Utah’s No Kings protests begin

Note to readers • This is a developing story and will be updated.

Utahns gathered Saturday morning at the University of Utah’s Marriott Library Plaza for the first of two scheduled “No Kings” demonstrations in Salt Lake City — part of a sweeping national movement opposing President Donald Trump.

The protests come as Washington, D.C., prepares for a military parade celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army — which coincides with Trump’s 79th birthday — and after the president deployed soldiers and Marines to protests in Los Angeles.

Francie Barber, 74, a lifelong Salt Lake City resident, said she is saddened by the direction the country is going in under Trump’s leadership.

“We don’t trust Trump,” Barber said, while proudly holding up her handmade sign that says “immigrants are the heart of this country.”

Half of Barber’s family is from Mexico, and she said she disagrees with Trump’s immigration policies. Her son-in-law was born in Mexico, and has worked hard to make a comfortable life for himself in the U.S., she said.

“A great number of people are dissatisfied, and it’s great to see that they are in Salt Lake,” Barber said, noting that many participants in the U. demonstration are around her age.

It was 80 degrees and rising as protesters, carrying homemade signs, American flags and water bottles, crowded the library courtyard nearly an hour before the 10 a.m. start.

The No Kings effort, led by the activist group 50501 Movement — named for its call to mobilize protests in all 50 states — is organizing demonstrations in over 2,000 cities and towns across the country, according to a news release shared by the group. Larger rallies are planned in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston and Phoenix.

At least 17 No Kings rallies have been scheduled across Utah for Saturday. Sarah Buck, an organizer for the Salt Lake City protest at the U., said the organizers “call ourselves protectors, not protesters.”

“The No Kings movement is to remind Americans and the administration that we broke away from a king and that we are founded on a Constitution,” Buck said in a news release, “and that we demand our leaders follow that Constitution.”

No Kings demonstrations are planned from Logan to St. George, with the earliest events scheduled at 9 a.m. in Cedar City, Bluff, Provo, Moab and Park City.

“To believe in the United States Constitution is to believe there is no American king,” said author and community activist Darlene McDonald, the first speaker at the U.

Leaders in the Trump administration “get the general population to assist in attacking their neighbors by stoking fears and manipulating anger,” McDonald said, which garnered a chorus of boos from the crowd.

Referring to those who buy into what she called the “fear factor,” she told demonstrators “you are here today because you have not.” She chanted, “Ain’t no power like the power of the people, the power of the people don’t stop,” which the crowd repeated back.

Tensions have escalated recently after Trump deployed National Guard troops and U.S. Marines into Los Angeles to suppress immigration protests, against the wishes of California’s governor.

“While we recognize the right to assemble,” Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz said on social media Thursday, “let us be clear: violence and vandalism will not be tolerated.

The speaker said Gov. Spencer Cox has worked with state and local law enforcement agencies to create a public safety plan. “Resources are deployed, and law enforcement is prepared.”

“We are committed to protecting the public, our communities, and state property,” Shultz added.

Utah Senate Democrats said they support the constitutional right of Utahns to protest and honor those who do so.

“We firmly encourage peaceful displays of protest,” Senate Democrats said in a statement. “This is an effective and powerful way to stand united with our community and spark meaningful, necessary change.”

The Utah State Emergency Operations Center, where officials monitor and coordinate responses to disasters and emergencies, has progressively been increasing its level of activation over the week.

On Monday, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Management told The Salt Lake Tribune that the SEOC was increased from Level 5 for day-to-day operations to a Level 4 “monitoring” activation in response to the protests in Los Angeles.

That was then increased to “Level 3 Enhanced Monitoring” on Wednesday, “in anticipation of potential protest activity and in support of Utah Highway Patrol during the Redbull Soapbox Event” Saturday at the Capitol, emergency officials wrote in a report then.

A spokesperson for the Utah National Guard told The Tribune that troops have not been deployed or staged ahead of Saturday’s protest. They noted that the Air Guard’s security forces squadron has an ongoing, emergency response relationship with the state and can be quickly activated in an emergency or public safety event.