The chants of “No Kings here” and “This is what Democracy looks like” rang out from protestors gathered at the corner of William and Blue & Grey Parkway on Saturday morning.
Hundreds of people lined the corner from the Route 1/ Falmouth off-ramp all the way past St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church to protest the actions of President Donald Trump and his cabinet since his return to the White House in January 2025.
Throughout the two hours when the protest was held, from 10 a.m. to noon, protesters chanted and made noise, gathering support from passing commuters. The event’s organizers offered bottled water to those participating, and the only notable disruption was a pickup truck whose driver purposely spewed exhaust fumes while driving by.
The “No Kings Day” protest was one of nearly 2,000 rallies held simultaneously in 17 countries, according to one of the event’s organizers. The Fredericksburg protest, along with others, were initially organized by the progressive organization Indivisible in concert with local organizations such as the Fredericksburg Democratic Committee. Fredericksburg Democratic Committee chair Ken Lecky said the event had 500 signups prior to the day of the protest.
Lecky framed the Fredericksburg protest as part of a wider worldwide movement protesting against the actions of the party in power.
“It gives me hope to see this many people across the country, across the world, getting together to understand what’s at stake in America,” he said.
One of the event’s organizers, who wished to be identified as “Lola” is a cancer survivor who finished treatment almost two years ago. Lola expressed dismay at the cuts made by Trump to cancer research.
“My potential health is dependent on cancer research,” she said. “Knowing that those cuts are happening willy-nilly without really trusting our scientists and that it could impact my personal life is very distressing to me.”
Melanie Jankovits encourages commuters passing the No Kings protest to honk. (Photos by Rick Horner)
One protester, Andrew Collins, said those assembled sought to send a message to Trump and the Republican Party about their displeasure with the administration’s deeds and tactics.
Collins said that what scared him the most was the involvement of the United States Military in Los Angeles and threats by the administration to use the troops in other American cities. Trump called in the National Guard and the U.S. Military over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Collins also listed other controversies, such as the gift of a lavish jet from the Qatari government and the budget bill known as the “big, beautiful bill” currently in the United States Senate.
“They’re on pace to spend more money than any government has in American history,” he said. “There is so much hypocrisy, there is so much corruption and so much crime involved that we want to speak out against.”
Protestors brought signs decrying several issues with the current administration.
A couple of protestors who wanted to be known as Renee and Ray were particularly concerned about House Bill 9495, also known as the “Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act,” which they said allowed non-profit organizations to be charged as terrorist organizations with only 90 days for the organization to prove its innocence.
“This is his way of dismantling our country bit by bit, tearing down our democracy,” Renee said.
A handful of politicians attended the event, including Aaron Rouse, a Democratic candidate for Virginia Lt. Gov who will face off in a six-way primary next week.
But Democrats were not the only ones protesting the actions of the Trump Administration. Steve Spratt described himself as a lifelong conservative Republican who never voted for the president. Spratt participated in the protest along with his daughter.
Spratt was particularly concerned about the raids made by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the denial of due process for those who have been arrested.
“You can’t trust him,” Spratt said of the president. “He doesn’t do what he says and I think he’s more interested in what he does for himself and not the country.”
Correction: A photo caption previously misidentified a protester. The caption has been corrected.
