'No Kings' Detroit rally: What to know about the anti-Trump rally
The Brief
Protests against the Trump administration are planned nationwide for Saturday, June 14.
The protests coincide with President Donald Trump's birthday, Flag Day, and the U.S. Army's 250th birthday celebration.
A protest at Clark Park in Detroit is one of dozens planned in Michigan.
Hundreds of "No Kings Day" protests are planned across the U.S. - including in Michigan - on Saturday, June 14 to protest the Trump administration's policies.
The 'No Kings' rally takes place nationwide on Saturday, June 14 and coincides with Flag Day and a massive military parade in Washington, D.C. to honor the 250th birthday of the Army and the 79th birthday of President Donald Trump.
The parade will feature approximately 6,600 soldiers, 150 military vehicles, and 50 helicopters, according to the Associated Press.
While the government plans the celebration, opponents of Trump and his administration are planning what they call a "nationwide day of defiance."
What they're saying
"In America, we don't put up with would-be kings."
According to organizers, NO KINGS is a national day of action and mobilization in response to "increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption from Trump and his allies."
Several grassroots political organizations — including 50501, Indivisible and Stand Up America — are joining forces June 14 "to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings," the site said.
The Detroit rally is schedule for June 14 at 1 p.m. at Clark Park but there are dozens of other planned protests across Michigan, which are all listed on the organization's site here.
The backstory
The protests are in affiliation with the national coalition "50 Protest, 50 States, One Movement (50501)" and dozens of grassroots groups including Indivisible, American Federation of Teachers, Black Voters Matter, National Action Network, and Social Security Works.
The movement is inspired by the "Hands Off!" and May Day demonstrations across the U.S.
Organizers said action is being taken to reject the notion the country is ruled by a "king" and to show what democracy looks like: "people, united, refusing to be ruled."
"This country doesn't belong to a king — and we're not letting him throw himself a parade funded by tens of millions of our taxpayer dollars while stealing from us and stripping away our rights, our freedoms, and the programs our families rely on," the release stated.
The other side
While speaking at Fort Bragg this week, Trump said Saturday would be a "big day" and noted "we want to show off a little bit."
"We're going to celebrate our greatness and our achievements," he said. "This week, we honor 250 years of valor and glory and triumph by the greatest fighting force ever to walk the face of the Earth: the United States Army."
Dig deeper
Veterans are divided over the Army's big parade.
Christopher Purdy, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, called the parade a facade that paints over some of the Republican president's policies that have targeted military veterans and current service members, including cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs and a ban on transgender troops.
"It's embarrassing," said Purdy, 40, of Atlanta. "It's expensive. And whatever his reasons are for doing it, I think it's entirely unnecessary."
Joe Plenzler, a retired Marine who fought in Iraq, said Trump wants to see troops saluting him on his birthday as tanks roll past.
"It's just suspicious," the 53-year-old from Middletown, Virginia, said of the timing.
"I absolutely love the Army from the bottom of my cold black Marine heart," he said. "But if the Army's birthday was a day later, we probably wouldn't be doing it. I'd rather see that $50 million take care of the men and women who went off to war and came back with missing arms, legs and eyeballs, and with damaged brains."
For Gulf War Army veteran Paul Sullivan, Trump and the parade are inextricably linked.
"This Trump tank travesty is all about stroking Trump's ego," said Sullivan, 62, who lives outside Charlottesville, Virginia. "If Trump truly cared about our service members, he would sit down with them quietly and say, 'What can we do with $50 million or $100 million to make your lives better?' He's not."
The Source
Information for this story was provided by the No Kings website and the Associated Press.
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