No Kings!
pro-democracy rallies across WNC on June 14
Great turnout for rallies across western North Carolina yesterday—around 16,000, perhaps more—despite temperatures in the 80s to 90s and forecast thunderstorms. More than 8000 rallied in the strongly GOP-voting counties outside Asheville, roughly double the number who showed up for the Hands Off! rallies in April.
NOTE: I’ll add new information about additional rallies in WNC as I get it, in italics, below.
See below for county-by-county totals and reports from thirteen fourteen rallies. I’ve heard about only one significant counter-protest incident; scroll down to “Yancey” for info about that.
Nationwide, millions attended more than 2000 rallies—between 4.1 million and 5.2 million. (Source here.) Our numbers vastly exceeded and the money spent to put on ALL of these rallies was vastly less than the ridiculous cost of the big fascist parade in DC—and we had vastly more fun.
Here’s the county-by-county report, with more detail for the rally I attended myself in Asheville. Big thanks to everyone who sent me information for this report. ❤️ Quotes are from individuals who attended the event they’ve described:
Buncombe County
Two rallies were held in Asheville today (and one in Black Mountain, attended by an estimated 650). In the morning a large and enthusiastic crowd estimated at 8000 to 10,000 gathered at Martin Luther King Jr. Park. See Asheville Citizen-Times photo gallery here.
That rally ended in an impromptu march to the afternoon rally being held at Pack Square Park. TPM published an excellent photo of that march in its fine gallery of photos of rallies around the United States.
Many of the morning rally goers settled in where Pack Square meets Biltmore Ave., at the heart of downtown. There they waved signs, and passing cars honked support, while the second rally of the day geared up downhill a ways, at the park’s amphitheater.
I’m reluctant to be more specific than to say at least 5000, likely more, attended the Pack Square rally, since a completely separate big event (a craft fair) was happening close enough to overlap with rally goers.
The mood at the Pack Square rally was cheerful, folks enjoying being together. Some were in costume. Uncle Sam walked around on stilts. A man danced in a chicken costume and a Trump mask. Kids and some adults played in the park’s fountain. See Mountain Xpress’s photo gallery here.
The signs were wildly diverse, some earnest, some funny, and very much on point. Here’s a sample:
Speak up while you still can. Impeach. Remove. Repeat.
Trump is a royal pain in the ass.
Why Protest? Because it’s easier than hiding a family in my attic.
I ❤️the Constitution.
Don’t be a chicken in a coup.
250 years ago our Army was formed to rid us of a tyrant.
No kings. Yas queens. [in rainbow letters]
All equal in rights and dignity.
Real leaders don’t punch down.
Do not obey unlawful orders.
I ❤️immigrants.
No military in the streets. Resist!
Democracy is lost by degrees and it’s getting HOT.
Thanks for showing up.
Clay County
Organizers counted 640 people in Hayesville, a huge number for this reliably Republican-voting, sparsely populated rural county. “It was incredible!! Peaceful and lots of fun. A picture of part of the group!”
Haywood County
In Waynesville, at the county courthouse, maybe 1500 gathered to stand up for democracy and listen to several speakers—easily the largest turnout for a political rally here in many years, possibly ever. This shows about a quarter of the crowd:
Henderson County
“In Hendersonville, 1,000 people filled blocks of a city street as they marched from the Henderson County Courthouse on Grove Street to the No Kings rally at the Historic Courthouse on Main Street. There, an estimated 2,500 people packed the courtyard and street for a peaceful protest, with speakers, music, signs and chants. Of the three previous mass demonstrations and rallies in Hendersonville since February, this was the largest to date.”
Jackson County
About 1000 people came to the rally in Sylva, “the largest one so far. It was peaceful and joyful and everyone had a great time. We had music, chanting and speakers who talked about Medicaid cuts, disability rights, immigrant, Native and LGBTQ rights and how the "Big Bad Bill" will cause hardship for people who depend on government programs and services. We had many young people attend the rally and speak which was very encouraging. We stressed the importance of a peaceful protest and it was just that!”
Macon County
In a county that reliably votes Republican, in the small, remote mountain town of Highlands, 657 patriots gathered at the local post office to support democracy. “People came from Franklin, Clayton, Sapphire, and we had a number of summer visitors join from all over. It was an incredible day - people were really in great spirits and spread out down both streets and then some across the street. It was peaceful and people were happy with the organization of the event. I think the age range was less than a year old to 90. High energy. The reaction of the majority of the passers by were positive!”
McDowell County
In Marion, about 160-200 gathered at the county courthouse, “our best attended event yet. We were really happy to welcome many new faces from within our county. I spoke with one man in his 70s who told me it was his first ever protest, but that he was fed up and had to act. Others I spoke with said they were encouraged to know there were like-minded people living in McDowell and were driven to become more involved. It was a peaceful but enthusiastic event. We had a lot of good energy from cars and foot traffic on Main street, and very little negativity.”
Polk County
More than 250 came to the rally in Columbus. “People came that we’d never met. One couple came to the park to walk their dogs and were thrilled to meet us. They are new residents and live in the part of our county where they are surrounded by Trump signs. They were delighted to see so many Democrats. We had no incidents. People driving by saw us and our signs. Most people honked and gave us a thumbs up.”
Rutherford County
In Spindale, “over 300 people came out to stand united for human rights, dignity, and justice. Our message was clear: cruelty has no place in our community. This was a peaceful demonstration, supported by local officers on site, and we’re grateful to everyone who showed up to raise their voice.”
Swain County
“Bryson City had 250-300 people. Justice Justin Green spoke about the value of checks and balances and the importance of defending our right to due process. Chris Reed (running for Eastern Band of Cherokee tribal council) spoke about local and regional issues. We had several students step up to speak about their hopes and fears.”
Transylvania County
In Brevard, more than “1,000 Transylvanians showed up to support the Constitution, reclaim the flag, and declare America has no king! That is over 10% of the population for the City of Brevard!”
Yancey County
In Burnsville, the county seat, about 300-500 people gathered to stand together at the town square; here’s a brief video. An altercation with an angry Trumpist who’d been circling the rally in his truck sent one rally goer to the hospital with a head injury. He is recovering. The driver of the truck has been charged with assault; see Asheville C-T 6/20.
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Hi, Trish, thanks for this wonderful news about WNC "No Kings" protests! I wanted to let ey know we had a joyful, peaceful, earnest "East Buncombe " No Kings protest in Black Mountain, at the town square yesterday afternoon at 4:00. At least 600 in attendance. Some had gone to the Asheville protests earlier in the day. Our event was organized by Indivisible Black Mountain.
I've removed a comment posted here this morning because its purpose was to link to an article rife with lies and bigoted insults.
No one is welcome to post lies here.