On Saturday, June 14, Flag Day, President Trump will be throwing himself a $50 million military birthday parade in Washington D.C. On this same day, people across the nation will be showing up to say “No Kings.” What exactly does this mean, and why are folks compelled to mobilize in such large numbers?

The reference to “No Kings” connects to the history of our country during its formation as a nation, when colonists fought against the rule of the British King, George III, accusing him of tyranny and violations of colonial rights. The colonists eventually declared their independence from British rule through the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and drafted the Constitution to establish a framework for their new government, which explicitly rejected monarchy and aristocracy.

Now, almost 250 years later, we have a tyrannical president and administration that is attempting to dismantle our government on a daily basis, with increasing tyranny and corruption. Although the list of abuses is almost too extensive to include here, these are just a few of the ways the Trump team is intentionally creating harm:

• Undermining the rule of law by disregarding court orders, threatening impeachment of judges, attacking law firms and lawyers, and abusing executive power.

• Attacking freedom of expression and the right to protest, including crackdowns on student protestors, especially those in support of Palestinian rights. This has threatened our First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceful assembly.

• Undermining our press freedom by targeting journalists, suing media outlets, pulling funding that supports free press globally, which are essential to the defense of human rights.

• Targeting immigrants through mass deportations, enforced disappearances, family separations, and harsh restrictions on the right to asylum, all of which has violated international law.

• Marginalizing Black and other racialized communities through the forced closures of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs that embrace racial equity and justice. This has led to threats to defund education and universities across the country.

• Accepting foreign gifts such as a $400 million dollar Boeing 747 from the Qatari government, although the Constitution prohibits anyone in the U.S. government, including the president, from accepting gifts from foreign states without Congressional consent.

• Appointing Elon Musk, an unelected and unaccountable government official, who has wielded expansive executive power in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Musk, with permission from the Trump administration, has banished tens of thousands of federal employees, canceled lifesaving aid, and threatened America’s essential programs such as Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. All this to pay for another round of tax breaks for themselves and their billionaire friends.

The June 14 demonstration is just one of the many steps aimed at mobilizing and rejecting dictatorship in the United States. Now is the time to join local and national demonstrations against Trump’s authoritarian overreach, purges, and attacks on civil rights. It’s time to protect and defend everyday Americans from Trump’s efforts to ruin our economy and our democracy on purpose.

Michele Fay

Ripton