OKLAHOMA CITY – At the Oklahoma City NO KINGS rally, more than 2,000 people gathered at City Hall on a rainy, and sometimes stormy, Saturday morning for a peaceful protest organized by a coalition of local groups.
The crowd came out with colorful signs, costumes, and loud chants to take part in the “No Kings” rally.
Bad weather, an occasional blaring tornado siren, and a loud grinding machine doing construction in the nearby parking garage all created challenging conditions, but the event pressed on.
The demonstration was organized by groups including 50501 Oklahoma, Indivisible Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma City Democratic Socialists of America, among others. Organizers have also held past events such as the “Hands Off” protest, the last “No Kings” protest, and “Rage Against the Regime.” All, including today’s event, were nonviolent demonstrations.
The first speaker at Saturday’s rally, who identified herself only as “Nina,” took the stage to chants of “Fuck Trump” echoing across the crowd.
“I am so deeply grateful that you are here today. Not just for showing up, but for bringing your courage, your conviction and your care into this space. We gather here because we refuse to be silent,” she began.
She continued: “We don’t come together out of fear, we come together out of love. Love for our neighbors, our families, and our friends. For people we don’t know, and for the fragile but still beautiful idea of democracy itself.”
Nina said the group would not “bend the knee” to any tyrant, emphasizing that, in her view, the country belongs to everyone.
“We’re rising up and saying ‘enough.’ Enough of the greed, enough of the corruption, enough of the power hoarded at the top while our rights and futures are stripped away from us. We are done with government by ego and allegiance, and we demand—no, we deserve and demand—a government anchored in law and truth and care for the people it serves,” she said, prompting loud cheers.
She added, “Along with that, we demand they keep the military out of politics. Our troops swore an oath to the Constitution, not to any man or any political agenda. And we reject the use of the National Guard to invade and intimidate our democratic-led cities or any cities.”
A symbolic “trial”
Later in the program, organizers staged a symbolic “trial” of former President Donald Trump, accusing him of what they called crimes against the Constitution. Nicole Maldonado, a self-described queer immigrant, took the stage in the role of prosecutor.
“We gather here today, not as Republicans or Democrats, not as left or right, we gather as the people, and the people bring charges,” Maldonado said. “The defendant, Donald J. Trump, stands accused before this assembly, not in a courthouse bound by procedure and delay, but here, in the court of public judgment, in the court of American conscience.”
Article 1, according to Maldonado, was “abuse of power and betrayal of public trust.”
“He declared fake emergencies to seize power that wasn’t his. He mobilized federal forces against American communities. He purged thousands of federal workers who wouldn’t pledge loyalty to him,” Maldonado said.
Article 2 was “obstruction of justice and defiance of oversight.” Maldonado accused Trump of firing “19 inspectors general, the watchdogs whose jobs it is to investigate corruption,” and of pardoning Jan. 6 rioters.
Article 3 was “corruption, bribery, and constitutional crimes.”
“He signed an executive order stripping citizenship of American babies. He continued the deliberate use of federal forces to traumatize communities. ICE raids are ripping parents from kids at homes, near schools, and workplaces. He blew up boats coming from Venezuela, claiming drug cartels, but offering no proof,” they said.
“Three articles. Twenty-five grounds. Thousands of victims. But here’s what he forgot. We don’t have kings in America. We had a revolution about that.”
Voices from the No Kings crowd
Oklahoma City Free Press spoke with several participants at the rally.
One protester, who asked to be identified only as “CDA,” said they came to “fight for democracy.”
“I just truly feel the way our country [is] being led right now is not in line with our Constitution, and I feel like America needs to come together and let our leaders know that we demand that our Constitutional freedoms be allowed for us,” CDA said.
They continued: “For one, open the government. Give us health care at an affordable cost, and follow the Constitutional laws that are set before us by our forefathers.”
Paul Reynolds, another attendee, told Free Press he was motivated by what he described as the current state of the union.
“We have a Republican Party and a president that are trying to take over the country,” Reynolds said.
“I want to say we still have due process,” he added. “It’s slow, but it’s working its way through, and I’m hoping that Congress and the courts will uphold the rule of law.”
Reynolds said the biggest issue for him is corruption in office, calling Trump “the most corrupt politician in history.”
Peaceful atmosphere
The demonstration remained peaceful throughout. A small number of counter-protesters held signs and made occasional conversational remarks to individual attendees on the edges of the crowd, but there were no visible conflicts or major incidents.
The Oklahoma City Police Department later in the day confirmed to Free Press that there had been no arrests connected with the rally.
While the crowd was diverse in background and message, many attendees expressed deep dissatisfaction with Trump and the federal government, calling for sweeping changes at the highest levels of power.
Alex Gatley covers labor activities in the state of Oklahoma.
