No Kings III draws smaller, still determined crowd in Springfield

The crowd at protestors at No Kings III claps along to live music.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen

SPRINGFIELD — About 1,000 people, bundled up against the cold, stood shoulder-to-shoulder in Court Square, with colorful signs lifted overhead that read “No Kings,” and “Defend Democracy.”

The protesters chanted slogans and booed when speakers recalled actions taken by President Donald Trump, including the widespread detainment of immigrants and launching a war against Iran. This was the scene at Springfield’s No Kings III rally on March 28.

Amid the protest songs and chanting, half a dozen speakers took the mic to speak on behalf of organizers, politicians, legal scholars and everyday people. John Rucci, a retired U.S. Marine who served in Bosnia, Kosovo, Djibouti, Somalia and Iraq, was among those who addressed the crowd from the steps of City Hall.

“I’m here as a veteran who doesn’t recognize his country and what it’s becoming,” Rucci said. He spoke about “radical thoughts” about respecting everyone, welcoming strangers instilled in him by his mother and his Catholic school classes. He said the U.S. Marines taught him to “protect those you are put to lead. Eat last or don’t eat at all.” Using one of Trump’s nicknames, he asked the crowd, “Do you think The Donald has ever eaten last in his life?”

Rucci asked the crowd what radicalized them. “Was it watching your fellow citizens be treated like enemies of our own country? Because if believing in basic rights, if believing that no agency is above the law, if believing that power must answer to the people, if that makes you radical then maybe we aren’t the problem.”

Protestor Fergus Marshall handed out flyers that he hoped would “make it to the hands of someone in the Army National Guard.” On the flyers was the oath that service members swear to uphold the U.S. Constitution. Meanwhile, Andrew Cornick of the Democratic Socialists of America handed out information about the organization, which he said was “opposed, on a very fundamental level, to the way we’re being left behind.” Personally, Cornick said, “I think the issue that motivates me the most is the wealth inequity in the country.”

Massachusetts’s two U.S. senators, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, sent staffers to read prepared statements. Markey said, “Friends, across this nation, we are witnessing a dangerous attempt to concentrate power in the hands of one man, to silence dissent, weaken our institutions and erode the foundations of our democracy.” He remarked on the SAVE America Act, a bill that Trump has pushed for, which would have required proof of citizenship when registering to vote. The bill failed a recent vote in the Senate. Markey said, “This isn’t about protecting democracy; it’s about deciding who deserves to participate in it.”

“What they truly fear most is the power of the people when we come together,” Markey said. “The story of America has never been about those who seek to rule. It has always been about those who rise up to be heard.” He went on, “You affirm our belief in a democracy where every eligible voter can cast a ballot without barriers.”

Mark Antonio Williams, Warren’s regional director, read a statement from the senator: “Each and every day that Donald Trump is president, I’m reminded why we don’t have kings in America. Today, reason number one is that the United States should not be dragged into war by one man. U.S. service members should not have their lives sacrificed on the whims of a single person.

“Instead of building schools and hospitals here at home, he’s bombing them abroad. Instead of putting money toward helping people afford groceries and health care, he’s shoving the global economy off a cliff.”

State Sen. Jake Oliviera stood in the crowd, wearing a pin that read, “Democracy is not a spectator’s sport.” Referring to a protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s tactics that he attended on the steps of City Hall a month before, he said, “Last time we were here, Iran hadn’t even happened. We were here protesting the way our country was less safe. Now, the world is less safe. It’s just getting worse and worse.”

Meghan and Martin Lynch, and their neighbor Sarah Kofke-Egger, brought their respective children, Henry Lynch, Aisha Mandhry, Sakina Mohamed and Ilyias Mohamed. Asked why it was important to have young people at the protest, Sarah Kofke-Egger said, “So, they can learn from a young age to stand up for what’s right.” Meghan Lynch added, “Kids have a voice, too.”

Henry Lynch said, “I came because nothing’s going to stop” unless “we’re here all together and to support democracy.” Ilyias Mohamed wanted to “stop what Trump is doing. He’s being racist and making brown people move away.” Mandhry added, “It’s just really sad. It’s not what the country should be.”

Organizer Joseph Bonilla spoke about being a 13-year-old when Trump was first elected in 2016. At 13, he said, “You are taught that truth matters, that cruelty disqualifies and that fairness is not optional. At 13, you should be worried about school, about friends, about who you are becoming, not about whether your country views your community as a threat.”

Bonilla said the Holocaust was only possible because of “the vast majority of those who did not interrupt it.” He added, “If we are truly honest with ourselves, we can see the same patterns now, maybe not identical but recognizable. Because today in this country we are normalizing systems that detain and disappear people. Bonilla said, “Silence is not passive. It is a system. It is how harm perpetuates.”

About 20 members of South Congregational Church attended the protest, including Dionne Raines, Kim Figueroa, Brett Sandman and Jan Burdwik, who stood together on the sidewalk. Asked what brought them out, Figueroa said, “Our Christian faith, love your neighbor as yourself.” Raines said the Trump administration had only grown “bolder” since the last No Kings protest.

When asked if displays like the No Kings protests have an impact, Donna “Dee” Fellows, an organizer with Defending Democracy in Hampden County, said, “That’s a really good question. I think it has an impact for creating energy for the people who are fighting for democracy. It just shows that there’s other people as well as them, so it just gives them the feeling of being involved and having people who support with them.”

Fellows agreed that the actions of the Trump administration have become more intense, since the first No Kings rally. “Their response to protestors has been violent, and more violent, and it will probably continue to get even more violent. The government has changed. Trump has only made things worse and worse. His actions are getting more radical, like starting a war overseas when they weren’t anywhere near harming us in any way over here.”

Fellows said, “That’s why we want people to show up.” She said fewer people registered to attend this rally than the past two. Nationwide, 5 million people came to the first No Kings protests in April 2025. For No Kings II, six months later, 7 million people came across the country.

“We’ll see for No Kings III. It’s a freezing cold day. So, I’m glad that we had about 1,000 people here. We call that a success,” Fellows said.

“People are getting afraid to speak out and to show up. They’re seeing the push back, the violence. But that’s what we don’t want to happen because that is what authoritarianism wants. Authoritarianism wants people staying home, being comfortable in their chairs.” She said, “If people stay comfortable and don’t fight back, that’s how authoritarianism takes over. That’s how it happens all over the world.”