For the third time over the past year, residents from in and out of Emporia gathered in the downtown corridor to raise their voices against the current Federal administration Saturday afternoon.
The third, No Kings Rally occupied the intersection of Sixth and Commercial, with residents sharing chants, songs and signs in a nonviolent demonstration against what organizers have called “authoritarian power grabs” at the federal level. Saturday’s rally followed similar efforts last June and October.
Resident Don Loux organized the first rally last summer and has been involved with the movement since. He tells KVOE News there were right around 150 individuals in attendance Saturday and there appeared to be a lot of support for the effort from passersby, with little resistance, unlike the previous two events.
Loux believes this is a sign that the division between residents on matters of policy at the federal level is beginning to decrease.
Detractors to the No Kings movement have often quipped that the United States “has no kings” in an effort to diminish the movement’s impact. Loux, and many others stated Saturday they are fully aware of this fact, saying those who make such comments do not fully understand the mission of the movement.
He explains they are simply exercising their rights to speak out against what they perceive to be kinglike behavior by President Donald Trump over the past year of his presidency, with Loux pointing to recent actions and decisions by the President that many perceive as exceeding the authority of his office.
