Families, Flags, and Fury: Denver Joins Nationwide 'No Kings' March
Protestors march by the Populus hotel on Colfax during the “No Kings” protest on June 14.
photo by Giles Clasen
Story by Juli Yanai and Giles Clasen
At Denver’s Lincoln Veterans Park, the “No Kings” rally looked more like a neighborhood gathering than a clash with power, but the words displayed on protesters’ signs and flags were defiant and clear: President Donald Trump’s policies are illegal and hurting people.
The downtown streets and lawn of the Capitol were filled with more than 10,000 people marking one the largest protests of Trump’s second term. The protest coincided with more than 2,000 protests across Colorado and the United States as millions marched against the President.
“I’m a person who loves all people. I’m a fifth-generation Coloradan, and the thing I like about Colorado is that when you come out here for a protest, you don’t just see one color, one gender, one specific group,” said Rick Martinez. “We need to spread awareness. We cannot have this kind of tyranny going on in our country. He’s basically shown every single narcissistic trait of a dictator, and you know what happened to the world the last time there was a dictator who tried to run the world.”
Other protesters at the rally echoed similar sentiments, expressing the importance of raising awareness and seeing the intersectionality of political issues to fight for a common cause. Protest signs called for LGBTQ+, trans, and immigrant rights, as well as rights for other groups affected by the Trump Administration.
Ana Escobar said she was protesting because her parents were immigrants and she wants all immigrants to have the same opportunity and path to citizenship that her parents were offered.
“My mom came here so that my sister could get medical attention, or else she was going to probably die in Mexico, not because it's a bad country, but it's just where she was from was very poor,” Escobar said, “My dad came here to escape the Salvadoran Civil War, which was founded by the United States.”
Escobar was adamant that when people come together they can create change.
“We're more similar than we are different. These problems affect everybody. It doesn't matter what you look like or where you're from, and that's all excellent,” Escobar said.
Julio Castro said he was at the protest to represent his father who was arrested by ICE and deported when Castro was 10 years old during the Obama administration. He said it is impossible to express the damage done when families are torn apart by unjust policy.
“We could help immigrants rather than deport them. People come here with nothing. There's no place for them [where they came from]. All they know is, here in the US, we have opportunity,” Castro said.
Susan Ryan, a longtime nonprofit project manager, said she was at the protest after losing her job due to DOGE cuts. Ryan worked to recruit teachers.
She said her organization’s primary funding was through the Department of Education and was “illegally shut down” in February by Elon Musk and DOGE despite being congressionally authorized. A court case is now pending.
Ryan said she mourns the elimination of the data collection that her organization documented which helps make informed policy decisions.
“We’re not going to have the data we need to make decisions,” she said. “All of the research that goes into gathering the data, to tell you what is true and what is not, will be no longer.”
Photos by Juli Yanai
Ryan said the shutdowns, affecting education, health, and teacher pipeline initiatives, will ey don’t know what they are canceling,” she added. “It’s a drop in the bucket for the federal government, but it matters to the people of this country. We are the citizens. This is Pathetic.”
Rick and Christy Hargesheimer, who traveled from out-of-state to visit a friend, attended the protest to participate in what they see as a display of patriotism. Speaking to the Denver Voice,
Christy stated, “What happened in Minnesota today is just appalling, and we want the world to know that we don’t approve.”
Her statement is in response to the recent targeted assassinations of Minnesota State D-Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who passed away, and State D-Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who were shot and injured.
Adding on to his wife’s comment, Richard Hargesheimer said, “There’s good and bad in everybody. Trump’s been promoting the bad for at least 10 years now. And this is what we’re getting, this is the result.”
Parker, who asked to be identified by only their first name because they fear protestors will be retaliated against, said they were protesting because they are uniquely vulnerable, as a disabled trans individual, to Trump’s actions.
“My fiancé is also disabled, and he's worried about losing Medicaid,” Parker said. “I am very lucky that my dad is a doctor, and I have my needs taken care of. But that being said, this is more dangerous so that's concerning in its own right. They are celebrating violence, we are all vulnerable.”
The protest was a family-friendly activist fair with booths and live music and ran from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Local organizers for the fair included Mutual Aid Monday, 50501 Colorado, Raise Her Voice, the Denver Party for Socialism and Liberation, Colorado Forward Party, and other organizations.
Throughout the day groups gathered in the shade to rest and revel. Many families participated bringing young children in wagons and strollers.
Maggie, who asked to be identified by only her first name, said she thought it was important for her children to learn at a young age that democracy and kindness matter.
“For us, it is about showing up and doing what’s right,” Maggie said. “It's about showing them how democracy works, and you can't be scared even from a young age, and it doesn't matter how small you are, you can make a difference.”
Photos by Giles Clasen