By H. Jiahong Pan
Millions of people across the United States, including hundreds of thousands in Minnesota, turned out to the streets to protest the current administration on Saturday.
The protests were a part of the “No Kings” series of events, intended to show disapproval of the Trump administration’s antics. Chief among them, greed, and his approach to civil liberties and immigration enforcement.
After a winter of patrolling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Little Canada, Sarah Sederberg decided to participate in No Kings to seek community. “We’ve all been protesting in our own ways by supporting our community. I’ve been doing a lot of patrolling, so it’s a very singular activity,” Sederberg said.
Three Marches, One Flagship Gathering
The flagship of those events were held on the lawn of the Minnesota State Capitol, where anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 demonstrators converged from three different start points around downtown St. Paul: at the Western Sculpture Park one block west of the Capitol, St. Paul College, and Harriet Island.
Demonstrators saw Bruce Springsteen perform a somber Streets of Minneapolis as well as luminaries speak, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Joan Baez and Jane Fonda.
Fonda, an actress and activist, delivered a statement from Becca Good, the surviving spouse of Renee Good, who was killed by a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in south Minneapolis in January.
Local activists and elected officials also took the stage, including Nekima Levy Armstrong, Gov. Tim Walz, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, and Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Union officials also took the stage, lambasting Trump’s support for billionaires. “When everything in this country is so damn expensive, and Trump’s answer is to cut the taxes of his billionaire friends? Is that a country that works for working people? Hell no,” AFL-CIO president Liz Schuler said.
“Donald Trump was elected because he claimed he wanted families to have a better, more affordable life. Instead, he’s made it harder to get by. That is the way kings act, not presidents. He chose a war that is costing a billion dollars a day. He tripled ICE’s budget, but he couldn’t find enough money to extend the (Affordable Care Act) tax credits,” added American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.
No Kings demonstrators also gathered along Main Street in Anoka, with about 2,000 demonstrators holding signs along two blocks of Main Street. Smaller demonstrations occurred on bridges over Interstate 94 in St. Paul, as well as over Highway 252 in Brooklyn Park, and on main drags of communities elsewhere in Minnesota.
How else to get involved besides protesting?
When Katie Baughman was younger, she participated in many protests. “I got concussion grenaded and smoke bombed. I have been stampeded,” Baughman said as she held an elaborate double-sided sign with fist cutouts and a cat meme.
Nowadays, she supports people through her somatic therapy work, as well as co-owning a martial arts studio. “I stay back, and I just take care and do some healing with people who have to go through what they’ve been going through,” Baughman said.
Still, Baughman decided she needed to show up on Saturday. “This is a really powerful nationwide movement, so I wanted to show my support to that. I think anybody who is supporting Trump is giving up on life.”
Many others have done ICE patrols, as well as met their neighbors to ensure their immigrant neighbors stayed safe. “We would make sure the coast is clear for our immigrant friends, workers, just people that’s part of the community,” said Michael Ingram of Brooklyn Center as he marched on Wabasha Street toward the Capitol while wearing a protest sign on his back that contained skull and the words “Fight For Your Freedom” superimposed over the current Minnesota flag.
People can also vote. “Not just voting on national elections, but small, local elections really, really matter too. We have local representatives, some who are doing a really good job looking after our interests, and some who are letting mining into the Boundary Waters,” International Falls resident Kate Severson said at the Anoka No Kings demonstration.
