Protests meant to highlight and counter Trump administration actions characterized by some as authoritarian brought a range of voices and messages to Pittsburgh-area streets Saturday.
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, summarized the day’s big takeaway, saying, “peaceful protest is an American thing” and “we don’t mess around with Kings.”
At the downtown Pittsburgh event, following the singing of “America the Beautiful” shortly before 1 p.m., Legal Director Vic Walczak of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania took to a stage accompanied by a Donald Trump puppet. He told a crowd packed on Grant Street that Trump’s domestic actions constituted an invasion of America.
“Democracy only works if we can criticize our government,” he said. He told the crowd to study resistance movements to oppressive government across the world and emphasized the importance of keeping resistance nonviolent, but “loud, proud and persistent.”
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato told the crowd, “we are keeping the National Guard off these streets” through legal action against the administration. Pennsylvania has joined a multistate lawsuit aiming to keep Trump from further domestic deployments of the Guard.
“We found the money to keep refugees and immigrants in Allegheny County,” Innamorato added, referring to county efforts to fill gaps in funding for programs defunded by Trump.
Deluzio called for the elimination of Super PACs which funnel unlimited funds into political races and called on the administration to “release the Epstein files.”
People at a No Kings protests against the policies of President Donald Trump outside of the City-County Building, Downtown, on Oct. 18. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)
The Downtown event was organized by Indivisible Pittsburgh with Indivisible Black Neighborhoods United, the Black Political Empowerment Project, 1Hood Power, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, Casa San Jose, Progress PA, Stand Up For Science, the League of Women Voters, the Service Employees International Union and the Coalition of Labor Union Women.
Ezra Levin, co-executive director of the nonprofit Indivisible and a leading national organizer of Saturday’s protests, said this week that the demonstrations are a response to Trump’s “crackdown on First Amendment rights.”
No Kings protests against the policies of President Donald Trump at the City-County Building on Oct. 18. (Photo by Eric Jankiewicz/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)
No Kings rally in Downtown Pittsburgh on Oct. 18. (Photo by Eric Jankiewicz/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)
Nationwide, the No Kings movement said it was organizing 2,500 Saturday events nationwide. Local affiliates announced events in Downtown, Allegheny Center, Point Breeze, Mt. Lebanon, McCandless, Coraopolis, Sewickley, Robinson and the county seats of most of Allegheny County’s neighbors.
The protests built upon the June emergence of the No Kings coalition, which sought then to overshadow the parade ordered by President Donald Trump for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, held on his 79th birthday. Confrontations then were isolated and the protests were largely peaceful.
Levin pointed to Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, his unprecedented promises to use federal power to influence midterm elections, restrictions on press freedom and retribution against political opponents, characterizing them as a direct threat to constitutionally protected rights.
Republicans have sought to associate the movement with the ongoing government shutdown and tie it to extremism.
House Speaker Mike Johnson dubbed the event the “Hate America rally” at a news conference on Wednesday. Some state leaders, including Texas’ Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, have decided to activate the National Guard ahead of the protests.
Concerns about large political demonstrations remain heightened since conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated during a speaking event last month.
No Kings organizers have emphasized what they call “a shared commitment to nonviolent protest and community safety.” The “No Kings” organizers have led numerous virtual safety trainings ahead of to the protests with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is listed as an official partner on the “No Kings” website.
The trainings informed viewers about their rights during protests and emphasized de-escalation techniques for encounters with law enforcement.
Each official protest has a safety plan, which includes designated medics and emergency meeting spots.
Eric Jankiewicz is Pittsburgh Public Source’s economic development reporter and can be reached at ericj@publicsource.org.
The Associated Press contributed.
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