‘No Kings’ protest: What protesters said and why they showed up

Thousands of demonstrators gathered on Boston Common on Saturday for the nationwide “No Kings” protests, joining one of more than 160 rallies held across Massachusetts.

Organizers estimated 100,000 protesters attended the Boston rally, which featured speeches by Gov. Maura Healey, Sen. Ed Markey, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, and Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, along with performances by Dropkick Murphys and other acts. Rahsaan Hall, president and CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, emceed the event.

By early afternoon, the Common had filled with people carrying homemade signs and wearing elaborate costumes, alongside veterans and families with young children. For many in attendance, the message was serious: Protesters said they came out over concerns about the direction of the country, the future of democracy, and a belief that staying silent was not an option.

Video by Hussein Hammouda/Boston.com

Several veterans felt ‘called to speak out’

Veterans and family members of fallen service members were among those who showed up, some carrying signs that read “Veterans Against Trump” and “This Is What Democracy Looks Like.”

For Charles Saulnier, the protest was personal.

“I don’t like the direction that the country is headed in,” Saulnier said. “I’m appalled by the war that’s going on and all the innocent people that are getting killed, and I’m worried about American soldiers.”

Saulnier said his father fought in World War II “against fascism” and that he later lost his 36-year-old nephew, “an Air Force major, in Afghanistan.”

“So I feel like on behalf of my friends, my family, and everybody else across the country, I needed to be here,” he said. “That’s why I’m here.”

Nearby, Paul Haywood, a Vietnam veteran, said Saturday’s rally was one of the the first protests he’s attended in decades.

“The last rally I went to before these was during the Vietnam War,” Haywood said. “That was quite a long time ago.”

He said concerns about the country’s direction and rising global tensions drove him to attend the protest.

“I dont like whats going on right now in Iran,” he said. “Nobody knows what the end game is.”

Church members said protest is part of their regular activism

A group of nearly 40 women from The First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist, attended Saturday’s protest together, carrying signs with messages including: “Imagine being afraid of diversity but not a dictator” and “Flower power, not abuse of power.”

Fran Yuan, a member of the church’s social action committee, said the group has made activism a regular practice in recent months.

“We have a weekly standout at the corner in front of our church,” Yuan said. “We’ve been doing that on Fridays for the last couple of months.”

Some members also travel to Burlington on Wednesdays to protest outside the ICE facility, she said.

“It’s part of our Unitarian Universalist values,” Yuan said. “Justice, equality, immigrants’ rights — those are all things that are important to us.”

Some protesters turned to costumes to make their point

As they packed into the Boston Common, some protesters used costumes to drive home the rally’s anti-monarchy message.

Dave Beyna, dressed as George Washington, said he wanted to remind people that the country’s founding was rooted in rejecting concentrated power.

“After the Revolutionary War was fought and won against the monarchy, George Washington was approached by officers in the Continental Army who wanted him to consolidate power and become king,” Beyna said. “In so many words Washington basically said ‘That’s not why we did this.’”

Beyna, who said he has appeared at protests in multiple cities, said he came to Boston to channel that same spirit.

“I’m here to inspire and engage and energize as many people as possible,” he said.

One woman said spending her 66th birthday at the protest felt like a ‘gift’

Susan Tully attended Saturday’s protest on her 66th birthday, saying she came to show support for both her community and the country.

“We can’t go on in the direction we’ve been going. We are going backwards instead of forwards. Donald Trump, you are not fit for the job.”

Tully said choosing to spend her 66th birthday at the rally felt meaningful.

“I chose to come out to a protest on my birthday because I feel like the universe gave this to me as a gift so I can speak my mind and support others who feel the same way,” she said.

A lot of dogs showed up, too

A surprising number of dogs also made appearances, weaving through the crowd alongside their owners.

Bruce Hegstrom attended alongside his dog, Bear, who was draped in a sign reading “Dogs for Democracy,” a tradition the pair started after attending a No Kings protest in Maine back in October.

Hegstrom said he came out because he believes the country’s system of government depends on rejecting monarchy.

“We shouldn’t have a king, and we should have three co-equal branches of government,” he said.