Article Text

Hundreds of protesters lined Broad Street in downtown Falls Church on a cold, windy Saturday morning, turning the March 28 No Kings III rally into a colorful display of handmade signs, costumes, American flags and public opposition to President Donald Trump’s administration.

The local event, called “Hands Across Falls Church,” was organized by Falls Church Indivisible and Democracy Falls Church as part of an international day of demonstrations. Participants criticized what they described as anti-democratic actions, unchecked presidential power, immigration enforcement, federal workforce cuts, reductions in public programs and the war with Iran.

National organizers, including the 50501 Movement, Indivisible and MoveOn.org, said more than 8 million people participated in thousands of events across the United States. They characterized the demonstrations as the largest single-day nationwide protest in American history. Organizers said the first two No Kings events, held in June and October 2025, attracted roughly 5 million and 7 million participants, respectively.

Rallies were also planned in more than a dozen other countries. In nations with constitutional monarchies, some events used the name “No Tyrants.”

Falls Church organizers had hoped to double the approximately 2,500 people who attended the city’s Oct. 18, 2025, demonstration. The March crowd appeared smaller than the previous local turnout, possibly because some Northern Virginia residents attended the larger Washington, D.C., rally instead. Organizers there had expected attendance to surpass the more than 200,000 people reported at the October gathering.

Many Falls Church participants worked in government, education, health care, social services and other public-facing fields. Several said they or relatives had been affected by federal job and program cuts. Parents also brought children and teenagers, framing the protest as both civic participation and a lesson about democracy.

Elected officials call for action

Virginia Del. Marcus Simon, who represents the 13th District, said he had attended all three No Kings demonstrations. He described protest as an American tradition and said elected officials should show participants that they are not standing alone.

Simon argued that state governments would play a central role in protecting personal freedoms and election systems. He cited Virginia’s return to the Electronic Registration Information Center and voiced opposition to sharing voter information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He also urged residents to do more than demonstrate or honk their car horns. Simon called on voters to support a state constitutional amendment by April 21, presenting it as a way to protect the midterm elections and potentially alter the balance of power in Congress.

Former Falls Church Mayor Dave Tarter said he was troubled by threats he perceived to democratic institutions and the independence of the federal government’s branches. He called democracy a “participation sport” and said the flags carried at the rally reflected patriotism rather than partisanship.

Tarter wore clothing featuring Virginia’s “Sic Semper Tyrannis” motto, which he said captured the purpose of the gathering. He was particularly encouraged to see people of different ages taking part instead of assuming they could not influence events.

Music, signs and student voices

Michael Horowitz, a U.S. Army veteran and retired Defense Department employee, played the piccolo along Broad Street. Horowitz attended Mississippi State University through ROTC, served a tour in Vietnam and left the Army as a captain before beginning his government career.

He said participating gave him a constructive response to the anxiety and frustration he felt about the country’s direction. Although he considered his contribution small, he saw it as movement toward a larger goal. He joked that the crowd could also use someone with a snare drum.

Meridian High School juniors Lucia Torres, Beatrix Neal and Julia Henrickson said lessons about checks and balances helped shape their concerns.

Torres said her family regularly participates in demonstrations and that she wanted to help protect democracy and the principles on which the country was founded. She pointed specifically to what she viewed as an expansion of presidential power.

Neal similarly said the executive branch appeared to be pushing against constitutional checks and balances. Despite her concerns, she said seeing so many residents exercise their right to protest made her happy.

Henrickson said the turnout showed that people who remain hopeful about democracy are not alone. She contrasted the current political situation with what students learn in government class: legislative and judicial branches are supposed to restrain executive authority so no individual holds complete power.

Federal cuts hit close to home

Jeannette Deskins, a Defense Department contractor for more than 20 years, said federal staffing cuts had placed military-related workplaces under severe pressure. In her account, employees were trying to handle growing demands with fewer workers after cuts associated with the Department of Government Efficiency.

Deskins also connected the administration’s rhetoric and immigration enforcement to discrimination she experienced while growing up near Falls Church. She attended a segregated school, James Lee on Annandale Road, during her first two years of education and said current events evoked patterns she remembered from the 1970s.

She came to the rally with relatives ranging in age from 38 to 85. Although she noticed relatively few people of color in the crowd, she said the largely white turnout demonstrated that opposition to the administration extended beyond communities that have historically faced discrimination.

A former U.S. Agency for International Development employee identified as Carol said she and two companions had worked in the agency’s health programs before its demise. During more than 20 years overseas, she worked on maternal and child health, family planning, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and Ebola programs.

Carol warned that dismantling overseas health work could also carry consequences at home. Since leaving the agency, she has volunteered to help people improve their English and has participated in book clubs and other community groups.

Jeff Person, a former chair of the Falls Church Democratic Committee who now works as a Democratic consultant and directs Abledems.org, said his sister was dismissed from USAID during the administration’s first week. He argued that the legislative and judicial branches were failing to provide an effective counterweight to Trump, but said the Broad Street crowd offered an encouraging example of democratic participation.

