Second No Kings Day protest draws Floyd crowd
Saturday's No Kings rally in Floyd was an upbeat two-hour demonstration with live music and singing. Many drivers of vehicles passing by showed their support by cheering, beeping their horns, and waving.
Hundreds of Floyd County citizens gathered around the courthouse on Saturday for the No Kings Day 2 rally to stand up for democracy.
American flags were flying and participants held homemade signs that gave voice to their concerns and frustrations: “No Kings, No ICE,” “Dignity for All,” “Release the Epstein Files,” “Congress, Do Your Job,” “Our Grandparents Fought Fascism, Will You?,” and more.
Pastor Wanda Childs of the Floyd-Willis Lutheran Parish marked the beginning of the peaceful protest with a benediction. One participant dressed as the Statue of Liberty. Two Vietnam veterans held a large American flag. Another veteran held a sign that read “I’m a Veteran, and I support the Constitution.”
Karen Baker, current chair of the Floyd County Democratic Committee, used a megaphone to introduce speaker Freda Cathcart, the founder of Indivisible Roanoke, calling out, “Listen up patriots!...”
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Speaking of Cathcart, Baker said, “She’s an elected official representing Roanoke County on the Blue Ridge Soil and Water Conservation Board. Her ancestors fought in the American Revolution to protect people’s rights against the tyranny of King George. Her grandmother was a suffragette. She has taken up her ancestors’ patriotic torch to peacefully defend our constitutional rights.”
Cathcart addressed the crowd, “I heard a rumor. Ya’ll might have heard it too. There’s supposed to be some hate America rallies out there happening today. I haven’t seen anything like that.” She added, “We’re here together because we love our country,” before leading the crowd in a U-S-A chant.
Baker, wearing an American Revolution hat, made her way through the crowd with her megaphone, asking protesters, ‘how do you resist?’
Several people answered by saying, “I vote.” Others said, “with kindness,” “every way I can,” and “by raising anti-fascist children.”
It was an upbeat two-hour demonstration with live music and singing. Many drivers of vehicles passing by showed their support by cheering, beeping their horns, and waving.
In the following days, news outlets reported that an estimated 7 million people participated in 2,700 No Kings protests across the country and in all 50 states.