Despite forecasts of extreme heat, about 8,000 people took part in the nationwide anti-Trump “No Kings” protest in Downtown Las Vegas on June 14. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police stood along Las Vegas Boulevard near Lloyd D. George federal courthouse Saturday evening, instructing protestors to stay on the sidewalks and off the road.
According to police, 15 people were arrested in connection with the protest, four of whom were juveniles—far less than the 94 arrested during anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests Downtown on Wednesday.
Volunteers for the nationwide anti-Trump advocacy group Indivisible and other partners handed out free water bottles. Trained marshals echoed police’s message to stay out of the road. And medics assisted several people who experienced heat-related illness.
Kathy Blair, an organizer for Indivisible’s Las Vegas chapter, said her group had been working with Metro “since the beginning.”
“We just try to do everything we can to not have to have them get involved. ... They’ve been really good to us in protecting us and keeping counter protesters away. When they show up in our group, they move them out. ... We’re trying to ... remain peaceful and also be heard,” Blair told the Weekly.
Near Clark Avenue around 7:30 p.m., police were seen escorting three counter protesters out of the area.
Most attendees left the area between Bonneville Avenue and Fremont Street by 8:30 p.m. The Weekly witnessed four arrests after subjects were seen stepping into the street or sitting on the curb. One 20-year-old man (who provided his date of birth to legal aid representatives) was riding a bicycle on Clark Avenue when he was grabbed, pinned to the ground by about a dozen officers and hauled to a police car.
In a message posted on X before the protest, LVMPD said “We are committed to protecting everyone’s constitutional right to protest peacefully. Your voice matters, and your safety does, too. ... Violence, property damage or illegal activity will not be tolerated.”
Authorities were on alert in the wake of ongoing anti-ICE protests in LA and across the country, some of which have brought vandalism, clashes with police and looting.
In Minnesota, State Patrol advised people to not attend the “No Kings” protest in St. Paul due to safety concerns tied to the shootings of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and state Sen. John Hoffman and their spouses in Minnesota early Saturday morning. Hortman and her husband were killed, while Hoffman and his wife have been hospitalized. 57-year-old suspect Vance Boelter, who authorities say had a list of other possible political targets and flyers reading “No kings” in his car, was arrested on Sunday night.
The tense atmosphere didn’t stop Democratic Congresswoman Dina Titus from appearing in front of the federal courthouse and giving a speech to attendees in Las Vegas on Saturday.
“We want people to hear us say, no kings. No emperors. No dictators. No to Donald Trump. Today is based on democratic principles: liberty, equality, justice for all people. ... Until we can get the votes, we just have to keep the drumbeat going,” Titus told the crowd amid cheers and chants.
The nationwide protests coincided with the 250th anniversary celebration of the Army in Washington D.C., a grand parade of 6,000 soldiers, 128 tanks and military might estimated to cost up to $45 million. Also in the backdrop was President Trump’s deployment of 4,000 National Guard and 700 Marines to the streets of LA last week to quell anti-ICE protests that the president has called a “rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States.”
“No Kings” protest attendee and U.S. Army veteran Rebekah Johnson said she found this use of military force “disturbing.”
“The military should never be turned on civilians. He’s overstepping his power and his authority. ... It’s really concerning, just the creeping authoritarianism. We have checks and balances on our powers and three branches of government for a reason, and he’s overstepping that in every possible way,” she said.
Another attendee and veteran James Martin, 48, said the military parade in D.C. was an “insult” and that the deployment of military forces in LA is unjustified.
“He has no business doing that. In the oath of enlistment I took, we swore to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. ... Every single one of those people in LA under the guise of the military, they know that they took the same oath I did. History will not absolve them,” Martin said.
Ultimately, the protest allowed people who are frustrated or angry about Trump’s policies to practice their right to free speech, Blair said.
“This gives people a way to make their voices heard and gather with each other ... have fun and wave their funny signs,” she said.
