At Nashville’s “No Kings” protest, demonstrators decried tyranny while freely exercising rights only possible in a free society. The real irony? They're raging against a dictatorship that doesn’t exist—under the full protection of the freedoms they deny.
By Kelly Jackson | TruthWire News
As more than a thousand demonstrators packed Nashville’s Bicentennial Mall for the “No Kings” protest on June 14, the irony was hard to miss. Chanting slogans like “Donald Trump has got to go” and waving upside-down American flags, attendees claimed to stand against authoritarianism. But their freedom to protest—publicly, loudly, and without government interference—is precisely what proves that the man they label a “king” is anything but.
The “No Kings Day” protests, coordinated by progressive coalition Indivisible and supported by dozens of left-leaning advocacy groups, were timed to disrupt two things: President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday celebration and the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary. In other words, a nationwide temper tantrum aimed at both a political rival and America’s military tradition.
According to organizers, the protests were meant to spotlight supposed abuses of power—claims that Trump “defied courts,” “disappeared people,” and “attacked civil rights.” Yet none of that stopped the protests from happening in broad daylight, with relaxed police presence and spontaneous drum circles. If Trump were really the tyrant they claim, they wouldn’t be protesting on Jefferson Street—they’d be hiding in basements whispering about him.
Confusing Immigration with Illegal Immigration
A significant portion of the protest focused on immigration—though not in any nuanced way. Sign after sign and speaker after speaker blurred the line between legal immigration and illegal border crossings, treating any effort to secure the border as inherently cruel and “anti-immigrant.”
This willful conflation ignores one important fact: many legal immigrants—especially in the Hispanic community—oppose illegal immigration just as much as born-and-raised conservatives do. And unlike the protest crowd, they speak from experience.
That reality was on full display in 2024, when Hispanic American support for Donald Trump increased over 2020 levels. The reason? Many Hispanic voters understand that unchecked illegal immigration undermines the rule of law and places massive pressure on legal immigration processes. They also know the truth behind what the protesters won’t say out loud: illegal immigration isn’t a humanitarian mission—it’s a business.
Smugglers, Not Samaritans
In conversations with individuals at the protest, it became clear how deeply disconnected many attendees are from what’s actually happening at the southern border. One organizer defended illegal border crossings as a way for people “just trying to get a better life.” But that ignores the brutal truth: most of these people are not being helped across the border by kind strangers—they’re being trafficked.
The vast majority of illegal immigrants are smuggled in by coyotes working for Mexican drug cartels. These are not Good Samaritans; they are human traffickers. They treat their human cargo like disposable inventory, often subjecting them to sexual violence, extortion, and death. Yet the “No Kings” crowd appears more enraged by Trump’s attempt to secure the border than by the cartel’s modern-day slave trade.
Undermining America While Claiming to Save It
Beyond the immigration debate, the entire tone of the “No Kings” movement reveals a deeper confusion. The protest was staged not only on the president’s birthday, but on the 250th anniversary of the United States Army—a date that should unite Americans in appreciation of the freedom they so freely exercise.
Instead, the protest served as an effort to undermine that celebration, casting even patriotism itself as suspect. To the protestors, defending borders and honoring soldiers is authoritarianism; marching in the rain with agitprop signs and slogans is “saving democracy.”
The truth? You don’t get to claim tyranny while dancing barefoot in the streets.
Law Enforcement Holds the Line
Despite the scale of the protests—over 1,000 people in Nashville alone—law enforcement took a measured, constitutionally respectful approach. MNPD officers and Tennessee Park Rangers maintained a light presence at Bicentennial Mall, with mobile surveillance units posted at each end. Other cities, including Gallatin and Kingsport, took a similar stance, reinforcing the right to protest while ensuring public order.
The only major disruption came when a 19-year-old counter-protester, Elijah Millar of Murfreesboro, was arrested for brandishing a handgun. He was charged with disorderly conduct. The rest of the event remained largely peaceful, albeit wet, as heavy rain fell on protestors throughout the day.
No Kings—But No Clarity Either
In the end, the “No Kings” protest proved less a principled stand and more a performance—an attempt to manufacture outrage without offering solutions. If they truly cared about authoritarianism, they’d recognize that Trump leaving office after losing in 2020 and running again under the same constitutional system is not monarchy—it’s democracy.
If they truly cared about justice for immigrants, they’d demand an end to the human smuggling pipeline instead of shouting down those trying to stop it.
And if they truly cared about fairness, they’d talk to the very people they claim to represent—like the growing number of Hispanic Americans who want law, order, and opportunity, not slogans and symbolism.
Until then, the “No Kings” crowd might want to remember: tyrants don’t let you scream in their faces. They throw you in a cell.
And the fact that no one did? That’s America.
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