Dartmouth calls for 'No Kings'
People walk along the road with their signs. Photos by Kat Sheridan
The crowd gathers at the corner of Faunce Road and the mall with their signs and protest shirts.
A mother and her child protest together.
A woman waves an upside down flag signaling distress. 
Two protesters high five in front of a Trump supporter.
A woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty poses. 
A man stands with his sign in front of the American flag. 
A protester waves her sign to someone driving past with a supportive flag.
Two women dressed up to protest. 
People protest as a Trump-flag-waving truck drives past.
A woman gives a peace sign to people driving past.
People walk along the road with their signs. Photos by Kat Sheridan
The crowd gathers at the corner of Faunce Road and the mall with their signs and protest shirts.
A mother and her child protest together.
A woman waves an upside down flag signaling distress.
Two protesters high five in front of a Trump supporter.
A woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty poses.
A man stands with his sign in front of the American flag.
A protester waves her sign to someone driving past with a supportive flag.
Two women dressed up to protest.
People protest as a Trump-flag-waving truck drives past.
A woman gives a peace sign to people driving past.
“Tell me what democracy looks like?” yelled Bri Vieira, a member of the Dartmouth Democratic Town Council. “This is what democracy looks like!” a crowd of South Coast residents yelled back at the Saturday, Oct. 18 “No Kings” Rally.
Dartmouth was one of about 2,600 rallies across the country declaring “No Kings.” About 400 people stood on corners outside of the Dartmouth Mall with American flags, signs, shirts and chants protesting President Donald Trump’s approach to his presidency.
The event was organized by the Dartmouth Democratic Town Council, with support from Indivisible Southcoast New England.
“I think there are a lot of people in the country, but there are a lot of people in Dartmouth concerned with the integrity of the republic,” said James Griffith, a member of the Democratic council, “Things that are going on in Washington seem to be dissolving huge swaths of our government.”
“For the last decade, people have slowly but surely conceded their rights and faith to someone who willingly takes it from them and gives nothing in return, who wants to make the government work for himself and his rich friends only, for the top 1%,” said Vieira.
She added, “And we, the middle and working class, we’ve taken the brunt of it.”
While everyone had their own reason for protesting, they held one common belief: Trump is hurting the United States and democracy.
“This isn’t what I served for,” said Andrea Vigus of Dartmouth, whose sign read “End the embarrassment, impeach Trump.”
There were signs protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Trump as a king, fascism and the devaluing of science. Some were calling for Trump’s impeachment. Many were serious with phrases like “no kings” while others referenced popular memes and puns.
Many protestors were dressed in yellow to be easier to notice, while others wore shirts with political phrases and costumes, such as clowns and inflatable sharks.
Craig Lindell of Dartmouth considers himself just right of center republican. He feels that the Speaker of the House categorizes him as a marxist and a communist for his beliefs that democracy is important to America.
“The corruption of the meaning of words is the first step in the road to genocide,” he said.
Both Nolan from Dartmouth and Caroline Warner of Newport were protesting because of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which greatly reduced welfare and general public funding amongst other funding changes.
Nolan has down syndrome and was protesting for disabled people’s rights and the freedom of speech. Warner protested for her sister, who has low functioning autism. She relies on healthcare, which she said is at risk because of the Big Beautiful Bill.
Warner’s sign read, “The same people who refused to wear masks are now refusing to take them off.”
Nolan’s sign read, “I am DEI.”
Jane Constant from New Bedford was protesting to show support for those who could not come out and to protest jailing people without due process. She said she knows that younger generations are busy with work and school and cannot protest for their rights, and she wants them to know others are there for them.
“I get up some days feeling older than dirt, but on days like this I don’t get up feeling older than dirt,” she said.
Her sign read, “We ♥ ️our country. No hate, No fear.”
There was not an official counterprotest, but a few trucks sporting Trump flags drove past multiple times. There were also swears shouted, middle fingers held up and arguments started with the protesters from people driving past.
Overwhelmingly, people driving past honked their support, held up peace signs and thumbs up, and some even had flags and signs to wave as they passed.
Cheryl Mitchel from Cape Cod felt there is too much wrong to protest for one specific reason. Her sign read “Rage against the ICE machine.”
“It’s a shame we’re here,” she said.
