Despite the rain, Islanders showed up in force in Vineyard Haven and Aquinnah on Saturday to join protests across the country in one message: “No Kings” for the United States of America.
At Five Corners, where rally organizers estimated that over 1,000 protesters were present, Islanders carried signs denouncing President Donald Trump — “No Kings” being the popular message — and waved the U.S. flag. They chanted “People united, we’ll never be defeated,” and “Shame, shame, shame.” Passing drivers responded with raucous honks, some raising approving thumb-ups through their windows.
At the Aquinnah Cliffs, a smaller group of around 50 people crowded under a tent at the sacred Wampanoag site and bore signs decrying the Trump administration.
Carla Cooper, an Edgartown resident and rally organizer from Indivisible Martha’s Vineyard, called President Donald Trump a “lawless despot” during a speech she made on a portable stage at Five Corners. Speaking through a mic, she underscored to the protesters circling the stage that Trump’s administration defied court orders, was eyeing an unconstitutional third term, has targeted immigrants and political opponents, and his deployment of the National Guard into California to quell protesters created “fear and chaos” and was “only escalating the violence.”
“These actions are not about public safety,” Cooper said. “This is a fascist power grab.”
The Vineyard’s “No Kings” rallies were two of nearly 2,000 demonstrations reported nationwide protesting the Trump administration’s policies and actions. Mobilize, an online platform that connects volunteers to similar events, showed a map of some 112 “No Kings” rallies in Massachusetts alone. On the Vineyard, the Five Corners rally was sponsored by Indivisible Martha’s Vineyard, Showing Up for Racial Justice MV, and the Unitarian Universalist Society of Martha’s Vineyard. The other was organized by Aquinnah resident Mitzi Pratt.
The nationwide protests coincided at the same time as several significant federal, political, and citizen activities in the U.S. A military parade planned by the Trump administration, estimated to cost up to $45 million, took place on Saturday to mark the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary. The parade also happens to land on the president’s 79th birthday, although Trump has denied any connection between his birthday and the procession, instead connecting it to Flag Day, which was also on Saturday. Critics have lambasted the event, highlighting the Trump administration’s widespread slashing of federal funding. Events honoring the LGBTQ+ community are also taking place in many communities during Pride Month, including on Martha’s Vineyard.
While the Five Corners rally was scheduled for 11 am, protesters began arriving at Five Corners well before the planned time.
State Rep. Thomas Moakley, who represents the Island on Beacon Hill, also spoke to protestors, condemning the Trump administration for targeting of transgender youth, cutting federal funds for veteran services, and ramping up federal immigration arrests, each example followed by a shout of “shame” from the crowd.
“Here in the United States, we have no kings,” Moakley said. “We are a nation of the people, for the people.”
Moakley called on protesters to become “ripples of hope” in uncertain times. “As these stormclouds are gathering, let us be messengers for peace and advocates for freedom,” Moakley said in his speech. “Let us recognize the good work that is done in our own community.”
The arrest of some 20 individuals on the Vineyard in an operation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was a leading driver of protesters coming out to the rallies on Saturday.
“It’s so visual and so visceral. You see it right in front of you,” Cooper said, saying “fear rippled throughout the community” after they saw arrests being made by masked federal agents.
Vineyard educators at Five Corners told MV Times reporters that the ICE operation shocked their Brazilian students; many skipped school following the raid.
“We saw and experienced that fear when ICE was here,” said Justine de Oliveira, assistant principal of curriculum at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. She said that educators worked to comfort students and offered support so that they “knew that school was a safe place for them.”
Outside of ICE fears, Lucinda Kirk, who manages Havenside Apartments, was at Five Corners Saturday. She said her residents feared losing their housing under the Trump administration. Residents pay for rent through their social security payments, and Republicans and the Trump administration have raised suspicion that social security would be slashed.
Sophie Roads, an incoming student at Naropa University in Colorado, underscored policies that were worsening the “climate catastrophe.” Linda Cohen, founder and volunteer director of Olive Branch Fair Trade, a shop that sells Palestinian goods in Vineyard Haven, worried about violence perpetuated by the Trump administration, pointing to violence against journalists who covered protests in Los Angeles and the war in Gaza.
Some protesters at Five Corners came from other parts of the country. Lauryn Bond, a Tennessee public school teacher who used to live on the Vineyard, said Trump had emboldened racists; she criticized cuts made that restricted schools’ abilities to provide food and other services for children.
“I had a lot of students who the only time they ate, they were at school,” Bond said. “So trying to get rid of these kinds of programs and trying to get rid of free lunch is insane. I can’t, as an educator, stand by and just watch as these things get taken away from people who need it.”
Still, the outrage voiced by protesters was accompanied by moments of festive camaraderie and music.
“I think people are celebrating the fact that we still have a democracy,” Cooper said.
Some people brought their children with them to Five Corners.