Nathan, whose last name was not provided, said DOGE began with a possible opportunity to reform government but pursued that goal recklessly. He criticized the dismantling of agencies including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and USAID, saying the changes weakened consumer safeguards and American influence abroad. Carrying a Virginia flag, he expressed hope that the midterm elections would reverse the country’s direction.

Education, science and public services

Electrical engineer Linda used symbols on her sign to defend education, students and science. A book represented freedom to study a broad range of subjects, a graduation cap represented access to college, and scientific symbols represented university research, patents and innovation.

She also wore a “Melt Ice” hat connected to demonstrations in Minnesota. Linda described the Falls Church gathering as an expression of solidarity among people supporting one another.

Educator Susan Glazier carried a sign naming her grandchildren. She said concern for their future brought her to the rally, with the war in Iran at the top of her list of worries. Glazier questioned the mission, execution and long-term consequences of the conflict.

She also cited the disorderly treatment of federal employees during DOGE-led cuts, attempts to pressure the press, attacks on perceived enemies and the loss of experienced public servants. As an educator, she argued that the country needs a stronger understanding of its founding principles, along with continued work on equality, wealth distribution and civic education.

Public health nurse Erin Zimmerer said people needed to become more active if they wanted to restrain the administration. She criticized the government for funding overseas military operations while domestic needs such as health care, education and homelessness remained unresolved.

Zimmerer said the cold-weather turnout nearly brought her to tears. The friendly exchanges, passing motorists’ horns and people photographing one another’s signs made the demonstration feel like a community of its own.

Nina Davies, a Department of Veterans Affairs social worker, attended with her 4-year-old daughter, May, who dressed as Rumi from “KPop Demon Hunters.” They had made a No Kings sign at the Falls Church Farmers Market the previous weekend.

Davies said she wanted her daughter to grow up knowing that she has a voice and that everyone deserves safety, dignity and belonging. She said low-income veterans she serves had lost health and food benefits they rely on, leaving some to question whether the country still reflected what they had served to defend.

On the way to the rally, Davies tried to explain the event to a child fascinated by princesses. May responded that kings were supposed to protect princesses, opening a conversation about elections and how Americans choose their leaders.

Families turn protest into a civic lesson

Michelle Zamperetti brought four children after holding a sign-making party and dinner. The family had also attended the Oct. 18 demonstration, where the children enjoyed the sense of community.

Zamperetti said each child chose a personally meaningful message for the new rally. She wanted them to learn to speak their minds, examine what they are told and participate through voting and public advocacy.

She acknowledged the difficulty of teaching children about political conflict while preserving their sense of joy. Still, she described the United States as an ongoing 250-year experiment that requires people to participate rather than assume its democratic systems will function automatically.

Artist Pam Huffman expanded on the simple paper-plate sign reading “No” that she carried at the previous march. Her new sign listed objections ranging from the war in Iran, tariffs and DOGE cuts to reductions in nutrition and medical programs, mass deportations, abortion policy and changes involving the Department of Education, White House and Kennedy Center.

Huffman also carried an American flag. She said protesters should reclaim it as a symbol belonging to every American rather than assume it represented supporters of one political movement.

Her friend Kay Bailey dressed as the frog associated with Portland protests against ICE. Bailey said humor could expose what she viewed as the absurdity and abuse of mass-deportation policies.

Bailey reused part of a sign she had made for the 2017 Women’s March when her daughters were young. Its message, “daughters deserve more,” continued to reflect her concerns about the country they were inheriting. She also criticized Trump’s handling of the Iran conflict and warned that its consequences, including disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, could affect the global oil supply.

Organizers mix protest with mutual aid

Falls Church Indivisible volunteer Cheryl Moore handed out spice packets donated by rally sponsor Penzey’s. Organizers also arranged competitions for costumes, signs and decorated cars, with prizes supplied by local businesses.

Moore said she joined Falls Church Indivisible after moving from Arlington, where she had participated in another resistance organization. She emphasized that the group offers options beyond street demonstrations, including writing postcards.

The event also incorporated a food collection for immigrant families. Moore said some residents were afraid to leave home, report to work or send their children to school because of ICE activity.

She called on members of Congress, including Democrats, to respond more forcefully to constituents demanding checks on the president. Protesters, she said, could demonstrate and call their representatives, but lawmakers held the authority to make institutional changes.

The rally also drew Carol’s fellow former aid workers, Defense Department employees and relatives of dismissed federal workers, reinforcing how closely national policy changes have touched Northern Virginia.

For many along Broad Street, the demonstration was about more than opposition to one administration. Participants repeatedly described marching as a way to manage fear, find like-minded neighbors and demonstrate that civic involvement remains possible.

As car horns sounded beside the line of signs, protesters said the gathering offered something they had been missing: visible proof that others shared their concerns and were prepared to act on them.