The Dallas Morning News says about 1,400 people braved the rain and lined the street in front of Arlington’s subcourthouse Saturday morning for the city’s No Kings rally. It was one of more than 2,600 similar protests across the nation that day. In June, another No Kings event in Arlington drew around 1,000 people to the site to speak out against the policies and actions of sitting President Donald Trump. Attendees Saturday were not disappointed by the day’s turnout.
“I was so worried that we would get here, [and] no one would be here,” Hannah Diehl said. “We would get here, and we would be alone, and I’m actually so glad that there’s so many people. I’m almost in tears about how much support there is here.”
Diehl and Ethan Whalen attended the protest to express their grievances about the rising cost of living and diminishing protections for marginalized groups. The young couple both rely on wheelchairs for mobility and are students at the University of Texas at Arlington.
“It’s just really hard because we want to actually better ourselves,” Diehl said. “We want to do well in this world, and we even want to start a family eventually, but we can’t do that. Unfortunately, we can’t even afford to take care of ourselves right now.”
Costs associated with health care, education, and inflation were some of the biggest drivers of the couple’s problems, they said. Finding their original route to the protest blocked off, they persevered and made most of the trip uphill in inclement conditions. Whalen said he recently had to downgrade his wheelchair because his previous model was no longer being stocked, which he blames on recent cuts to Medicaid.
“We pushed all the way here, even when it’s starting to rain, just so we can even be here for our rights to show how much it’s important for people to know that their voices are heard,” Diehl said. “I want to tell people that if we can do it — no matter where you’re at — I know you can be here, too. Even if you can’t physically be here, you can be here mentally to stand up for your rights, no matter what.”
Diehl and Whalen still found ways to have fun with the situation by repeating slogans like “we run better than the government.”
“I can’t stand up for my rights physically, but I can in every other way,” said Whalen, who lives with a congenital muscle disorder.
Humor was a recurring theme of the demonstration. Dozens of protestors wore costumes and inflatable suits, inspired by viral opposition to ICE in Portland, Oregon. Even more made signs with a wide variety of jabs at the president and Congress.
One group of protestors wore crimson dresses and white bonnets, drawing comparisons between the current state of America and the dystopic fundamentalist nation of Gilead in A Handmaid’s Tale.
Arlington native Courtney Kelly said, “Handmaid’s Tale is very, very relevant for today with the move to theocracy and the move to attack gay rights, women’s rights, financial security. … There’s a lot of parallels, and so we’re simply drawing attention to that.”
Kelly pointed to changes in Texas abortion laws and other policies limiting access to contraceptives. By demonstrating, she hoped to raise awareness of these issues and promote change at the federal level.
“There’s a lot of corruption between Congress and the Supreme Court, because they are supposed to hold this administration accountable, but they’re not doing that,” Kelly said. “They’re reinforcing it and making it more powerful, and so it’s becoming so much more of a dictatorship than a lot of people are aware of.”
Kelly took comfort in the wide range of people in attendance. While young people like herself were well represented, she noted that elderly protestors rivaled or even made up a majority of attendees.
“I went to the Hands Off protests,” Kelly said. “I’ve been to both No Kings, and there’s always a lot of support from older people because they’ve seen more of the world and they’re more aware of the danger, so they understand the power that we have in voting and in protesting. It’s amazing to see how much they care, because they’re not going to be around for most of the consequences that are happening on the Supreme Court now. So, it’s a very humanitarian effort to try to make the world better, even if they’re not around to see the results.”
Marvin Porter, 76, and Sharon Marcus, 70, who have been married for 49 years, both attended the No Kings protest to speak out against actions taken by the Trump administration. They agreed that senior citizens made up a strong contingent of the protestors and said threats to Medicare and Medicaid were just one of the many issues that brought seniors to Abram Street that morning.
“Until about half an hour ago, it was mostly older people,” Marcus said. “I think there’s a lot of older people here that were involved with civil rights, and the Vietnam War, and maybe even Korea, and women’s liberation and things like that. So, they just come back for this and reactivate themselves. I mean, I just don’t know how you can just sit at home. You’re getting information online all the time about the rallies and the different things, your congressman’s phone number, and it’s just crazy not to try and do something.”
For Marcus, heightened ICE activity and the recent government shutdown were just two issues that encouraged her to speak out that day.
“We can’t have our neighbors deported,” Marcus said. “We can’t have federal workers just fired for no reason, just because [Trump] wants the government to be smaller, and he doesn’t even know what those people do. The truth of it is, with ICE, Jesus Christ did not look like ‘Jeffrey Hunter.’ Jesus Christ probably looked like someone named Jose Gutierrez. So, they would have sent him, in shackles, on a plane, to some prison somewhere, maybe in Africa.”
The protest was met with cars honking their horns and displaying their own signs in support. Arlington police officers directed traffic at key points and remained at posted locations throughout downtown.
Between many of the voices heard in Arlington, government accountability, immigration, and women’s rights were common threads. Volunteers distributed pamphlets and literature encouraging others to continue participating not only in the streets but also at the ballot box. With early voting starting Oct 20, some protestors pledged their support to Democratic candidates running for the Texas Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, the Arlington Independent School District, and Justices of the Peace.
