Around 15,000 people gathered in downtown Madison Saturday to protest President Donald Trump’s administration and their recent immigration crackdowns across the country.
Organized by the Badger Collective, the Madison “No Kings” protest was one of several thousand rallies across the country and the second “No Kings” protest in Madison. The movement originated after Trump’s $45 million taxpayer-funded military parade in June.
“There’s so many people that feel the pain and distrust in our government right now and what’s happening in our country,” Steve Dinkel, a protest attendee, told The Daily Cardinal. “This isn’t what America has stood for hundreds of years. This isn’t what our grandfathers fought for in World War II, to become a fascist dictatorship.”
Protestors gathered at McPike Park at 2 p.m., hoisting signs saying “hate will not make us great” and “the only monarch we need is the butterfly” while drums beat to the rhythm of “this is what democracy looks like” chants.
“I'm witnessing immigrant families living in the shadows of a nation built upon the DNA of the enslaved, the blood of the indigenous, the sweat of the Asian community, the hands of the immigrants and the whip of injustice,” Dane County Circuit Court Judge Everett Mitchell said. “The only line of defense [we] got [is] to learn how to organize.”
A large number of attendees dressed in silly costumes — from hot dogs and gorillas to inflatable frogs and unicorns — and said they employ gimmicks such as a bubble machine as a way of demonstrating their dedication to an atmosphere of non-violence.
Leo Thull, a Wisconsin resident and former Republican, gave an additional reason for his satirical wear.
“Today, I'm here wearing a hot dog costume and looking as silly as I can, because this whole thing is so absurd, and I think what we need to do as protesters is be even more absurd than this stupid fascist takeover that's happening in our country,” Thull said.
The crowd of protestors marched up to the Capitol around 2:30 p.m., chanting various anti-Trump chants, playing kazoos and vuvuzelas, beating cowbells and singing along to “Get up, Stand up” by Bob Marley.
Protestor Debora Roblero, a DACA recipient and small business owner, marched the streets carrying a Mexican flag. As a first-generation immigrant who moved to the U.S. with her father when she was 14, Roblero advocated for compassion and immigrant rights.
“We are the backbone of this country,” she said. “A lot of DACA recipients are doctors, lawyers, and they’re here paying taxes, doing everything right…Everybody deserves to be loved and not treated like some sort of criminal when we're not criminals, we're not, we're workers.”
Madison local Vanessa Leung, also a first-generation immigrant, expressed fear for her and her family's U.S. citizenship being “stripped away at any time.” Leung, born in Hong Kong, moved to Florida with her parents when she was 2.5 years old. She also expressed the need for immigrants for a “functioning” nation.
“Behind every industry, every facet of our lives, there are immigrants hard at work,” Leung said. “So, it just saddens me to know that immigrants at large are being hugely demonized when immigrants are some of the most hard working people I've ever met in my life.”
