Things to know about the 'No Kings' protests planned in Palm Beach County
Demonstrations are planned in Palm Beach County, the state and around the nation on Saturday, June 14, but state officials warned that Florida is not California and threatened arrest and even death for protestors who become violent in the Sunshine State.
"If you hit one of us, you're going to the hospital and jail, and most likely get bitten by one of our big, beautiful dogs that we have here," Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said at a press conference in Titusville this week.
"If you throw a brick, a fire bomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains, because we will kill you, graveyard dead."
The demonstrations "No Kings National Day of Defiance" — or simply protests called "No Kings" — seek to counter President Donald Trump's multimillion-dollar military parade in Washington on Saturday. The protests also fall on Flag Day, the Army's 250th anniversary celebration, and Trump's birthday.
Seven "No Kings" demonstrations are planned in Palm Beach County. They will mark a renewal of dissent following a series of gatherings at Tesla showrooms to air criticism of Elon Musk and the administration's cost-cutting measures this spring.
In all, 17 so-called "No Kings" rallies and marches will take place in South Florida, stretching from Palm Beach Gardens to Key West.
One of the demonstrations in Palm Beach County could bring protesters to the edge of Palm Beach and Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club.
In West Palm Beach, protesters plan to gather at 9 a.m. at Phipps Skate Park, 4715 S. Dixie Highway, before walking toward Mar-a-Lago beginning at 10 a.m., according to a website for the event.
Palm Beach Police are aware of the plans for a demonstration on Southern Boulevard near Trump's Palm Beach estate, department spokesman Capt. Will Rothrock said.
Trump is not expected to be at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday. While he frequently visits his primary residence, referred to as the "Winter White House," or "Southern White House," on weekends during the social season in Palm Beach, he more often spends occasional weekends at his Bedminster, New Jersey club after the Palm Beach social season.
Some organizers on Saturday also plan to drive past Mar-a-Lago in a caravan, he said. According to an event website, that route will take them along U.S. 1, east past Mar-a-Lago into Palm Beach, and then back to Meyer Amphitheater in downtown West Palm Beach.
Protesters will be able to walk toward but not past Mar-a-Lago, Rothrock said.
'Anything with a group demonstration typically gets held to the tidal relief bridge or west,' he said, adding that gatherings are not allowed farther east past that smaller bridge on Southern Boulevard because of traffic, safety and security concerns.
According to an email sent by Willy Guardiola, a Palm Beach County GOP organizer and Trump supporter, there are no "counter-protests" planned in Palm Beach County. Guardiola said he has spoken to "many of our police departments in (Palm Beach) County and "they will be prepared."
Guardiola listed the seven locations where demonstrations are planned and urged his followers to "stay away from these 7 different locations."
West Palm Beach
Boca Raton
Boynton Beach
Delray Beach
Lake Worth Beach
Palm Beach/Mar-a-Largo
Palm Beach Gardens
On Feb. 4, 2017, protesters marched from downtown West Palm Beach to Mar-a-Lago. The march ended peacefully without any injuries to law enforcement or protesters, or arrests.
Police later said there were a few tense moments at the end of the marching route when police officials worried the crowd, estimated at more than 3,000, might get out of hand and warrant the use of tear gas.
'It was really an unsafe environment in West Palm and Palm Beach,' said Kirk Blouin, then the public safety director for the town of Palm Beach. He said that he was surprised there were no major incidents.
Palm Beach police, West Palm Beach police, the Secret Service and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office met the following week to discuss ways to improve their tactics for the next local political demonstration.
In the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, a protest against police brutality took place in Palm Beach County and hundreds marched along West Palm Beach's thoroughfares, lying in silence on an overpass, facing off briefly with officers blocking the bridge to Trump's Mar-a-Lago, then continuing along city streets amid chants for reform.
The peaceful march brought together more than 300 people for what was at the time about the seventh day of demonstrations in Palm Beach County over the killing of Floyd.
According to the No Kings website, over 75 protests (including multiple in the same city) are planned across Florida as of June 10:
Apalachicola
Apopka
Boca Raton
Boynton Beach
Bronson
Casselberry
Clermont | Clermont | Clermont | Clermont
Cocoa
Coral Springs
Davenport
Daytona Beach
DeLand
Delray Beach
Ellenton
Englewood
Fort Lauderdale
Fort Myers
Fort Walton Beach
Gainesville
Hollywood
Inverness
Jacksonville | Jacksonville
Key Largo
Key West
Kissimmee
Lakeland | Lakeland
Lake Mary
Lake Worth Beach
Largo
Leesburg
Marathon
Miami | Miami
Miami Beach
Mount Dora
Naples | Naples
New Port Richey
New Smyrna Beach
Ocala
Orlando
Orange City
Orange Park
Palatka
Palm Bay
Palm Beach/Mar-a-Largo
Palm Beach Gardens
Palm Coast
Palm Harbor
Panama City
Pensacola | Pensacola
Plant City
Poinciana
Port Charlotte
Port St. Joe
Port St. Lucie
Riverview
Sarasota | Sarasota
Sebastian
Sebring
Spring Hill
St. Augustine
St. Johns County
St. Petersburg
Tallahassee
Tampa
The Villages
Venice
Vero Beach
West Palm Beach
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: What to know about 'No Kings' protests planned in Palm Beach County
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