30,000 fill the streets of Providence for No Kings Day

Alana M. Carroll

Art Director 

A protest against the Trump Administration on Oct. 18 filled the State House’s yard. The crowd of protestors, over 30,000 people strong, proceeded to march from Providence Place to Kennedy Plaza, chanting, waving signs and passing flyers. Individuals of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs came together under one motto: “No Kings!”

 “I’ve been attending protests against government policy since the 1960s,” said Stephen Cabral during an interview with the Anchor. “It’s amazing to be in my 70s and finding myself still in the streets with people of my own age, their children and their grandchildren. The wheel turns.”

The protest was one of thousands under the “No Kings” moniker that occurred on Saturday. Organized by the Rhode Island Resistance Coalition, it was the largest of multiple demonstrations within the state alone.

After the march, the crowd returned to the State House steps. “Just turn around and look at the thousands of people,” instructed Alisha A. Pina from the podium on the marble steps. “If that doesn’t make you proud to be a Rhode Islander, then I don’t know what will.” Applause and cheering filled the air. Pina, from East Providence, served as the emcee for the event and introduced each other speaker, including Raging Grannies, a group of grandmothers who sang a couple of protest songs, including one they called “Things That Go Trump in the Night”.

Other notable speeches were given by RIC alumni Reem Said-Awad and Rhode Island House Representative David Morales, the youngest Latino ever elected to a state legislature in the US.

“I’m a Palestinian woman, immigrant, raised in a land that is not my homeland,” Reem shared into the microphone. In addition to advocating for the rights of immigrants in the United States, Reem spoke of the occupation in Palestine and emphasized the need for further advocacy and action. 

“The struggle of Palestine is not just a regional conflict. It is a global and moral test.” Reem spoke on the violence through a speaker, she was not the only person motivated to protest because of the Trump Administration’s stance on Israel.

“The fact that [Donald Trump is] still sending money overseas while claiming ‘America first,’ … Asking [the Israeli President] for Netanyahu to get a pardon, everything just started piling up,” shared Seth Giguere. “Beyond a certain point, it’s one of those things where, even if you’re non-political, you can't just put your head in the sand and refuse it.

“We stand here today to send a clear message to the fascists in DC: that we will not turn our back on our immigrant neighbors.“ Morales’ speech was on the rights of immigrants, drawing comparisons between ICE and the Gestapo. “For months we have watched as masked thugs, watched as a rogue agency known as ICE has marched into our communities, has militarized our neighborhoods and has kidnapped immigrants right in broad daylight. People have been detained and deported without any due process.” The crisis emphasized by Morales seemed to be a significant motivator for many protestors in attendance, bearing signs rejecting and shaming the government agency.

“I volunteer at a free clinic, Clinic Esparanza, and most of our patients are Spanish speaking,” shared Sandra Urban-Lynch. The clinic, also known as “Hope Clinic” on Valley Street, provides care to uninsured Rhode Islanders in need of medical assistance. “Every time I go to the clinic, I just wonder what’s happening next. If [patients] don’t show up, we worry about them.”

Fellow protestor Christian Bryody, when asked if anything spurred him to action, stated: “Everything going on with immigration… ICE popping up in places where there is no national border.” He came to the event with hope for what it would symbolize to the people of Providence, and to Rhode Islanders as a whole: “More people getting better knowledge about everything that’s going on. [Gaining] a deeper understanding of each other and everything that’s going on in the world that we all take place in.”

Immigration and Israel were two of the bigger motivations that brought Rhode Islanders to the capitol, yet they were just two out of dozens of reasons residents of the Ocean State came together to express dissatisfaction. “They have different issues. Special education and immigrants or cutting healthcare, cutting research… Everyone has their passion,” agreed Irene St. Germain, a former Brown University Professor from Prudence Island. “To me, it’s all of them. The more it happens, the more I’m [angered]. I think it’s the lack of research. Cutting cancer research.”

Many also vocally opposed Trump and his administration’s reluctance and even refusal to release the Epstein Files. The files reference pedophile Jeffery Epstein and his list of clientele in his child trafficking ring. Epstein was a known close friend of Trump. “The thing that upset me the most is [that] I have two daughters, and the whole Epstein files not being released is, to me, disgraceful,” stated Tracy Harmon.

Most in attendance stood unified in their disapproval of the current administration, there were a few voices seeking to counter the crowd. Most were dissuaded by the crowd and law enforcement, but a small group of representatives from Turning Point USA, the organization founded by the now-deceased Charlie Kirk, set a booth up by the statehouse. This booth was surrounded and protected by more than five armed officers, with individuals who sought to confront them being discouraged by police. 

Robert Chiaradio, a member of the Rhode Island Turning Point chapter, insulted the name in a post on X, insinuating that it should be called the “We Hate America” protest.“Many of these people are lost and broken and will never be fixed,” Chiaradio said. “They are godless and soulless, and I truly believe that Satan seizes on the opportunity to work his evil through weak and vulnerable people.” Almost every protestor at the event seemed to carry the opposite sentiment, however, waving American flags and donning costumes of American icons, including the Statue of Liberty and Abraham Lincoln. 

In spite of the opposition, protestors left the event feeling empowered and optimistic. The event concluded with a cover of America the Beautiful by emcee Pina. The song choice made it clear to those in attendance that, despite what the opposition may claim, the protests are a result of a love for America and a desire to witness its continued growth and survival. While Chiaradio claimed the individuals at these protests were fueled by hatred of the United States, this was not the case.

Robert Allott, a Rhode Island artist who shared his work at the event, stated: “We need to save our democracy from the fangs of tyranny.”

Urban-Lynch agreed. “It’s frightening, and if we don’t do something about it, that’ll be the end. But I truly believe that we the people have more power than those idiotic people in charge, who are now in power. Their power is crumbling … They’re afraid, and they should be afraid, because we outnumber them.”

A collection of photos for the event can be viewed here.