‘No Kings’ Rallies Draw Thousands Across Montana
Organizers said 29 sites had events in the Treasure State
By Darrell Ehrlick and Jordan Hansen, Daily Montanan
Thousands of Montanans literally took to the state’s streets on Saturday as part of a nationwide “No Kings” protest, meant to be a counter-demonstration to the military parade that was happening on the streets of the nation’s Capitol, which was being billed as a celebration of the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday, but also coincided with President Donald J. Trump’s 79th birthday.
Nearly 30 rallies had been officially planned through the “No Kings” organization page in Montana, including in its largest cities as well as other smaller towns, including Hot Springs (population 617) and Eureka (population 1,533). Facebook postings showed nearly 600 people in Livingston, and an estimated 400 in Lewistown.
In Montana’s largest city, Billings, organizers estimated a crowd in excess of 2,000 people, more than had rallied for democracy just months earlier. During the two-hour event, the crowd centered on the Yellowstone County Courthouse lawn, adjacent from the federal courthouse. Crowds holding signs gathered for several downtown blocks as horns blared in solidarity and in protest.
Speakers and singers rallied the crowd, as signs, flags and even pets wearing outfits created a colorful protest on issues ranging from immigration to taxes to groceries. One sign read: “You wanted cheap eggs, you got measles.”
“We are the richest country on earth at the richest point in the nation’s history,” said Bob Struckman of the AFL-CIO. “Then why are we so broke? It’s not the trans community. It’s not the immigrants. It’s the billionaires. But we know that working people are the ones that solve the problems. We build roads, we teach kids. That’s called diversity, brothers and sisters, and when we get together at the ballot boxes, that’s called democracy.”
Struckman said he was rallying for good jobs, rebuilding the middle class, and staying unified.
Many around the state flocked to the rally, including over 3,000 people in Bozeman, and even close to 200 in Havre.
The scene in Helena was upbeat, as more than 2,000 attendees spread out over the lawn of the state’s capitol. A Ska band performed before and after speeches. Speakers included former Republican Governor Marc Racicot, who has been outspoken about Trump. Racicot was the former head of the Republican National Party.
“It is as predictable as night following day that Donald Trump will ignore and transgress the ethical and legal boundaries of the law and the Constitution at his whim and caprice,” Racicot said to a roaring crowd. “There is virtually no ethical obligation or moral code that guides or confines his actions, his snide accusations, his sociopathic lies or his brutish behavior. Vengeance and extortion are his weapons of choice to enforce his demands and his only boundaries are the limit of what he wants.”
Racicot’s 10-minute speech was blistering and well received by the crowd. He spoke about Trump’s disregard for laws, expressing his utter distaste the president’s attacks on the judicial system, social security nets and how the President’s actions have disrupted the entire world’s economy.
“We the people, quite frankly, have waited too long in the face of overwhelming evidence to draw and act upon numerous inescapable conclusions, to stand up, stand up and speak out,” Racicot said.
Attacks on the education system, as well as Trump’s stated goal of dismantling the federal Department of Education were mentioned throughout the day. Charlie Snellman, a recent graduate of Capital High School, spoke about his frustration with what his education could end up looking like.
He also spoke about attacks on the arts, including Trump taking over as chairman of the Kennedy Center.
“His goal is to install a golden age for American arts that doesn’t sound golden, it sounds controlled, it sounds stifled, but it sounds like a warning,” Snellman said to the crowd. “This is our call to action, because let’s not forget, after becoming German chancellor in 1933, Hitler and his Ministry of Education sought to control education and the arts in every possible way, Nazi ideology was infused into every aspect of social and private life in Germany. So I ask you, what’s different about our president?”
Luke Ashmore, who was recently elected as a trustee of the Billings Public Schools, said he wasn’t there representing a political campaign.
“I came for the most important job I have, as a neighbor,” Ashmore said. “Day-to-day action starts right now, building on micro-actions. Make sure you’re talking to your neighbors, and you’re having face-to-face conversations.”
Jennifer Lynn, a native of Wibaux who teaches history and politics at Montana State University-Billings, is an expert on 20th Century Germany.
“There are dangerous and real parallels between now and 20th Century Germany,” she said, including dehumanizing immigrants, women and targeting the LGBTQ+ community. “The lessons that I try to teach all of my students is: Beware of the beginnings. Donald Trump has told us who he is and what he wants. This is not inevitable — we can fight, resist and defend our Constitution.”
Pastor Lisa Harmon, who has been a leader in Billings for decades, and works at the First Congregational church in the heart of the downtown, across from the courthouse, said that for her, the moment felt like the biblical story of the Pentecost.
“When people from different backgrounds and different languages felt a wind sweeping over them and a message in their own native language, in that moment, it didn’t flatten their identity, it lifted them up; it lifted each voice. It was about a king, it was promoting peace and justice and today, it feels like that kind of day,” she said. “There is power in and among the people. People are diverse in story and body.
“A complex and complicated people were building something more beautiful and more free. It reminds us that no law and no border can undo our belonging to each other. Liberty is your birthright, and we have something more powerful than a throne — we have each other.”
Protesting the Protestors
Though most of the protestors and rally-goers at the “No Kings” events were there to oppose the military parade in Washington, D.C., and object to President Donald J. Trump, intermingled in the sea of signs were a few people holding “Make America Great Again” signs, and other placards expressing support for the policies of the Republicans.
Pat Curry stood across the street from most of the protesters, wearing his Trump t-shirt, and buttons, including one Trump that had a shock of beige-orange hair.
He admitted he was outnumbered, just like the last time, but showed up, he said, to rally for common-sense and to support the president.
Curry said he’s been pleased with how the second Trump presidency has handled issues, including stopping transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports, as well as keeping bathrooms separate.
“I’m 6-foot, six and 250 pounds. Can you imagine me playing sports with women?” he asked.
He said that he’s also proud that Trump is standing up for freedom, including not being required to get a vaccine.
“The government shouldn’t tell me that I have to get a shot in order to keep a job that I have had for 20 years,” Curry said.
He also said that he’s happy to see the Trump administration return to common sense when it comes to sex.
“People don’t know if they’re a man or a woman, and they’re all focused on sex,” he said. “But then when they do have sex, they want to kill at the babies.”
Nearby, Lucinda Splitstone stood holding a sign supporting Immigration and Customs and “backing the blue.”
“If we don’t speak up for our rights, who will?” she said. “And no one is standing up for them.”
In one minor incident in Helena, a Trump supporter sounded a large horn in a parking lot reserved for legislators during the event. He eventually left after speaking with law enforcement, though the horn could be heard several times down the street.