URBANA — Thousands gathered in downtown Urbana Saturday for the second “No Kings” protest of the year. The causes and organizations varied, but those in attendance had one thing in common: They still aren’t happy with President Donald Trump.
“We are here to protect American democracy,” said Tracey Dougan, co-lead of Champaign County Indivisible, one of the protest’s main organizers. “It’s a unique system that has survived longer than any other government in the world, and we want to preserve it.”
According to the Urbana Police Department, roughly 4,000 people gathered outside the Champaign County courthouse at noon where several speeches were given.
Matthew Hurtado, outreach coordinator for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, rallied the crowd, emphasizing the importance of optimism within activist movements.
Hurtado, a sophomore political science major, also said he was happy to see groups with diverse political leanings in attendance.
“I think it’s beautiful to see,” he said. “I think once you can get moderates and leftists to go to the same protest together, once we’re united, the movement and the change that we can make is so positive.”
Other speakers included Kendell Harrison of Champaign County Indivisible, the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign’s student body president Gabi DalSanto and Cunningham Township supervisor Danielle Chynoweth.
After about an hour of speeches, the crowd took to the streets, which had been blocked off ahead of time with concrete blocks and barricades by Urbana city employees.
“We are doing all of this with the blessing and support of the mayor of Urbana [and] the law enforcement in Urbana,” Dougan said.
C-U’s protest was one of about 2,600 held across the country on the same day, drawing millions of people out into the streets of major cities and small, rural towns. Before Saturday, organizers predicted turnout could be greater than the first No Kings protests, held on June 14 — Trump’s birthday — earlier this year.
Since then, the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the following crackdown on free speech, restrictive new press guidelines for Pentagon reporters and the deployment of National Guard troops in various American cities have fanned political tensions in the U.S.
Despite comments like those from Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson calling the event a “hate America rally,” people in Urbana remained peaceful, even as a smaller group of protesters marched down University Avenue after the official demonstration had ended.
Protesters had strong words for the Trump administration.
Joe McMenamin, a former member of the Illinois National Guard and retired Springfield alderman, said Trump’s use of military in cities is dangerous.
“I’m here because we have the most corrupt, lawless president in our nation’s history, and it’s just a disgrace to see what’s happening by Trump,” he said. “So many of those he’s appointed to the cabinet are unfit, and they’re making a mockery of our country.”
Michael B. Weissman, an emeritus professor of physics at the U of I, also attended the protest.
“The country is rapidly drifting into dictatorship. Classic, brutal, top-down dictatorship,” Weissman said. “Even a little gesture of opposition, if that’s what we have available to do, it’s important to do.”
While there was a general sense of unity among those gathered, some said they were excluded from the official plans because of their message.
Nestor, a protester who only gave his first name and self-identified as an anarchist, said organizers asked people not to give speeches about Palestine at the protest.
“We anticipate being excluded by our radical positions,” he said. “But regardless, this is where the people are, and that’s what we’re going to be.”
He was among roughly 150 people who joined in an impromptu march that drew more Urbana police to the scene after the permitted protest ended. They marched down University Avenue, blocking westbound lanes until police in squad cars forced them up onto the sidewalk and ordered them to disperse.
IPM News received a joint statement from Champaign County Indivisible co-leads Tracey and Jeff Dougan saying, in part, that the groups always “actively works to include a variety of voices addressing the event’s core message.
“As an all-volunteer group, we are constantly learning and seeking to forge ties across the community, with an emphasis on the safety of people in attendance during these particularly tense times. We are exceedingly grateful for the widespread support we have received in the Champaign-Urbana area.”
They also pointed to the Indivisible movement’s goal to focus on domestic issues, saying, “…we shared the national coalition’s guidelines with speakers and encouraged them to frame their messaging with that in mind.”
The non-permitted protest was also peaceful, and no arrests were made despite people continuing to block lesser-used residential streets on their way back to the courthouse.
