DOVER − A boisterous crowd gathered on the downtown square in Dover under cloudy skies for a No Kings rally on June 14, part of a nationwide protest against the administration of President Donald Trump.
Event organizer Bill Fritz of Dover estimated that around 570 people were in attendance. The rally was scheduled to be held on the northwest quadrant at the intersection of Third Street and Wooster Avenue, but it spilled over into the other three quadrants as well.
The demonstrations were organized by Indivisible, a nonprofit coalition of progressive political action groups, which states that it is organizing “to reject corrupt, authoritarian politics.”
The local protest was part of a nationwide protest against President Trump’s perceived overreach and a rejection of the idea of a “king” in America.
Because it was Flag Day, Fritz led participants in the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance. He also read the Declaration of Independence.
“In the declaration, they’re giving their grievances,” he said prior to the event. “They’re powerful, very powerful. I want people to hear that, maybe for the first time, maybe for the first time in 50 years. I think it’s important that they know why the people 250 years ago were motivated enough to start a revolution, why they wanted no king. It still holds true today.”
Other speakers included Mike DiDonato, chairman of the Tuscarawas County Democratic Party, and David Callender, a Democratic candidate for Dover City Council.
‘I want to change the world’
The protest brought people to Dover from around the area.
Howard Maag, a Vietnam veteran from the Port Washington area, said he came out to show support for the people who are opposing what the administration in Washington, D.C. is doing.
“If you’re in the military and they’re giving you orders that should not be given, mutiny,” he said.
Devin Croft of New Philadelphia said she was concerned with everything that was going on in the country.
“I’m afraid for my daughters living in this world right now,” said Croft, who is the mother of four children between the ages of 13 and 4. Three of them are girls. “I’m afraid for my friends, because I have a lot of friends that had visas to come over.”
Laura Grimes, a lawyer from Stark County, came to protest with her daughter, Laney Lanzer, who lives in Dover.
“I work for the Ohio Public Defenders Office, and a lot of my clients get deported after they have minor misdemeanors and things like that ‒ things that wouldn’t be considered violent crime,” she said. “People are being deported without due process, which is very, very important to all of us. Obviously, making sure there are checks and balances is a huge part of why I wanted to be an attorney and why I’m here. I have children and I want to make sure that we continue with the democracy while my children are alive.”
Laney said she is going to be a political science major. “I want to change the world, and I think it really sucks that everybody puts this on Gen Z to change, but we’re taking it, and we will change it. It will be different.”
There was a minimal police presence during the rally, but officers did drive past in their vehicles.
‘I carry anger’
Asked why the protest was important, Fritz said, “I carry anger, anger because someone is trying to, in my opinion, destroy this democracy. I get arguments that it’s not a democracy, it’s a republic. You can call it what you want to, but we’re all talking about the same thing. They’re trying to destroy this framework that we have through the Constitution, and they want to consolidate all three branches of the government under one person. That is not what Americans want at all.
“The office of citizen is the most powerful office in this country. If they’re going to try to shut us out of proceedings, then eventually, as the Declaration of Independence says, it’s necessary to take up protests, to take up rallying.”
Fritz said he had no person in mind that he would like to see run for president in 2028. He said the nation needs a young, dynamic leader. The test to get his vote is how the candidate treats other people. That person needs to be respectful of all people, he said.
Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: ‘I’m afraid for my daughters:’ Around 570 people attend No Kings rally in downtown Dover
Reporting by Jon Baker, The Times-Reporter / The Times-Reporter
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