Protesters decry Trump during third nationwide ‘No Kings’ rally

GREENE COUNTY―In a third organized national protest, “No Kings” demonstrators took to the streets Saturday in thousands of cities and small towns, including Athens, Catskill, Tannersville, Greenville, Rensselaerville, Hudson and Saugerties.

Led primarily by the progressive advocacy group Indivisible, “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump are organized by a coalition of more than 200 national and local groups.

According to organizers, an estimated two-thirds of registrants came from outside major urban centers.

“Masked secret police terrorizing our communities. An illegal, catastrophic war putting us in danger and driving up our costs. Attacks on our freedom of speech, our civil rights, our freedom to vote. Costs pushing families to the brink. Trump wants to rule over us as a tyrant. But this is America, and power belongs to the people―not to wannabe kings or their billionaire cronies,” the No Kings official website states.

Crowds were notably smaller in Catskill where the first protest in June brought out upwards of 1,000 people. This time around, about 200 to 250 people assembled on Main Street and Bridge Street by the Greene County Courthouse.

Athens saw its first No Kings protest on Saturday with around 100 people gathering on Second Street.

“Two months ago, a group of nine neighbors met in our living room to talk about what actions we were taking and to keep each other company in our outrage and resistance,” said Marya Warshaw, an organizer with the Athens Response Team.

“Over time we considered that instead of traveling to a bigger city or town, we host a ‘No Kings’ rally right here… since then we have grown to a group of 55,” she added.

At the protest, Warshaw led the group in chanting, “Say it once, say it twice, we will not give up our rights.”

National organizers estimated that more than 3,100 events—500 more than were held in October—were registered, in all 50 states.

“With every ICE raid, every escalation abroad, and every abuse of power at home, Americans are rising up in opposition to Trump’s attempt to rule through fear and force. Each day Trump crosses a new red line, and more people are deciding they’ve had enough,” said Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible.

“That is why people across the country are organizing, showing up for their neighbors, and making one thing unmistakably clear: we are done with the corruption, the cruelty, and the authoritarianism,” Levin added.

Nationwide, the June “No Kings” rallies brought out an estimated five million people, which grew to seven million in October. Organizers expected an even larger crowd of nine million demonstrators on Saturday, but it remained too soon to tell whether that turnout was met.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson dismissed the protests on Saturday, characterizing them as the product of "leftist funding networks.”

The "only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them," Jackson said in a statement.