“We want her to see as early as possible that you gotta come with your community and stand for what’s important to you,” said Jesse Liotta, who works as a doula on the Vineyard. Accompanying Liotta was her three-year-old daughter Josephine.
Emily Hewson, a born and raised Vineyarder, performed “America the Beautiful” at Five Corners. Hewson was driven to come out after seeing her coworkers at a local bank in fear following ICE’s on-Island raid.
“It’s so hard to find what you can actually do for your community and I was kind of hyping myself up before I got in here,” Hewson said. “‘This is what I can do, this is how I can come here with my community and represent.’ And it was really emotional, actually.”
At the same time in Aquinnah, Islanders huddled under a tent at the Cliffs heard speeches from Wampanoag tribal members, town officials, and town residents who criticized the Trump administration and called for a commitment to democratic values.
“We are gathered here on the stolen land of the Wampanoag people, in solidarity with them and all who believe in the promises of our country, never fully realized, of liberty, equality, and justice for all,” organizer Mitzi Pratt told the crowd.
Aquinnah town administrator and Wampanoag elder Jeffrey Madison spoke to advocate for calling out injustice.
“These are small demonstrations. But if Aquinnah can’t stand up for individual rights, we’re lost as a nation,” he said.
Eunki Seonwoo, Sara Creato, and Daniel Greenman contributed to this story.
Hope! Peace! Freedom!
We need these.
There are conservative radio personalities who spread lies. Consider Glenn Beck in his video saying that George Soros paid all the No Kings protesters to promote Soros’ desire for a Marxist world.
Who pays for Glenn Beck to speak?
Is it the oil industry?
Would a King allow his detractors to hold a “No Kings” day??
No, but he did say in regard to the DC 250th Military parade “”People that want to protest will be met with big force.”
Sounds a bit “King” like to me and certainly against the First Amendment.
Bravo!
No kings but put your mask on.
No kings but lock us down.
No kings but l’m firing you for not vaccinating.
No kings but you cant go outside.
No kings but we dont accept your exemption.
No kings but you need 12380 boosters.
No kings but we’re shutting your business down.
No kings but you can’t worship the REAL King.
No kings but your family members will die alone.
No kings but I’m opening a hotline so you can tattle on your neighbor.
No kings but mandates galore.
No kings but you’re responsible for my health.
No kings but social distance at 6 feet apart.
No kings but no family gatherings over 10.
The hypocrisy is astounding.
Perfectly stated!
No kings but we will appoint and anoint our preferred presidential candidate with out any voting.
So I guess you want to disqualify the entire 19th century…the first presidential primary was for the 1912 presidential election…until then, the parties just nominated their preferred candidate…is it your contention that we lived in an undemocratic society before then? And by the way, you could have voted for anybody for president…you’re just whining that you didn’t like the way the democrats nominated their choice for president…
There’s a world of difference between the benevolent President who came to our rescue in 2021, and the malevolent wannabe dictator who preceded him. Shame on us for allowing the bad penny to return.
Eilis — the precautions that were imposed during the pandemic 5 years ago were not imposed by a single person ==-they were imposed by thousands of local municipalities, states and decisions by private companies who followed the advice of the most respected agencies in the world ( CDC, WHO etc) Let me reiterate, LOCAL officials that have been tasked with providing information to protect the health of every person around the world. It is my opinion that if this advice was not followed, another million people would have died in this country. To put it bluntly . Ellis. those decisions about pandemic policies had nothing to do with a “king” .. And to answer Joseph Smith– trump is not a dictator yet, and we the people will make sure he never is.
The events you are complaining about all happened under the first Trump administration and were a result of his failed leadership during the pandemic. Talk about hypocrisy.
To all the protesters calling Trump a Nazi or Hitler or a racist
1 you trivialize the holocaust when you try to tie the murder of 6 million people to the deeds of Trump
2. If Trump was a dictator, would he allow dissent?
3 if we didn’t accept Joe Biden in 2020 we were election deniers, so I guess all the people screaming for Trumps removal are denying the results of the 2024 election?
John,
Dachau Concentration Camp began holding political prisoners, especially communists, March 1933. It was many years after that before Jews were executed there. Let’s look at the timeline of imprisonment without due process. What comes next? How will American’s freedoms be restored?
I was skeptical at first, but the No Kings rally worked.
I woke up this morning and my country still has no king.
Good job, everyone!
Can you spell “a-s-t-r-o-t-u-r-f”?
Isn’t it ironic that on a day when President Trump was in Washington celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Army these folks were holding a ” No Kings” rally. Do they have any clue that the Army is 250 years old because it started out as farmers and shopkeepers fighting against the British monarchy? President Trump was celebrating the elimination of rule by a King and these folks were protesting him. Does that make any sense at all? They are either tone deaf, woefully uneducated or just sore losers. Perhaps all three.
