LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Thousands of Kentuckians are expected to take to the streets on Saturday at any of the 24 NO KINGS rallies that will be happening in different locations around the state. It’ll be the second such gathering here, and across America since June.
“This country is not going in the direction that we feel it should go,” said activist and event organizer, Laura Hartke.
Hartke, like the many people she works and will be protesting with, is saddened by many of the policies and actions they’ve seen from the federal government since President Trump took office in January.
“Teachers in Chicago having to give out know-your-rights cards. They're abducting children, handcuffing children, helicopters dropping down on apartment buildings. This is not what democracy looks like,” she stated, before stressing that tomorrow's protests will be peaceful, and as American as it gets.
Congressman Andy Barr released a statement on Friday in regards to Trump's actions in office and the NO KINGS protests.
President Trump dominated the 2024 election in Kentucky and is doing everything that Kentuckians sent him back to the White House to do: cutting taxes, securing the border, ending wars, and Making America Great Again. I’m honored to work with him to enact the America First Agenda.
June’s rally, which went off without violence, allowed Hartkey to come away from it with a very positive feeling. She said most of the demonstrations in other cities have been peaceful until ICE agents get involved.
“I went home loving this city more than I knew I loved this city. People were frustrated but full of joy to see that they were not alone. To see that their city was standing up and saying, 'this is not okay,'” she said of the gathering in June.
However, the Republican Party of Kentucky sees it differently. Communications Director, Adam Hope, says, “These protests are a reckless attempt to undermine and attack President Trump, who was duly elected by the American people.”
Hartke is a realist, and she knows her fellow demonstrators are too. A day of protesting, they know, isn’t likely to change much in terms of policy, approach, or attitude, but it can have a positive impact.
“So when they are feeling that hopelessness, have somewhere they can do something that actually makes a difference,” Hartke said.
Find more information on Lexington's scheduled protest for Saturday here.
