In a dozen protests across Long Island, one rallying cry resonated throughout crowds of thousands: “No kings! No crowns! No fascism!”
The No Kings rallies across Nassau and Suffolk counties in protest of President Donald Trump were part of a wave of demonstrations that swept the nation on June 14. Rallygoers from Orient Point to Port Washington voiced passionate opposition to federal agents rounding up immigrants, what protesters say is rising authoritarianism, political corruption, and misuse of taxpayer funds. The protests coincide with Flag Day — also Trump’s 79th birthday — for which the president held a $40 million military parade.
“The current person in charge is a draft dodger, there’s no question about that in my mind, and that’s why I’m here,” said Matt Cody, whose father fought on Omaha Beach on D-Day during World War II.
Trump’s parade is a “complete waste of taxes,” he added. “There’s cuts being taken in this government that are affecting people who are on Medicaid. I know people who are on Medicaid. I know people who are suffering. So this is a complete waste of money.”
MINEOLA MARCH
Cody was among the nearly 3,000 who joined the No Kings rally in Mineola, during which protesters marched from the Nassau County Courthouse to the legislature building.
At the same time, 11 other rallies took place across Long Island, including in Huntington, Patchogue, Port Jefferson, the Hamptons and on the North Fork. An estimated 10,000 people took to the streets across the region despite the rainy weather as organizers said millions rallied at No Kings protests nationwide.
Opposition to escalating ICE activity across the country — including on Long Island, where recently a 23-year-old Brentwood man was allegedly wrongfully detained by ICE; a Port Washington bagel store owner was taken when he arrived to work; and ICE agents swept through Glen Cove in pursuit of four individuals — took center stage at the No Kings rallies.
“My wife didn’t want me to come. She was scared because I don’t look American, I don’t look white,” said David, who asked to be identified by first name only. “People might think I’m from Mexico — I’m not from Mexico. People might think I’m from Central America — I’m not from Central America. But these raids are targeting people who look like me.”
David emigrated from Peru 32 years ago to escape guerrilla militants who terrorized his home and killed those who did not comply. He was eventually able to obtain citizenship and has made a safer life for himself on Long Island.
David’s wife made him take his passport and documentation to the No Kings rally in case he had to prove his citizenship. But the risk of being racially profiled or detained by law enforcement was not enough to stop him — he needed to fight for the future of his 24-year-old son, who recently graduated college.
“I want to show support to those kinds of kids out there,” David said. “First-generation Americans. There’s this dream in America that if you can do it, you can fight for it, and you’re able to describe your goals, then you can be something. And you can do something for other people.”
It gave him chills, David said, to see people of all colors come together for a cause. The crowd was also comprised of people of all ages, from senior citizens to young children.
Declan Borzell, 10, came to the No Kings rally with his family. It was his first protest.
“It’s very patriotic and very fun,” he said. “It feels great to exert my feelings about Trump and the bad things he’s doing.”
“We think it’s very important that he learns what our country is built on,” said Declan’s father, Paul Borzell. “He has a strong idea of what is right and wrong, and he has a very strong idea of what democracy is. So, we just wanted to show him what it was, locally.”
PORT JEFFERSON DEMONSTRATION
An estimated 1,000 people rallied in the rain off Nesconset Highway in Port Jefferson Station.
“What I’m going to ask of you all today and going forward is to have those difficult conversations,” Skyler Johnson, chair of the Suffolk County Young Democrats, said at the Port Jefferson Station protest. “When I say that this must be brought into the light, I mean that it must be dragged into the light. What that means is that when you have people saying that ‘Immigrants do not get due process,’ make sure that they are corrected, because if one person does not have due process, none of us have due process. What I am saying is, do not sacrifice the LGBTQ, the trans community, in order to appease a dictator.”
Others spoke of a need to address more than just the actions of the White House.
“I want to be real clear: today is a No Kings Day, but at the end of the day, this is not about Donald Trump,” Shoshanna Hershkowitz said in Port Jefferson Station. “It didn’t start with him, and it doesn’t end with him, because the racism, the xenophobia, the income inequality that drove us to this place. It started before Trump. He’s a symptom.”
HUNTINGTON’S GRIEVANCES
Lt. Gov Antonio Delgado addressed the crowd of about 1,000 people in Huntington with a message that emphasized love over hate and lifting each other up as drivers honked their horns in support on Main Street.
“Do not allow the cruelty of this country to make you give up on this country,” Delgado said. “What really matters is respect and love and caring for each other.”
Protestors chanted messages such as “Hey-hey-ho-ho, Donald Trump has got to go!”
Gilda Axelrod, a 62-year-old social worker from Commack, said it was important for those concerned about the state of the country to exercise their First Amendment right to peacefully assemble to air their grievances with the administration.
“People are getting ripped out of their homes, ripped out of their jobs, sent to parts unknown in the world,” she said. “All of our rights are being eroded, and it’s important that we take a stand.”
Retired Family Court Judge Nicolette Pach, 77, of Huntington, was concerned about cuts to Medicaid that impact her disabled granddaughter and extrajudicial deportations.
“People are disappearing without due process,” the former judge said. “There’s no regard for anybody’s rights. It’s unbelievable that we live in times like this where we can treat people the way they’ve been treated.”
Gail Nee, a 70-year-old nurse practitioner concerned about the erosion of women’s reproductive rights under the current administration, said she is seeing more people turn out to protest.
