Charlotte turns out for one of biggest protests in U.S. history

It’s predicted that 4-6 million people showed up at 2,100 sites across the United States on Saturday, June 14, to protest against actions the Trump administration has taken that have been deemed unconstitutional.

The protests took place in all 50 states, in large cities and small towns. In Charlotte, about 50 people gathered in the early morning to hike up Mount Philo, carrying signs, most of which referenced opposition to what they believe is an unlawful usurpation of power. Hence the moniker “No Kings” was used for this day of protests.

The previous biggest day of protests, the “Hands Off” protests on April 5 were dwarfed by this day’s protests.

If the estimates for the numbers No King protesters are correct, it would mean that 1.2 to 1.8 percent of the U.S. population was out protesting, according to the Guardian.

Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington was at that time one of the largest protests in U.S. history with half a million people in attendance.

Photos by Scooter MacMillan

Andrew Everett had lots of his family in Shelburne and across the country protesting together in person or digitally.
The crowd consisted of people from every age group. Blair Bigelow came from Wake Robin.
Terri Severance (left) and San Harrington were part of a group from the Charlotte Congregational Church who had banners with more positive messages than many of the other signs.
Almost 50 people marched up Mount Philo to protest.
One protester wanted to make it clear that they were not paid to protest.
When the Relay for Democracy, a group driving Route 7 with the U.S. flag from the southern Vermont border with Massachusetts to the Canadian border came through Shelburne both sides of the road were crowded with protesters.
Representative Chea Waters Evans was one of the many people from Charlotte at the June 14 protest.

VTDigger estimated 42,000 protested at No Kings rallies, which would make it one of the biggest protests in state history with more than 6 percent of the populace expressing their anger with the president’s actions.

More than 530 people showed up in Shelburne, and once again Charlotte was heavily represented in the crowd that lined both sides of Route 7. Just prior to the start of the Shelburne protests, there were pockets of from two to more than 20 protesters all along Route 7 from Burlington to Shelburne.

Some of the state’s biggest protests were in Burlington (16,500); White River Junction and nearby Lebanon, N.H. (5,000); and Brattleboro (3,000).

Around 30 people showed up for a pro-Trump rally in Montpelier.

Among the group that had hiked up Mount Philo was Suzanne Lourie who said she had come out because she feels like we have to stand up for democracy.

“We’ve lost our moral compass,” she said.

Kelsey Pasteris of Hinesburg had organized the protest hike up Mount Philo. She was hoping to make it back down from the top in time cheer for the Relay for Democracy, a group that was driving Route 7 with the U.S. flag from Pownal on the southern Vermont border with Massachusetts all the way to where the highway crosses into Canada at Highgate.

Pasteris doesn’t think having so many protests in so many places is a problem. On the contrary, she thinks it works because it makes the protests accessible for everybody. You don’t have to drive to Washington or even Montpelier to participate.

“If anyone feels the need to shoot down to D.C., go for it,” Pasteris said.

In Shelburne, Andrew Everett, one of that town’s selectboard members, wasn’t having any problems with the protest being so dispersed. He had in-laws in two Montana towns, his parents in Cape Cod, Mass., his sister in Seward, Alaska, and a big group of his Shelburne immediate family at different protests and sending each other pictures of their signs.

“We’re trying to set an example for the kids,” Everett said.

Things that had gotten him to the point of protesting include the deportation of people without due process, ignoring the rights of justices and judges, violating the separation of powers. “All these sort of dictatorial type things, and now, having a military parade, seems very autocratic.”

“I think the saddest part to me is that I think there’s a relatively small number of Republicans in national office who could do something, and this whole thing would be fine, if they just stood up for all the things that, theoretically, the Republican Party has stood for over the years,” Everett said. “You know: strong international defense, support of your allies. Let’s get back to arguing about marginal tax rates.”