Thousands of Brevard residents joined Americans across the country on Saturday, Oct. 18, in nationwide anti-Trump “No Kings” protests.
In Cocoa, an estimated 3,000 people carried homemade signs — and some wore costumes — at the intersection of State Road 520 and U.S. 1. Another, separate rally was planned at Babcock Street and Palm Bay Road.
Kathy Abel and her husband, Dave Abel, and a group of their friends joined the crowd on the packeds sidewalk on the northwest corner of the U.S. 1 and King Street intersection. Many cheered as Dave Abel played guitar and Kathy and their friends joined in on “This Land is Your Land.”
“I’m worried that this government is trying to lead us into a dictatorship,” Kathy Abel said. “People’s rights are being trampled every day with this government … that’s why I’m here.”
Saturday’s protest was being organized and sponsored by Awake Brevard, STOP Moms for Liberty, Brevard Democrats, Space Coast LGBTA Democratic Caucus and Space Coast Progressive Alliance.
Many people across Brevard thought they were “alone in their concerns,” said Liz Mikitarian, STOP Moms for Liberty founder.
“Our coming together at these events has developed a network of strong advocates for truth, justice and sanity,” she said.
Mikitarian said the No Kings movement speaks to her because “I grew up in the ’60s and lived through the many fights related to rights in our country.”
“I’ve seen the hard-fought civil rights, LGBTQ+ and women’s rights movements and now see all of those accomplishments being stripped away,” she said. “The slogan ‘Make America Great Again’ disregards that some things were not so great and we cannot go back to those times in our history.”
The “kind, compassionate and inclusive moral compass of our countrymen” is being ignored by many current decision makers, she said.
“People were given promises like a better economy and more opportunity, but now they see that both of those things have actually gotten worse,” Mikitarian said.
“They see that actions are happening that are like actions done by dictators and yes, kings. Stripping people of voting rights and due process is an extremely slippery slope. It flies in the face of our Constitution and our commonly held American expectations. People are angry and raising their voices to say enough.”
Britt Kennerly is education/breaking news/Style editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Kennerly at 321-917-4744 or bkennerly@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bybrittkennerly Facebook: /bybrittkennerly
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Thousands attend Cocoa ‘No Kings’ protest
Reporting by Britt Kennerly, Florida Today / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
1 comment
This is not the country I grew up in born in Queens in 1946 He was always a Bully!