Street closures underway as ‘No Kings’ protesters march to Capitol

With chants echoing through Atlanta, thousands packed the Civic Center for a “No Kings” rally and march to the state capitol Saturday.

It’s one of many demonstrations taking place in metro Atlanta and Georgia.

During the rally in the Civic Center parking lot, Atlanta police remained stationed on the streets nearby. As the march took off toward Liberty Plaza around 1 p.m., officers on motorcycles began blocking traffic along Ralph McGill Boulevard and Courtland Street.

Thursday, the police department said they were “aware of the planned demonstrations this weekend and will be actively monitoring to ensure the safety of all participants and the residents of the community.”

During the first round of “No Kings” rallies in June, about 10,000 people across the city of Atlanta mobilized against the Trump administration and its immigration enforcement policies.

Martha Shockey, a convener of the Indivisible Georgia Coalition, said more than 5,000 people registered for the Atlanta October protest. About that many people filled the parking lot of the Civic Center around noon.

“The more months that pass with this new administration, people are understanding more deeply how much their freedoms are being threatened,” she said.

U.S. Army veteran Kevin Benderman, 61, drove all the way from Augusta to protest the president, who he referred to as “the orange-faced moron.” He stood with other former military personnel with signs that read “Veterans against genocide.”

Benderman said the two-year conflict that left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead in Gaza would not have been possible without the support of the United States. He also said he was “disgusted” by the graphic footage of maimed children he saw on a daily basis on his cellphone screen.

“I know it was our bombs that did it,” Benderman said. “That genocide wouldn’t be possible to do if it wasn’t for our military industrial complex.”

Daina Kramer, 51, of Gainesville came with her 25-year-old daughter, Sam Scull. It was her daughter’s first protest.

“It’s overwhelming,” Kramer said. “There’s really a lot of upset people. It’s amazing for all of us to come together and join forces and say, ‘We’re not going to tolerate this anymore. This is ridiculous. This is not the country that we all should be living in.’”

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and two-time gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams both spoke at the rally.

“I am much encouraged, and I’ve got great hope because of the massive turnout that we are seeing all our country in 50 states, in 2,700 cities,” Warnock said. “The people united shall never be defeated.”

Abrams during her speech described the administration as a slippery slope toward fascism.

“We are living in a moment where ethno-fascists are in charge of the government, where Christian nationalists are making economic policy, when we have a secret police telling us who we are,” Abrams said. “Their destination is division. Their destination is destruction.”

Costumes were in no short supply among those who had converged. Among the crowd were people wearing inflatable lobsters and a banana suit. There was also a group of pink pigs, a green toad in a wig, a unicorn and even a shark.

Sandy Springs resident Grant Flowers opted for a slightly more modest “Mario” costume, complete with blue jean overalls and little red hat.

“Well it’s Halloween and I just think it’s important to use levity and humor to protest,” said Flowers, who works in finance.

Dressed in a banana costume, Miriam McCann of Tucker held a sign that altered the words to the song “Get Together” by The Youngbloods. She said she chose the outfit to get attention and show that demonstrators want to remain peaceful.

“We’re here to celebrate reclaiming our democracy,’ she said, later adding, “We’re all here showing solidarity that we don’t like what’s happening with this administration.”

In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin wrote on X that he authorized the National Guard to be on “state active duty” ahead of the nationwide protests. Texas Gov. Abbott did the same, stating that he “directed the Dept. of Public Safety and National Guard to surge forces into Austin ahead of an Antifa-linked protest.”

Back in June, the demonstrations drew a broad mix of civil rights advocates, progressive organizers and Democratic-aligned groups hoping to channel anti-Trump energy into next year’s midterm elections. Those gatherings happened on the same day as a military parade in Washington to celebrate the Army’s 250th anniversary, which also coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday.