About 1,000 people lined the edges of Watson Park and spilled throughout the surrounding sidewalks of downtown Lawrence on Saturday to protest what they argue is an overreach of power by the Trump administration.
The protest was part of more than 2,700 national No Kings protests across all 50 states, according to national organizers.
It was the second national movement of No Kings protests.
The first one, in June, brought out hundreds in Lawrence.
On Saturday, protesters carried signs, instruments, costumes and more. Cars driving by honked in support as chants and songs broke out in different sections of the protest.
Most of the signs and chants targeted the Trump administration, but supporters cited a wide array of reasons for attending.
Hunter Houck and Jax Cornejo came to the protest together and said there were many reasons they wanted to join. Cornejo, who said it was his first protest, said actions close to home at KU and across the country in Gaza made him want to support the protest.
“I feel like there’s so many things, and it’s good to see people come out in Lawrence, you know, it’s a great community,” Cornejo said.
Houck brought a sign pushing back against the Kansas Legislature’s looming plan to redistrict the state’s congressional maps to remove Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids’ seat, which follows redistricting by other states, like Missouri, at the behest of the Trump administration.
“I think that’s ridiculous,” Houck said. “We just did this, and the fact that we’re trying to do it again just because the president wants us to, that is unacceptable.”
Trish Dowd Kelne and her daughter Lucy were walking through the bustling Watson Park together. Lucy was holding two signs, one for herself and one for her dad, who wasn’t able to attend Saturday.
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“We’re looking for a government that stands for rights, not riches,” Lucy said.
Dowd Kelne said they attended the protests because they wanted to do the right thing.
“It’s good to be with community,” Dowd Kelne said. “It reminds us that there’s other people that feel the same way, and it gives us reason and purpose to get out and be together.”
Cory Brinkerhoff said it was encouraging to see the amount of people protesting.
“Everybody in the country that cares about our country should come out today,” he said. “We’ve never had a crisis like this.”
No Kings protests were in cities across the country, including Kansas City, Topeka, Eudora, Ottawa and Emporia.
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Cuyler Dunn (he/him), a contributor to The Lawrence Times since April 2022, is a student at the University of Kansas School of Journalism. He is a graduate of Lawrence High School where he was the editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, The Budget, and was named the 2022 Kansas High School Journalist of the Year. Read his complete bio here. Read more of his work for the Times here.
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