Sounds of the “No Kings” protest echoed over Mirror Pond as thousands gathered in Bend’s Drake Park on Saturday to protest the administration of President Donald Trump.
The a’capella group ReSistas was the first of many acts scheduled Saturday for the No Kings Community Action Fair, an anti-Trump rally that was followed up with a peaceful march toward the corner of Wall Street and Greenwood Avenue — or as locals call it, the Peace Corner.
“We gather today in America because we do not tolerate would-be kings. We do not tolerate authoritarianism. We are meant to be a government by the people for the people. Right now, that principle is under attack and with it the very fabric of civil rights that generations before us have fought so hard to secure,” Stephanie Siebold with Out Central Oregon shouted into the microphone as the crowd cheered.
The gathering was one of hundreds across the county Saturday as part of the “No Kings: Nationwide Day of Defiance,” a network of protests formed in opposition to Trump’s military parade celebrating the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, which took place Saturday in Washington, D.C.
The protesters generally oppose recent moves by the Trump administration that they say limit human rights and citizen freedoms, with speakers at the rally in Drake Park ranging from journalists to a U.S. Forest Service employee who was recently laid off due to government cutbacks.
The number of people in attendance was in the thousands.
“How many thousands? I don’t know,” said Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang as he stood at Peace Corner after the rally in the park. “I was at the end of the line and there were people (in Drake Park) for 20 minutes before we started moving.”
Chang said it was uplifting to see so many of his constituents share the same concerns he does about the “authoritarian moves that this presidential administration is taking.” That sentiment was popular at the rally, where many people said they felt proud of the way Bend showed up for the nationwide movement.
“A lot of times I feel alone and dejected about what’s going on,” said 57-year-old Gina McClard. “I work from home; I’m pretty isolated, and I have found that when I feel like this there’s nothing better than getting together with people, because I get energy from knowing that my community is also outraged. Because when you’re at home with these dystopian things that you see on TV, it’s overwhelming.”
McClard is a human-rights lawyer from Bend. She has been an activist for more than 30 years, and said she never thought she “would see the day where so much of the work of the folks my age is being overturned.”
People from all walks of life and of every age were at the protest, from seniors to babies in strollers. Each had their own motivations for being there — funding cuts to the National Institute of Health, malcontent with the recent deportation raids in Los Angeles and news that the Trump administration aims to sell national forest land.
“As a cancer survivor, defunding the NIH, that’s something that makes me really frustrated and really emotional,” said Bella Sieverson. “Just that gives me reason to be out here but there’s a huge list of reasons to be out here. There’s so many things wrong. You asked what is wrong? Why are we out here? I guess I could ask, ‘What is right?'”
An hour after marching from Drake Park to the Peace Corner, the protest showed no signs of slowing. As people trickled out, more took their place. The demonstration was peaceful, and there was no police presence reported as of 6 p.m. The Bend Police Department confirmed they were notified of a red truck that expelled diesel exhaust at a cyclist while trying to agitate the crowd.
Peaceful protesting is a right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and a common way for people to show their disagreement with government policies.
“No matter how you feel, you should be able to say that and tell that to our representatives in Congress. My hope would be that this process helps people start their journey into (finding out) how government actually works and where it is that they can make their voice heard,” said Bend local Kristen Willis. “This is one way of making your voice heard — protesting — but we also need to directly call our representatives.”
