As tanks and soldiers prepared to roll down the streets of Washington, D.C. on Saturday — part of a military parade requested by President Trump — people angry with his policies made their own show of political might by staging mass protests nationwide.
In New Hampshire, the ‘No Kings’ rallies drew crowds to Keene, Concord, Portsmouth and Colebrook, as well as two dozen other communities. Despite intermittent rain, protesters in Dover filled the downtown, waving signs and chanting as passing vehicles honked repeatedly.
“Every day he’s doing something illegal,” said Jim Kusch, of Windham. “This guy is a criminal, and he needs to be stopped.”
The grievances listed by protestors were long and varied: from concerns over attacks on voting and reproductive rights, to indiscriminate cuts to government services carried out by Elon Musk and his DOGE initiative. Many people said that recent deportations, as well as tactics used by ICE, were serving as new calls for action.
“Deporting people, doing what they are doing, no due process, is really just a horrible, sad thing to see,” said Krystle Felipe, of Dover. “It’s not the America that I want to be in.”
In Gorham, among the demonstrators gathered in the center of town was Elaine Champagne, who traveled from nearby Berlin. She said she decided to join after seeing a list of events online.
“This is the first time I’ve ever protested anything in my whole life,” Champagne said.
In Manchester on Friday evening, a crowd congregated at the edge of the city’s main business district. Speakers there encouraged people to stay active, even after they left this protest.
“I hope to see most of your faces at other events, other actions,” said Grace Kindeke, one of several progressive activists in attendance. “Because that’s how we fight back: We fight back together.”
Once the speeches wrapped up, the crowd traveled across the Granite Street bridge — briefly pausing traffic — before settling in with their protest signs at a park on Manchester’s West Side.
According to organizers, the No Kings events were planned in reaction to Trump’s staging of a military parade this weekend marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. The parade also coincides with the president’s 79th birthday.
“I applaud the Army, I think they should celebrate,” said Paul Spendley, who served 22 years in the Air Force and was protesting in Dover. “To have this done Soviet-style is absolutely wrong.”
No Kings did not stage a rally in Washington, D.C. The events were planned well in advance of the recent protests and unrest in Los Angeles over immigration enforcement, which have also spread to other cities. The organizers of Saturday’s events called for nonviolent protest and discouraged participants from bringing any weapons to rallies. It wasn’t immediately clear if there were any arrests made at events across New Hampshire.
In April, anti-Trump protestors also took to streets in cities and towns across the U.S. as part of a similar nationwide mobilization.
Additional reporting from NHPR’s Casey McDermott and Dan Tuohy
