on Western Avenue in Albany one hour ahead of the event’s noon start time.
Many clad in yellow – a color chosen to symbolize unity, according to the No Kings website – people are walking to Western Avenue after parking their cars, as if getting ready for a parade. Cars are honking at those assembled as others stream by on foot toward the start of the march at Executive Park.
Paul Fisk, of Latham, came early to set up a sign and chairs for fellow members of the Albany Unitarian Universalist church.
Fisk said church members are “concerned about the Democratic principles being lost.”
“They want to uphold the principles and beliefs that we share on the worth and dignity of every individual, and there are lots of rights that are being lost here,” he said.
Debbie Deeb, of Niskayuna, was standing next to a group of people she knew who had set up a table on Western Avenue near the intersection with Clarendon Road.
“I am here today because I do not believe what is going on in our present administration is for the people. I think that it’s dangerous for our Constitution,” she said. “It’s dangerous for people who do not have money in our country because they don’t have a voice. So, I guess this is just the way to say there are others out there who think that what’s going on is not the right course of action for America, right now.” – Larry Rulison
Albany’s rally will take place from noon to 2 p.m. today. It will take place on Western Avenue from Fuller Road to Manning Boulevard.
In the Capital Region, rallies are also planned in:
Troy: Riverfront Park, 3-5 p.m.
Clifton Park: Clifton Commons along Vischer Ferry Road, 2-3 p.m.
Saratoga Springs: Broadway at Congress Park near Spring Street, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Glens Falls: City Park, 10 a.m.-noon
Rensselaerville: Rensselaerville Town Park, 1 p.m
Johnstown: Johnstown Arterial, Route 30A, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Greenwich: Mowry Park, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Cobleskill: Veterans Memorial Centre Park, noon-2 p.m.
Salem: Four corners Route 22, 10-11 a.m.
NoKings.org lists several rallies in the Hudson Valley:
Hudson: Seventh Street Park, 1-3 p.m.
Catskill: Catskill courthouse, noon-3 p.m.
Tannersville: 6006 Main St., 10-11 a.m.
Woodstock: Woodstock Elementary School, noon-1 p.m.
Saugerties: Market and Main streets, noon-1 p.m.
Kingston: Academy Green Park, 2-3:30 p.m.
Rhinebeck: Lions Minipark, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Poughkeepsie: Waryas Park, noon-2 p.m.
Newburgh: Montgomery Street & 2nd Street, 10 a.m.-noon
Beacon: Veterans Place, noon-4 p.m.
Cornwall: Cornwall Plaza Sidewalk, noon-2 p.m.
Middletown: Boston Market Sidewalk, 3:15-5 p.m.
Goshen: 255 Main St., 2-4 p.m.
Ossining: Louis Engel Waterfront Park, 2-4 p.m.
This article originally published at Hundreds participate in ‘No Kings’ protests across upstate New York.