2 days ago
Several anti-Trump ‘No Kings Day' rallies planned in WV this weekend
Hundreds showed up to the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston on Saturday, April 5, 2025, to take part in a nationwide Hands Off rally to protest the actions of the Trump administration. (Zachary Hiser | West Virginia Watch)
As the nation's capitol prepares for a massive military parade to mark the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, organizers in several West Virginia cities are planning to mark the day with anti-Trump protests.
'No Kings Day of Action' rallies are planned for cities around the country, including Berkeley Springs, Bluefield, Buckhannon, Charleston, Elkins, Huntington and others.
The events are in response to what the organization calls 'increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption' from the president and allies.
'In America, we don't do kings,' reads a statement on the website for a grassroots organization made up of hundreds of local groups. 'They've defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services. The corruption has gone too far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings.'
An estimated 200,000 attendees, 150 military vehicles and 50 aircraft are expected for Trump's military parade in Washington, D.C. Saturday, according to news reports. The spectacle will cost an estimated $45 million, including $16 million to repair the streets of D.C. following the event.
A spokesman for the West Virginia National Guard said Wednesday that the agency will not send personnel or equipment to participate in the military parade, but they do plan to send 200 members of the CERF-P team to support the Nation Capitol Region, at its request, as part of the Guard's standing missing to support events of its size.
Trump has defended the cost of the event, calling it 'peanuts compared to the value of doing it,' in a recent interview with NBC News.
'We have the greatest missiles in the world,' Trump said. 'We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we're going to celebrate it.'
To Dr. Kate Waldeck, one of the organizers for Saturday's rally in Huntington, the parade is another example of the 'massive' amount of money that Republicans want to divert from people who need it. The Trump-backed, 'big, beautiful bill' that passed the House of Representatives and is making its way through the Senate would cut billions in funding to Medicaid and food assistance to low-income Americans.
'We're seeing, increasingly, that our social safety net is going to be stripped away,' Waldeck said. 'And obviously, we hope that this political situation is temporary, but in the meantime, the reality is that we're going to have to build new networks for our people. So our theme for this [rally] is 'No Kings,' but we are taking that and extending it to just to… 'No kings, just community.'
Huntington's event will include speakers, music, guided meditation for kids, bystander and Narcan training as well as a goods drive for Lily's Place, Harmony House and the local city mission, she said.
'We want to have a good time with our community, and we want to show our neighbors, especially even the ones that don't feel safe coming to events like this, so people who are minorities or noncitizens, that we're thinking of them,' Waldeck said. She added that everyone is welcome at the nonpartisan, nonviolent protest event 'as long as they adhere to the ground rules of no racism, no homophobia and transphobia.'
Debra Kilgore of Mercer County Indivisible, is helping organize the event in Bluefield.
'I couldn't stay silent any longer,' Kilgore said of her reasons for protesting. 'I couldn't hope that someone else will take care of these issues and make and hold our representatives accountable, because it's not happening, especially in our state, where we have our Republican representatives in the federal government who are going along with everything.
The Constitution grants Congress the power to levy tariffs, but they've allowed Trump to 'run the tariff show,' she said.
'They're letting it happen,' she said. 'And so, watching, I'll call them the enablers. I can't rely on somebody else to do something anymore.'
While Mercer County, like the rest of West Virginia, voted overwhelmingly to elect Trump to a second term, Kilgore said as the year wears on, she's hearing from people that they no longer support the president.
'More and more people are saying, 'You know, I may have voted for Trump, but I didn't expect this,'' she said. 'Or people who never voted for Trump but in this area are afraid to say 'I'm not a Trump voter,' are starting to make their presence known.'
The events Saturday come as protests against Trump's immigration policies continue in Los Angeles.
The Trump administration is sending nearly 5,000 National Guard troops and Marines to the city, against the wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom, a Democrat, called Trump's move a 'brazen abuse of power,' according to news reports.
In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott deployed the National Guard across the state as more demonstrations are expected there Wednesday.
'Peaceful protest is legal,' Abbott wrote on the social media platform X. 'Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest. [The Texas National Guard] will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order.
Waldeck said she's concerned about the National Guard being deployed to respond to protests against Newsom's will, but she's not concerned about the protests themselves becoming violent.
'We are aware of the national situation obviously, and [host organization] 50501 is unwavering in its commitment to peaceful protest, so we will have event staff there trained in de-escalation in the event there are counter protestors etc,' Waldeck said.
Cindy Stemple, chair of the Randolph County Democratic Executive Committee, said the event they're planning for Elkins will be a 'peaceful celebration of our country and flag.' The event will feature speakers and musicians. Anyone who wants to sing or play an instrument will be allowed to do so.
'I think the protests are generally going to be peaceful unless Trump and everybody incites the people,' Stemple said. 'That's kind of my feeling. Now, I'm not in LA, I don't know. I'm not in Texas. I'm not in D.C., but when you have somebody threatening a first right, First Amendment right, which is a right to peaceful protest, there's a problem.'
Stemple said Saturday's event will be the Elkins community eighth anti-Trump and 'pro-Democracy' rally. At each one, they've also collected donations for community needs like flood relief for Southern West Virginia or contributions to the local food pantry, she said.
'We are trying to do something good most every time that we hold one of these — and I call it a celebration,' she said. 'We become friends [and] allies just standing up for our country and enjoying the time together.'
The rallies are planned for:
Noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Morgan County Courthouse in Berkeley Springs
Noon to 1:30 p.m. at the corner of King and Queen Streets in Martinsburg
Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at Bluefield Downtown Park, Federal and Commerce Streets in Bluefield
Noon at Hart Avenue and Kanawha Street in Buckhannon
10 a.m. at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown
1 to 4 p.m. at Heritage Station in Huntington
Noon to 2 p.m. at the state Capitol in Charleston
Noon to 2 p.m. at Washington Street West and Jefferson Street in Lewisburg
Noon to 1:30 at the Randolph County Courthouse in Elkins
1 to 3 p.m. at the Hampshire County Courthouse in Romney
3 to 4:30 p.m. at McMurran Hall in Shepherdstown
12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Madison Elementary School in Wheeling
More information is available at
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