Anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ protest in Edwards draws hundreds
Many new to protesting turn up to speak out against president's policies on immigration, women's rights, federal land
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily
Eagle County’s edition of the national “No Kings” protests drew hundreds to Edwards on Saturday morning.
Bearing American flags and signs with slogans that spoke about freedom, decried recent federal actions and rejected President Donald Trump directly, the protesters gathered in Freedom Park for speeches and then paraded to the main Edwards roundabout at U.S. Highway 6.
The No Kings Day of Defiance is a national movement in response to President Donald Trump’s policies and Saturday’s parade in Washington, D.C., which the Trump Administration claimed is to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. military, Flag Day and Trump’s 79th birthday.
“Today, I say this as clearly as I can: There are no kings in America,” said Paula Clements, co-organizer of Vail Eagle Indivisible and former U.S. Army officer. “That parade doesn’t speak for the millions of Americans who believe in democracy. It doesn’t speak for the nurses and teachers and postal workers who hold this country together. It doesn’t speak for the scientists, the federal workers, the rangers who protect our public land and preserve our natural heritage.”
“This is not a partisan rally. This is a patriotic one,” Clements said. “We march today not because we hate this country but because we love it too much to let it fall.”
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Hundreds rally in Edwards for a host of reasons
William Day, who emceed the event, said protests like “No Kings” are important for two reasons.
“One, get the message out about what is important to you,” he said. “But I also want to bring comfort to people who are depending on social security, Medicare, Medicaid.”
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Day has been regularly attending protests at the main Edwards roundabout, and said this event was significantly larger, drawing a crowd of people new to political action.
“I’ve been an officer with Eagle (County) Dems for years, and this many people — I’ve never met, I’ve never seen them,” he said.
The “No Kings” protest was Kim Olivas’ first, though she said she has been averse to Trump and his rhetoric from the start.
“I think it has made hate very, very, very noticeable in America, and it’s not good,” she said.
Olivas carried a double-sided sign that read “while I am taking care of your people, you’re taking away mine” on one side and “pro-life until it’s an immigrant’s life” on the other.
“Both my parents are immigrants, and my dad actually went back on his own, because there is a lot of hate right now and he doesn’t want to live in a world where he is not welcome,” she said. “I’m with women and with immigrants.”
Mike Powell, a Denver resident, decided to bring his 7-year-old twins to Eagle County’s rally to “experience protest in a safe environment.”
Each carried a sign bearing a slogan they selected with parental assistance. One read “all families belong together,” the other “no more ICE be nice.”
Local, state politicians speak at rally
Eagle County Commissioner Matt Scherr spoke at the protest, urging attendees to call and write their congressional representatives in opposition to Trump’s policies.
“The constitution is not a suggestion,” Scherr said. The sign he carried during the march bore the same slogan.
Specifically, Scherr said to contact Rep. Jeff Hurd, who represents about a quarter of Eagle County and will soon have a second chance to vote on the Trump administration’s budget bill.
“He gets to do his job under the Constitution. We are there to encourage him, to show support,” Scherr said.
Jessie Danielson, a state senator from Jefferson County, was on vacation in Eagle County with her family when she learned about the “No Kings” protests. Rather than go back to Denver, she decided to attend Eagle County’s event. “(Trump is) using the military today to highlight himself, which is what kings and dictators have done all through history,” Danielson said.
Calling the Trump administration’s policies “hateful,” Danielson said: “We are here today to say, ‘No more.'”
“We are here because we care about people not getting picked up and arrested without due process or cause. We are here because we reject the idea that our president can censor us by removing the Associated Press and defunding public media,” Danielson said. “We are here because we stand for public education, reproductive justice and environmental protection.”
Danielson thanked the crowd for taking action. “Without you showing up, it won’t work. Without you saying ‘no,’ it won’t work,” she said.
‘This is what democracy looks like in Eagle County’
“This is what democracy looks like in Eagle County,” said Roseann Casey, former secretary of the Eagle County Democrats.
Casey urged protesters to identify their values and become knowledgeable on the topics that held meaning for them, and then to fight for them. “We have to know not just what we’re against but what we’re for,” she said.
Cars driving through often acknowledged the protesters, fully ringing the main Edwards roundabout as they drove by. At one point, lumber fell from a car’s roof rack, and protesters jumped into the roundabout to resecure it.
Gypsum residents Jay Edmonds, Katy Schuering and Drew Schuering stood on the edge of the roundabout, interacting with cars all morning.
“A couple have been a little against it,” Katy Schuering said.
“There was one guy in a Corvette who I can only describe as raging,” Edmonds said. “He told us that we should be deported.”
“Otherwise, it has been mostly supportive, so many people supporting, so many people honking as they go by, just showing their support,” Drew Schuering said. “It has been a great experience seeing everyone here.”
Eagle resident Steve Metcalf said he felt “excited,” about attending the protest, his first of the Trump presidency. Saturday’s rally made him feel like a “proud American,” he said.
“We have to fight for our democracy. We’ve got to beat this tyrant. This isn’t the way America should be,” he said. “We should stand proud and free … and fight for our veterans’ rights.”
