By Alessandra Simmons-Robles

Across the nation, thousands of “No Kings Day” protests took place on June 14th in response to the celebration of the military’s 250 year anniversary and Trump’s 79th birthday. Over five million people attended the protests, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. In Falls Church City, hundreds of protesters lined the main street waving posters and American flags at passing cars to raise concerns about authoritarianism and restrictive policies under the Trump administration.

Democracy Falls Church, a local organization that began meeting after Trump’s inauguration in late January, had been planning the demonstration for the past month. “[The idea of the protest was] to connect to the nationwide movement but make it something specific and special to Falls Church,” said Ben Allard, one of the primary organizers of the protest. “First thing is to show the country and to show the world that Trump has opposition. He is not a king. This is not a monarchy. This is not a dictatorship, and as long as we have our freedom of speech we are going to exercise it.”

These protests come after the ICE raids across the country, where officers are forcibly deporting immigrants in their schools, jobs, and streets. They also follow Trump’s deployment of the national guard, on a peaceful protests against ICE in Los Angeles. “I think that Trump’s actions in LA made this bigger than it would ever have been,” said Allard. “As he becomes more authoritarian, we become a stronger, more important force.”

Demonstrators held signs with messages supporting federal workers, against tyrants and dictators, criticizing the current administration. All throughout the protest, cars passing by would honk in support, and hold their own signs out of their window. The chants echoed along the street, shouting “the people united will never be divided.”

“I was raised in California where immigrants are my employees, my coworkers, you name it. [The deportations] are wrong, they all came across the border so they could find a better way to live,” said Kimberly, a protester. “The Irish in me wants to fight… so I’m being as loud as I can in a powerful way…My mother and my godfather marched in DC in the 70s, my mother was tear gassed when she was pregnant with me, so I had a reason to be here again, because of my children.”

David Werth, her godfather, came back to his hometown to protest. “The answer is quite simple. Either you believe in a democratic republic, or you want to live in Russia,” said Werth. “You don’t have to be silent…or in three years there might not be another presidential election. So do it now, stand up, and be uppity.”

Protesters spoke about fear towards the current administration and what the future holds. “This [protest] means everything to me. I don’t know how much scarier it can get. This is two seconds before twelve o’clock…I think the older you are, and the more you have seen and realized what can happen,” said Desiree Reynolds, a German immigrant. “I am beside myself,” said Alyssa Thorndike, another demonstrator. “I am a mother of two and I find what’s happening with this administration is completely disgusting.”

Demonstrators passed out stickers against DOGE and fliers to mobilize the working class. “It makes you feel empowered to be with other [protestors],” said Thorndike. “The more people that are active, the more we can make a change.”

Leaders of the No Kings protest hope this mass mobilization is the start of a larger, pro-democracy movement. In a No Kings webinar held the day after the protests, Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, a movement strategist, said “I want you to remember that you and your community can do things in your daily life to push back against authoritarianism, you don’t have to wait.”

The next planned date to organize another wave of mass protests in cities across the nation is July 17th. “We’re going to center our continued and united fight for a just, inclusive, and strong democracy…that is our obligation in these times,” said Barbara Arnwire, a leader of the Transformative Justice Coalition. “Our unity is our victory, that is how we take down tyrants, that is how we prevail.” 

As people began leaving the protest on Saturday, they held their signs in the windows of restaurants and cafes around the city. “We have to do something for the next generation,” said Reynolds, “it could be my daughter, or my granddaughter, so we have to do something, we have to.”