Hundreds of protesters lined North Broadway Street on June 14, waving signs and flags as cars honked in support. Again and again, they shouted.
“No kings! No kings!”
Green Bay’s “No Kings Day” protest was one of about 1,800 across the nation and throughout Wisconsin on June 14, opposing President Donald Trump, his actions since taking office and a military parade held earlier the same day in Washington, D.C.
The protest was originally set to take place at Leicht Memorial Park and on Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge, but police blocked off the bridge to traffic just before the protest, reportedly due to a malfunction. Police could not say what the malfunction was. Instead, protesters streamed down Dousman Street and along Broadway.
Green Bay Police Sgt. Kurt Brester told the Press Gazette that police planned to block off the bridge to traffic, regardless of the malfunction, to allow protesters to fill the bridge. The police department officially declined to estimate the number of demonstrators, but Brester said about 600 people attended the protest.
Bryan Hanley, 73, brought his springer spaniel Layla to the protest. Hanley is from Mountain, and has been protesting since Vietnam, he said.
And he wasn’t the only former Vietnam protester in Green Bay on June 14 — Sandie Tilque, 70, said she was protesting for the first time in 50 years. People can’t let go of democracy, she said.
“If I wanted to live in Russia, I’d move to Russia,” Tilque said.
Kate DuChateau,36, and Cynthia Delker, 43, came up from Appleton for the protest. They’re hoping to hold Trump accountable, they said.
“This country was founded to never be under the thumb of a king,” DuChateau said. “We deserve better than this.”
Cars drove by, their passengers holding up signs and honking nearly nonstop throughout the two-hour protest. Trump won Brown County in November 2024 with about 53% of the vote, but there was no sign of counterprotest in Green Bay.
Arman Badihi, 27, is “not a fan” of the Trump administration, he said, and what he sees as its total disregard for the law. Still, he’s glad so many people made it out to protest.
“Rejuvination is the right word,” Badihi said. “We’re six months in, and it has been absolutely exhausting. But to see so many people out here and caring helps us keep going for however much longer we’ve got.”
Ariana, 27, and Esperanza, 25, declined to give their last names. For Esperanza, who brought her young son to the protest, it was important to show opposition to cuts to programs like Medicaid and food stamps. Republicans say they’re anti-abortion, she said, but don’t support programs to help mothers and children.
Ariana came to oppose the administration’s stance on immigration. She’s Native American and Hispanic, she said, and her family came from immigration.
“It breaks my heart that Donald Trump wants to immigrate illegals, because no one is illegal on stolen land,” Ariana said. “We’re native, it’s our right to say immigrants can stay here.”
Still, they expressed how glad they were at the number of people who came out. They weren’t alone; despite the frustration people said they felt, many said they were happy about the sense of community they felt. Full families came and people brought pets. Some protesters juggled, others played instruments and still others sang new lyrics to pop songs: “H-O-T-T-O-G-O, Donald Trump has got to go!”
The protest started to thin at around 6:30 p.m., and the bridge reopened to traffic at 7:10 p.m.
(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)
Contact Green Bay education reporter Nadia Scharf at nscharf@gannett.com or on X at @nadiaascharf.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Anti-Trump Green Bay protesters line Broadway for nationwide ‘No Kings Day’ movement
Reporting by Nadia Scharf, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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