Mr. Axel, You must be kidding. Do you really think Mr. Trump cares about the Army, except in the sense that he would like to use it to quash dissent, and, I suppose, for self-aggrandizement. The No Kings rallies are a protest against what “kings” (that is, dictators) do, which is to incarcerate anyone they choose, without due process, with the help of a willing force of police or military. Because the Republican Party is putting reelection ahead of any degree of principle, and the Democrats are in the minority, for now, it is up to the people to speak up peacefully, in opposition, and that was what last Saturday’s demonstrations were about, and there will be more of the same.
Let’s be honest. What these people are upset about is that Donald Trump has forced them to look in the mirror and think about how the liberal principles that have so virtuously followed are an abject failure and hurt the people they thought they were helping. The working class, minorities, young people and under served communities are seeing hope in Donald Trump’s peace and prosperity future. The Left has gained power by keeping these communities down and now they essentially are flailing about with no direction. The country is heading towards a far more positive future and that infuriates the liberals who have failed consistently for decades.
John– You often speak of the failures of liberal principles, but only seem to do so in sweeping generalizations. I consistently ask, what are the failures ? What are you talking about when you say communities are “flailing about with no direction” because of “leftist principles” ? Do you not see the unity behind the resistance to unlawful acts by armed masked men ? Do you not see the unity and support of the LGBTQ community ? How about the unity and support for the migrant community that keeps this island running smoothly ? Who is being hurt by liberal policies ? We see people hurt by the draconian policies of this regime– children starving in third world countries, people losing essential services in this country, including access to health care. We see veterans kicked to the side of the road, and the world’s most respected educational institutions defunded and intimidated. We see weak leadership in foreign policy, both militarily and economically. We see the continuation, and indeed escalation of wars,– what happened to all that “day one” stuff ? We see the unravelling of decades of carefully nurtured trust among our allies Sorry, I just don’t see this fantasy future that you think is coming.
Thank you Steve for this concise comment. Well said.
Isn’t it ironic that on a day when President Trump was in Washington celebrating his birthday these folks were holding a ” No Kings” rally
I am confused by No KINGS. Is it because Trump is proactive? What has Congress done lately about seeking peace in the World; about providing for work visas for aliens/illegals/undocumented migrants smuggled into the USA; about addressing anti-Semitic hatred’s; and about addressing the threat posed by the CCP??
Please do tell me what you want to happen.
1,000 people at Five Corners on Saturday was proactive.
“No Kings” protests… brought to you by the party that anointed Kamala to be their candidate w/o a single vote
Joseph– she got the votes of the leaders of the DNC. That’s what mattered. And let me remind you that we had a republican president that “no one” voted for in 1973 because Nixon resigned. Sometimes the circumstances are different than the usual processes allow for.Also trump managed to weasel his way into the white house in 2020 without the majority of the popular vote. Sometimes some votes are more important than others. You can let that thing about Kamala go now–
Gerald Ford was the Vice President when Nixon resigned. How is this comparable to Kamala having no votes in her primary? Trump got into the White House in 2016 not 2020. You can let the ”no kings” thing go now.
Gerald Ford was appointed to be vice president. He never got a single vote for president or vice president until 2 years after he was president. He got to be president without ever even participating in a primary. Harris was on the primary ballot, and more than 19 million people voted for “Biden / Harris in the 2020 primaries and more than 14 million people did the same in the 2024 primaries. In addition 81 million people voted for Biden/Harris in the 2020 presidential election. But my question is why do republicans think this is an issue ? Can’t they just be happy they really won?
Republicans are very happy Harris lost. So are Jexits.
Popular Vote? That’s not the currency to win. Gov’t 101.
We want an end to arbitrary government. Trump’s minions are arresting people and imprisoning them without due process. His executive orders, eliminating the Department of Education for example, and clawing back money already approved by Congress are done without consultation or reason. In a democracy there are checks and balances. And making an enemy of Canada, our ally and neighbor- the list goes on…
Caroline Dias Goncalves, born in Brazil (where the family experienced violence) and living in the US most of her life, was stopped by a sheriff deputy in Colorado. She applied for asylum and was provided a work permit, limited driver’s license, and issued a Social Security number.
She had been working and received merit scholarships for university.
The sheriff pulled her over for a bs reason. Where is the video footage of her following the truck too closely? Why did he ask her to sit in HIS car and question her for nearly 20 minutes? Why did he ask where she was born? Why did he ask how long she lived in Utah? He claimed he had no idea that ice would detain her—it appears to me that he is outright lying.
Before the election republicans on this comment thread said that trump only wanted to deport the really bad guys. How is a scholarship student, who is using a legal path to be in the US, a bad guy?
You left off the part that she’s about to be released on bail. She has lawyers and family. Her family member who was interviewed didn’t want to give his name because… guess why? The young woman, btw, is 19. That’s a lot of years to be in this country without her or her parents making sure her status here is secure.
Stop making excuses for those who take advantage of the system that even a bleeding heart has to admit has been lax. Next thing you’ll be demanding that Mahmoud Khalil shouldn’t be deported.
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