“This is the second protest I’ve attended since he’s become president the second time, and each turnout has been higher than the previous one,” Nee said. “I think that people have to be reminded constantly that we cannot sit in silence. We have to speak up for what we think is right….”
PATCHOGUE PROTEST
Another 2,000 people were estimated to have turned out at the No Kings rally in Patchogue, where the some were concerned about violence and others with LGBTQ+ rights.
“I’ve just had enough, quite honestly,” Jenny McCloskey, behavior consultant rallying in the rain, said. “I have family members, particularly in the LGBTQ community, and I just feel like it’s really important to show up for their rights. I watch my family members’ worlds getting smaller, and it’s not okay.”
Others who spoke to the Press at the Patchogue rally declined to give their names out of fear of the increased tensions.
“Last night we just had two reps shot, and this administration is going to fan the flames of that violence,” said one protester, referring to the assassination of a Democratic Missouri lawmaker and her husband. “While at the same time, saying that what we’re doing right here and right now is violent. I don’t see anybody here being violent. No one.”
Despite the unrest turning violent elsewhere in the nation, some protesters remained cautiously optimistic that the rallies would open some people’s minds.
“It gives people hope seeing everybody still has common sense out here, especially on Long Island, where it’s a majority red,” said another anonymous protester. “Hopefully, people are looking at things and realizing what’s really going on in America.”
EAST END DISSENT
More than 1,000 people rallied in Riverhead, about 500 hit the streets of Sag Harbor, and 250 marched down Billionaire’s Row in Southampton as a part of the No Kings protests.
“There’s more money in this one strip of the country than there is in some entire countries in the world,” said Rachel Hu, one of the organizers of the Billionaire’s Row march. “People want to be able to have their message be heard by the people that are directly responsible for the challenges that we have in our lives.”
Protesters also picketed in Orient Point, East Hampton, and Hampton Bays.
Among the issues raised in Sag Harbor was cuts to funding for scientific research.
“I’m here because what Trump administration is doing to undermine science,” said one anonymous protester. “The Trump administration is taking away funding from science, scientists working on preventing or curing us, if there’s another epidemic, all that money is gone again … What the administration is doing in terms of vaccinations, undermining science, will also lead to the death of America.”
A bevy of politicians from near and far spoke at the Riverhead rally, including U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-Brooklyn).
“America is a democracy, not a monarchy, no matter how much the current occupant of the White House wishes otherwise,” he said. “Donald Trump is methodically and steadfastly working to undermine the rule of law, dismantle our democracy, terrorize immigrants, eliminate all forms of accountability, and abuse the power of the presidency for his political and personal gain. This weekend, Americans across the country are standing up to say enough is enough, and to remind the country that our government belongs to the people, not to a man who would be king.”
PORT WASHINGTON PUSHES BACK ON ICE
Hundreds of people gathered in protest in front of the Port Washington train station on Saturday, June 14, in spite of the heavy rain. The protest was part of the national No Kings movement, in opposition to President Donald Trump and in response to his military parade on the same day.
“It’s raining on his parade,” one protester said.
The protest was organized by Lucille Rabinowitz, who said she was impressed with the number of people who showed up despite it being planned a couple of days prior and the pouring rain. She said this proved to show how important the cause and sending their message was.
The No Kings protest centered on the preservation of rights for marginalized groups, including trans individuals, immigrants and women, and defending democracy – which many said Trump is a direct threat to.
The nationwide protests fell against the backdrop of increased ICE raids and detainments of immigrants across the country.
For Port Washington, this issue was personal.
Just two days before the protest, a local Port Washington bagel shop manager was detained by ICE agents as he was pulling up to the store to start his shift. The manager, Fernando Mejia, had immigrated from El Salvador 20 years prior and reportedly overstayed his visa.
Protesters chanted “Fernando,” calling for him to be freed as they yelled, “ICE is not welcome here.”
Many protesters were local to Port Washington, but some came from across the town to join.
Laura Bisberg, a Port Washington resident, came out with her husband and two young children to do what she called showing up for their community.
“We want to show the people in our community who might be endangered by the ICE raids or by backing off of queer rights that we are here to support them and that we don’t believe in our neighbors being abducted or having rights tripped from them,” she said.
She said in bringing her kids to the protest, they wanted to show them how they can spread messages of positivity while expressing their voices on behalf of their community.
“I think it’s good for them to know as they grow up that this country may do things that are not right and it’s worth trying to make your voice heard,” Bisberg said.
A group of women from Mill Pond Acres, a 55-year-old and older community in Port Washington, came out together to rally for their community.
“I’m here to get people to vote for people we want and who agree and for democracy,” Enid Hawthorne said. “I’m against ICE being here and raiding our restaurants and our landscapers because they help our economy and they come here for the reasons that our constitution indicates, and our constitution is being lost by the president.”
WHEN THE RALLY’S OVER
Long after the No Kings protest had officially ended, one man still stood on the side of Old Country Road in Mineola, holding the American flag as high as he could. He emigrated from Bangladesh at 16 and then spent years serving the U.S. military.
“As long as we have them, we have to exercise our rights,” he said. “If you don’t exercise them, they fall apart.
“We have to be out there and letting everybody know what it means to us,” he continued as he got choked up. “What America means to us.”
