CHESTERTOWN — Fountain Park was awash in red, white and blue on Saturday afternoon at a “No Kings” rally that was sponsored by local Democrats.
The aim, according to a news release put out ahead of time by the Kent County Democratic Central Committee, was for participants to express their love of country even as they demonstrate against the actions of the current administration.
To his critics, the authoritarian rule of President Donald Trump has been likened to that of a king.
About 2,000 events just like this one were staged across the country, with an estimated 40 in Maryland — including rallies in Chestertown, Centreville, Easton, Cambridge and Salisbury on the Eastern Shore.
In what was publicized as a nationwide Day of Defiance, folks protested against the Trump administration’s policies and actions, including immigration raids, court clashes and cuts to social services.
The scheduling of Saturday, June 14 was deliberate, to counter Trump’s military parade in Washington commemorating the founding of the U.S. Army in 1775.
Saturday also was Trump’s 79th birthday.
“There were no issues” at the Chestertown rally, Police Chief Ron Dixon told The Evening Enterprise.
The Chestertown Police Department estimated the crowd at 250.
Mel Rapelyea, chairman of the Kent County Democratic Central Committee, put the count at somewhere between 400 and 500 in attendance.
Bill Flook, president of the Democratic Club of Kent County, said his sources guesstimated as many as 800 attendees.
While there was no consensus on the turnout, Flook and Rapelyea both said this was the largest gathering in Fountain Park that they had ever experienced.
According to Flook, protestors came from many locales in Kent and even some from the western shore.
“We worked hard to spread the word, both in the county and beyond,” he said.
The rally was largely attended by white and 60-and-older individuals — though one of the speakers, Eamon Lindsay, president of the Kent County Young Democrats, is a rising junior at Kent County High School.
Other speakers included Chestertown Mayor David Foster; Katie Stevens, an autistic, seeing-impaired person who has been negatively impacted by the Trump administration; and Misty Colache, a veteran, social media podcaster and millennial.
Rapelyea kicked off the hour-long program at 1 p.m. by welcoming everyone and thanking them for showing up to “keep democracy strong.”
He paraphrased Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin’s statement earlier in the month on the 75th anniversary of Maine Sen. Margaret Chase Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience,” one of the most noted early challenges to Joseph R. McCarthy’s charges of Communists in government.
In his remarks of June 1, repeated by Rapelyea on Saturday, Rankin noted that Margaret Chase Smith said the 1950 Senate had become a “rendezvous for vilification, for selfish political gain at the sacrifice of individual reputations and national unity.”
“Our time resembles hers,” Rapelyear said. “… MAGA politicians are steeped in character assassination and bald-faced lies.”
After the formal rally concluded, protestors took to the sidewalks along High and Cross streets and Washington and Maple avenues to wave their signs at passing motorists.
When asked to assess the rally, Flook told The Evening Enterprise in a written statement: “We were really happy with how the event turned out, with unprecedented turnout, great music and speakers, and wonderful positive energy from the attendees, both in Fountain Park and at our peaceful street-corner demonstrations afterwards. On Flag Day we honored our flag and the traditions and values for which it stands, making a strong statement against the current administration’s movement towards authoritarian rule.”
One Response
Wonderful coverage of such an important issue. The photography was great and the description of the event and turn out was thoughtful.