A mixture of chants, honking and cheers filled the air as more than a thousand people participated in the No Kings rally outside of the Collier County Courthouse in Naples June 14.
The cluster armed with signs, flags and bullhorns spilled onto the sidewalks stretching from the intersection of U.S. 41 and Palm Drive to Airport Road South.
Attendees aired myriad grievances with President Donald Trump, who was celebrating his 79th birthday in Washington, D.C. Saturday evening with a $40 million military parade for the Army’s 250th anniversary. Collier’s was one of 2,000 such demonstrations natinwide.
The two-hour long protest remained peaceful despite a few middle fingers and derogatory remarks uttered from passing cars.
Collier County Sheriff’s Office deputies were stationed at points throughout the crowd. Parts of the property such as the fountain near the courthouse steps and the sign near Airport and U.S. 41 were cordoned off to prevent protestors from climbing on them.
Dozens of volunteers helped the group remain safe throughout the duration of the rally. Many also brought packs of water to hand out to help manage the heat.
Things stayed calm, confirming what Indivisible cofounder Ezra Levin told USA Today earlier in the week: “I think we will see the largest peaceful single-day protests that this country has seen certainly since the first Trump term.”
Levin is one of the organizers of the “No Kings” effort
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had said the state is ready to “quell any violence,” telling Fox News that local law enforcement, the state highway patrol and the National Guard would be ready to stop any violence or “unrest” at the statewide protests.
Holding a sign that said, “The only orange monarch I like is the butterfly,” Naples resident Debbie Cahill had gone to the Fort Myers protest.
She said she wanted to represent “everybody that doesn’t agree with what’s happening now with our three-branch system being dominated by one (Trump).”
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: More than 1,000 attend peaceful ‘No Kings’ protest in Naples
Reporting by Jonah Hinebaugh and Amy Bennett Williams, Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
