Article Text

Several hundred demonstrators circled Welburn Square in Arlington on Saturday, Oct. 18, joining nationwide No Kings Day protests against the Trump administration.

Organizers estimated the local crowd at 300 to 400 people. Participants ranged from babies carried in snugglies to seniors using wheelchairs. Some wore costumes or crowns, while others carried American flags and handmade cardboard signs.

Jan and Ed Harkness stood beside the square as Jan held a sign asking, “Will We Still Have Scientists to Replace Me?”

Jan, who is from China, met Ed in Berlin while earning a doctorate in agriculture. Ed was then a State Department diplomat. Jan said she was not usually political but attended the low-key rally because of her concerns about President Donald Trump’s conduct and the future of American democracy.

Nearby, a small group accompanied by a banjo sang, “Think of your fellow man, give him a helping hand. Put a little love in your heart.”

Wolin Sky, who lives at The Jefferson retirement community across the street, watched from a bench with Melanie Ridney. Sky said he was protesting what he believes has been lost from the nation’s democracy.

Ridney said her membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution helped motivate her attendance. She cited 22 ancestors with connections to the organization, her father’s service in the Pacific during World War II and an uncle who died in the war.

“A lot of people don’t understand what they have here,” Ridney said, adding that she had not realized how tenuous democracy could be.

The procession included a marcher dressed as a dinosaur and signs reading “Fight Truth Decay,” “Immigrants Make America Great Again” and “Melt Ice.”

Beverly and Bob Johnson, also residents of The Jefferson, estimated that more than 60 people from their community participated. They arrived after attending a larger protest on the National Mall, where Bob said there were “rivers of people.”

Bob, a Vietnam War veteran, said he objected to the military’s use in American cities and criticized the defense secretary. His favorite sign at the Mall demonstration read, “Hesketh DUI hire.”

Beverly said she was protesting what she described as the erosion of due process, the treatment of immigrants and the weaponization of the justice system.