TOPEKA — Thousands of Kansans rallied Saturday at the Statehouse in Topeka as part of a nationwide backlash to President Donald Trump, hoisting signs, joining in pro-democracy chants and speaking out against immigration raids. Organizers for the “No Kings” rally repeatedly urged the crowd to remain peaceful as demonstrators filled the south lawn of the Statehouse grounds. A lively contingent on the edge of the rally shouted insults at a small pro-Trump gathering across the street, but the event was otherwise peaceful. The rally featured speeches from advocates and candidates for office, including Kansas Sen. Cindy Holscher, an Overland Park Democrat who announced she is running for governor, and Christy Davis, a former federal rural development official who revealed she is exploring a run for U.S. Senate . The crowd sang the national anthem and recited the Pledge of Allegiance, ending with an emphatic “for all.” And the crowd cheered when Melissa Stiehler and Davis Hammet, prominent advocates for voting and LGBTQ+ rights, made a surprise brief appearance in formal wedding attire before leaving to get married elsewhere in town. The Topeka rally was among protests all over the country to oppose the president’s plan for a military display in Washington, D.C., on his own birthday, as well as mass immigration arrests. Organizers said more than 5,000 people joined in the Topeka rally. Other rallies were held elsewhere in Kansas. Mary Smith, of Geary County, held a sign that read: “Elect a rapist expect to be f***ed” and “Donny the quicker f***er upper.” Smith said she had never protested anything before Trump’s second term in office but that she was concerned about “all the atrocities that Trump is trying to do to us.” She said she was especially concerned about the deportation tactics being used against immigrants. “It’s getting a little ridiculous,” Smith said. “He’s only four and a half months into his presidency, and I’m afraid it’s gonna get worse from here.” Lee Boyd, of Lawrence, said she rushed back from an unrelated event in Kalamazoo, Michigan, so she could get to the Topeka rally in time. She grabbed a seat in the flower garden on the south lawn, holding a small sign that read, “Tax the rich.” “I feel pretty strongly about this dictatorship that we’re under, and I also am quite concerned about the defunding of National Public Radio and PBS,” Boyd said. Describing himself as an old hippie, Alan Schmidt, of Hoyt, sported a tie-dyed shirt and carried an upside down American flag. “Our nation is in distress, and I want to be part of the voice that says this is not OK,” Schmidt said. Schmidt was one of several people to display an upside-down flag, which caught the attention of the handful of men carrying pro-Trump signs across the street on the south edge of the rally. The men refused to provide their full names. “I’ve never seen so many ignorant people in my life,” said a man who would only identify himself as Jeff. “Every one of those signs, there’s no facts at all on them. None. Period.” Another man said: “If you’re just fake news, admit it and move on.” At one point, a woman carrying two Mexican flags and one reading “F*** Trump” positioned herself directly in front of the men to block their view of the rally. Meanwhile, a woman carrying a “Viva Trump” sign waded into the rally crowd, where several people physically shoved her and demanded she leave. “Why are there only five of you?” “F*** you fascists.” “Your flag was made in China.” “Migrants make America great.” Back toward the Statehouse steps, Mac Farish, who was visiting from Portland, Oregon, held a large sign that read “we the people outnumber your cabinet 16,513,850 to 1” on one side and showed a picture of a cat toying with a king’s crown on the other side. The number references the ratio of U.S. residents to the president’s advisers. “There is so much wrong with what is happening,” she said, “and if I’m completely frank, I went to school to study public policy and political science, and I feel like my degree has completely been wasted because they washed away what I studied for four years.” She said she spent more than $100,000 on her degree at the University of Alabama, “and all of a sudden the constitution doesn’t matter, nothing matters anymore.” Farish said she felt joy to see so many people attend a “No Kings” rally in a red state. “A lot of people here might be lifelong Republicans, but we’re standing here together because there is a line where tyranny shows up,” Farish said. “It’s really not hard to love other people,” she added. “It’s really not hard to care.” See more photos at this link . Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: . Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter . Thousands of Kansans rallied Saturday at the Statehouse in Topeka as part of a nationwide backlash to President Donald Trump, hoisting signs, joining in pro-democracy chants and speaking out against immigration raids. Hundreds of No Kings protesters gathered in Watson Park Saturday to join a nationwide wave of demonstrations to “reject authoritarianism — and show the world what democracy really looks like,” according to organizers. A Watkins Museum of History project on the Underground Railroad was completed before the federal grant funding it was terminated, and the Lawrence community has helped the museum recoup the $13,000 that the feds didn’t disburse.
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