The “No Kings 2” rally began on the steps of the Wayne Lyman Morse U.S. courthouse in downtown Eugene at 10:00 a.m. A crowd of approximately 4,000 protesters stretched around the courthouse and several surrounding blocks.
“Welcome to the resistance, to democracy, to America,” protest organizers addressing the crowd said.
Following an introduction led by protest leaders from the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene and Eugene Trans Alliance of Lane County, the rally broke out into song.
“We are in the struggle for the long haul and we have just begun,” was the chorus of the first tune, accompanied with guitar instrumentals.
As protesters sang, dozens of cars drove by and honked in support.
Many protesters waved signs comparing President Donald Trump to a “king” or “dictator,” while others focused on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s growing presence on U.S. streets.
“ICE = Nazis,” one sign read.
Protester and local nurse Leah Cates said she decided to “show up for people that aren’t as privileged.”
“It is hard for immigrants to show up in their street themselves so I wanted to show up as a white person,” Cates said.
People dressed in inflatable frog and dinosaur costumes paraded along the sidewalks, similar to protests in Portland where inflatable costumes have come to form a symbol of resistance for some protesters.
“I wanted to bring some silliness to what’s serious,” Steven Mayberry, a protester in a frog outfit, said.
Dozens of protesters also carried large American flags into the rally.
“I want my country to remain a democracy. Every citizen has a right to carry our flag and use it for what it should mean,” protester Linnea Birchmeier said, holding a U.S. flag above her head.
Several veterans also showed up in support of the “No Kings Day” message.
“I served in the military 24 years … this is not normal. We need to make sure we stand up to our democracy. I swore an oath at least five or six times for 24 years and I’m not relieved from that oath,” Kory Mathis said.
People of all generations attended the rally, including many elderly residents.
Speakers at the rally addressed the crowd for around an hour before marching.
Jacob Griffin, an organizer for Eugene Trans Alliance of Lane County, addressed the crowd by shouting: “Hello Antifa.”
“I’m up here today for our immigrants,” Griffin said. “I want everyone to take a moment to think about the people in our community that are under direct attack day-by-day that are too afraid to stand up here to tell you that they are afraid. So, we are going to do it for them.”
Rob Fisette, a PSL organizer, also spoke.
“We are going to be out here again and again and again until we defeat this terrible system,” Fisette said.
Fisette then talked about the recent FBI raid at the Woodland Creek Apartments in a West Eugene neighborhood.
“They (ICE agents) are going to be in your neighborhood, they are going to be in my neighborhood, and we all need you to do your part,” Fisette said. “What we do is decisive — there are thousands of them and millions of us”
Fisette left the crowd with a call to action.
“Whatever the billionaires think, we run this society. It can’t run without us,” Fisette said.
Protesters circled several Eugene streets, blocking traffic in several directions.
Four or five Eugene Police Department Community Service Officers trucks were attempting to control traffic at several downtown Eugene intersections, but few cars were moving.
Melinda McLaughlin, EPD’s public information officer, said the police were “doing the best (they) can” but were facing crowd control challenges because EPD did not know the protest route beforehand.
At around noon, protesters ended their march near Eugene City Hall, crowding along Coburg Road overpass and the adjacent footbridge.
