Calls for love and solidarity rebounded through Buckley Park on Saturday afternoon where several thousand protesters gathered for a third No Kings march and rally.
The protest, as with previous No Kings events, was held in more than 1,000 towns and cities across the country on Saturday in a movement of defiance against President Donald Trump and his administration.
The march began with a rally at Buckley Park and went down Main Avenue to Fifth Street. Organizers said they had all the proper permits in place to close Main Avenue. They limited speakers to half an hour, noting they had a tight timeline to demonstrate in compliance with permits.
National No Kings organizers expected the nationwide protests to draw about 9 million people across the country on Saturday, KPTV reported. The last No Kings event in October had an estimated 7 million attendees, and the first No Kings protest in June had about 5 million participants.
The Durango Herald estimated 3,200 or more protesters attended the march in Durango on Saturday.
Officers from Durango Police Department were on scene to monitor event and escort the march. Barricades were placed at 13th and 14th streets bordering Buckley Park to keep vehicle traffic out of the staging area.
Hecklers appeared to be few and far between. The Herald observed one man riding a bicycle and aggressively shouting “Democracy in action.”
A group of teenagers on the 1200 block of Main Avenue watched protesters march by. The Herald observed a teenage girl say to a boy, “Dare me to yell ‘I support Trump?’”
One protester passed masks out to participants in Buckley Park, noting a police camera tower placed in the grass near the southwest end of the park.
Several speakers rallied the crowd before it marched up Main Avenue.
Buckley Park was sparsely populated as of 1 p.m. But over the course of about 30 minutes, hundreds of attendees from the greater Durango area made their way onto the grass, many carrying signs expressing their displeasure with the current administration or demanding accountability.
“Turn the files into trials,” “Make corruption criminal again” and “No kings, no ICE, no liars, no ballrooms, no wars” were just some of the messages displayed on protesters’ signs.
The Iran war, the Epstein files and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were common grievances with the Trump administration. However, solidarity and community were on protesters’ minds as well.
“It’s just so great to see everybody coming together over a common cause,” said Durango resident Zoey Wisler.
She said the protest on Saturday was her first No Kings event and the vibes were “fire” and “immaculate” because she felt welcome and a part of something.
“We all have our differences, but at the end of the day we are all human beings,” she said.
Durango resident Craig Himmelmann said Congress isn’t doing the job the framers of the U.S. Constitution intended.
“They’ve laid down,” he said. “The DOJ (U.S. Department of Justice) is being used against the American people. I don’t see a lot we can do other than this – peaceful demonstrations that will grow and grow and grow, and eventually, our legislators need to wake up and do their jobs or get out.”
He said he is optimistic about getting new congresspeople into power through the November midterm elections. The only thing that gives him pause is if the Trump administration were to attempt to suspend elections because of the conflict with Iran.
“We were in Vietnam and Afghanistan and no postponement of elections ever took place,” he said. “The elections better not be postponed because there’s no precedent for that, and that’s what I’m concerned about.”
Durango resident Jim Fuge chimed in, saying the United States has never postponed elections because of any conflict – including the American Civil War.
Trump has entertained the idea of delaying or canceling elections before, including in a 30-minute interview with Reuters on Jan. 14.
“When you think of it, we shouldn't even have an election,” Trump said, according to Reuters.
Reuters reported Trump made the comment in the context of his administration’s success – that he is doing so well, midterm elections aren’t necessary.
Fuge said he was concentrated on “unity, energy and understanding you have to fight” on Saturday. “This doesn’t happen by accident. People aren’t here just because they have nothing better to do.”
He noted how quickly Buckley Park was filling with people in the span of five to 10 minutes. He said No Kings is about speaking up and voicing one’s concerns. He said he has talked to Trump supporters who are upset about the Iran war – and he would welcome them to attend a No Kings event to voice their thoughts.
According to reporting by Axios, Trump has called the conflict with Iran “a little excursion,” “major combat operations,” a “war” that “has been won” and “both” an excursion and a war.
One protester from Aztec, who declined to provide their name because they work in the public sector, said Trump lied about lowering gas prices, fixing the economy and releasing the Epstein files.
“He was giving his speeches and he made all these promises, and they’ve mostly turned out to be lies,” they said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
