‘No Kings’ protests will be held in communities across Wisconsin Saturday 

In April, Quita Sheehan helped organize a “Hands Off!” protest in Eagle River, a small community of around 1,600 in Wisconsin’s Northwoods. 

Organizers expected 20 people to attend. Instead, 200 people showed up to protest federal funding cuts and layoffs under President Donald Trump’s administration.

On Saturday, another demonstration is planned for Community Square in Eagle River, this time as part of the national “No Kings” protest movement against the Trump administration. 

“So this time, we’re expecting 50 people. And hopefully 500 people do not show up, just because it’s a smaller space,” Sheehan joked. “But it would be nice just to have a space so that those people who are concerned about the changes going on in our government, with the current administration, don’t feel so alone.” 

More than 50 protests are planned in communities across Wisconsin as part of the national No Kings movement. The events were planned before immigration raids in California led to protests last Friday that have spread to other cities.

Trump narrowly won Wisconsin on his way to retaking the presidency, winning the majority of counties in the state.

Asked about the planned protests, Trump pushed back against the name of the movement.

“I don’t feel like a king. I have to go through hell to get stuff approved,” Trump said.

The No Kings demonstrations are scheduled for the same day Trump is holding a massive military parade in Washington D.C. The administration says the parade will honor the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Army, but it will also coincide with Trump’s 79th birthday Saturday. 

“President Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday,” the ‘No Kings’ website says. “A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else.” 

Millions are expected to attend protests planned in over 1,500 protests in cities across the nation for the “nationwide day of defiance,” according to the event website.

In Wisconsin, larger turnouts are expected at rallies in Milwaukee and Madison. People also plan to gather in smaller communities like Watertown, Monroe and Montello. 

“I think it’s important that the leaders of this country understand that it’s not just the blue cities that are expressing their discontent — it’s everywhere,” said Mike Brodd, the coordinator of Indivisible Door County.

Brodd is organizing a protest on Saturday in Sturgeon Bay. He expects around 300 people to attend. 

“We can’t wait until the day of elections to express our opinion,” Brodd said. “We’re doing it now.”  

“The other objective is to help people who are sitting at home — frustrated, worried, scared — to know that they’re not alone,” he added. “There’s a community of people right here in little old Door County that are concerned and share their values and want to be supportive.” 

Trump’s military parade will cost between $25 million and $45 million, according to an NPR report. A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 60 percent of those polled believe the parade is not a good way to spend government money. 

“If we have money for a parade, we have money for Medicaid, we have money for children, we have money for education and for feeding the hungry,” said Jill Iverson, an organizer with Progressive Lakeshore People which is planning a No Kings gathering in Manitowoc. 

Back in Eagle River, Sheehan isn’t worried about backlash to the protest.

“It’s the Midwest. Everybody is very nice and polite,” Sheehan said. “There’s a few that aren’t, but we’re not interested in trying to change people’s minds.” 

Wendy Pliska of Social Justice Watertown expects anywhere from 25 to 250 people to attend their protest in the city’s business district.

Pliska believes some people who live in the community — including people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community — don’t always feel welcome. Saturday’s protest is just one way to show support, Pliska said. 

She said community activists in smaller and more conservative areas of Wisconsin often have to face “vocal opposition.” Two years ago, a group of neo-Nazi’s protested outside of an LGBTQ+ “Pride in the Park” event in Watertown.

“We’re fighting tooth and nail every day,” Pliska said. “Not that we’re working harder, but it’s just a very different playing field than it is for (activist) organizations in Madison and Milwaukee.”

Republican Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Anika Rickard responded to the planned protests across the state in a statement.

“While Democrats and far-left groups continue to try and distract Wisconsinites from the real issues facing our state and country, Republicans are working hard for their constituents,” Rickard wrote.

State Rep. Bob Donovan, R-Greenfield, said in a separate written statement that he hopes the protests “follow the law.”

“If violence, looting, or destruction of property occurs, law enforcement must fulfill their duty to protect the public. We are a nation of laws, and they must be enforced,” Donovan said.