Thousands gather around Northeast Indiana for another No Kings protest

Content Warning: Some images in this story contain harsh or vulgar language.

The third wave of No Kings protests took place all over the country this past weekend, with events scheduled throughout northeast Indiana as part of the more than 3,000 worldwide.

Indivisible Northeast Indiana and other organizations scheduled several protests in counties around the region this weekend, the third in a series of these "No Kings" protests that began last year, following the start of President Donald Trump's second term.

While much of the language in the speeches and on signs remained the same from last summer – with protesters calling the current administration fascist, violent or a wannabe monarchy – this rally included callouts about military actions in Venezuela and Iran.

Over the last two protests, there has also been more signs about ICE, following the mass mobilization of the organization in Minneapolis in January.

"He has converted ICE into his personal militia and flooded our cities with military armed troops," said Chloe Andis.

Andis is running for Indiana State Senate District 15 and took to the stage ahead of the protest to give a speech where she reiterated the mission of these No Kings protests.

"American has no king, America needs no king," she said. "We are here today to remember that truth, to protect that truth and to fight for that truth."

Rachel Einwohner is a sociologist at Purdue University where she studies the sociology of mass social movements. She said part of the success of these protests has been the framing of the message.

"Our country was founded on the idea of no kings, we fought a whole revolution against a king," she said. "And in this country if we see a leader who seems to be usurping too much power and going against the constitution and going against the people, we as Americans are not gonna stand for that."

Organizers in Fort Wayne estimated the protest pulled in about 9,000 people.

Even in rural communities, the numbers were larger than they had been.

In a release, Noble County Democrat Chairwoman Kim Murphy says they saw an increase in protestors to around 130 people.

"Noble County is engaged, paying attention, and saying it plainly—no kings, not now, not ever," she said.

In Albion, a protestor from Whitley joined the No Kings protest there. She said it was her first time in 60 years she felt "forced to join a protest."

"It's very heartening when you live in the reddest of the red areas that you're not alone," she said. "You're not crazy."
 

Einwohner said this can be one of the biggest outcomes of mass protests like No Kings; the connection it creates between community members who might otherwise feel lonely in their political beliefs. She said oftentimes people participate in protests even if they don't believe their participation will create an immediate, explicit change.

"There's lots of other reasons to do it; To take a stand, also a statement of solidarity with others," Einwhoner said. "You know, to say 'I'm with all the people in the country who have this perspective in common, and I want to be there with them, supporting them and expressing my own views.'"

Sara Offner-Seals is an associate pastor at Plymouth Congressional Church in Fort Wayne. She has participated in several protests and went to Minneapolis to meet with people affected by the ICE mobilization in the city.

On Saturday, she spoke to the crowd about her experience there and how important it is to use these protests not as a final act of dissent, but as a starting point.

"No Kings is a really wonderful way to come together and remind ourselves that we're not alone, but if we just come for this, then we're not going to move the needle, because I don't think that this administration really cares about people coming together and protesting," she said.

Offner-Seals encouraged participants to make connections with community organizers, get involved with local organizations and sign up for trainings on civil disobedience.
 

Something else Offner-Seals brought back from her time in Minneapolis was the idea for a local singing resistance group. Two members of the local Fort Wayne group joined her on the stage and encouraged the crowd to sing a couple protest songs with them.

She said groups like this have been cropping up all over the country and that it brings joy into the resistance.

"It's really easy to get frustrated," Offner-Seals said. "With everything going on, it's really easy to get discouraged. It's really easy to feel helpless and hopeless. But singing together, it lifts our spirits and it reminds us that we're not alone."

Einwohner agrees. She thinks concluding that these protests have no impact would be incorrect.

"In the context of our country, people taking to the streets is not gonna make this president step down, but that doesn't mean that it won't have important impacts," she said.

Rebecca Green and Caeden McConnell contributed to this story.