‘Tyrants don’t last always’: 8,000 protesters join Morristown ‘No Kings’ rally

 

By Louise Witt

Crowding in front of Morristown’s town hall and spilling onto South Street, an estimated 8,000 demonstrators waved placards and shouted “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go” Saturday as part of national “No Kings” protests against the president’s policies.

“It is not just a rejection of crowns and thrones; it is a declaration that freedom belongs to all of us,” Mayor Tim Dougherty told the peaceful yet spirited gathering, one of more than 2,700 rallies in cities and towns across the country that organizers say drew 7 million people — one of the largest one-day protests in American history.

Morristown’s crowd size, as estimated by town Public Safety Director Michael Corcoran Jr., was twice that of the first No Kings rally in June. Put another way, Saturday’s turnout was equivalent to about 40 percent of Morristown’s population–or standing room only at the Somerset Patriots minor league ballpark.

Republican leaders attempted to portray national No Kings protests as magnets for political agitators. But only a couple of counter-protesters showed up here, Corcoran said. Just to be safe, law enforcement sharpshooters staked out rooftops. Morristown police were assisted by the Morris County Prosecutor’s, Sheriff’s and Emergency Management offices, and area police. Public works trucks blocked South Street traffic from Madison Avenue to James Street.

At times the local affair felt like a giant Halloween block party. Before the 11 am kickoff, a pair of inflatable dinosaurs danced under sunny skies to a rendition of Woodie Guthrie’s This Land Is Your Land, as onlookers cheered. “Ice Age 2 Ice Raids Still Fighting Extinction,” read a sign on one of the Tyrannosaurs.

Video: No Kings II in Morristown:

One woman came as the Statue of Liberty; her significant other wore lists of foreign countries’ reciprocal tariffs. They stretched down both sides of his body. Another man, encased in an inflatable orange caricature of President Trump, said he rigged a porta-potty inside.

But the day’s messages were serious. Activists, clergy and elected officials accused the Trump administration of authoritarianism, cruelty against immigrants, and cuts to vital government services, and exhorted listeners to fight back with their votes.

“This is an all hands-on-deck moment,” said Diane DuBrule, director of the ACLU of New Jersey, condemning Trump Administration efforts to erode First Amendment rights and crush dissent.

It has targeted judges, deported American citizens and detained protesters, she said. “What we have seen so far is troubling and illegal. The president is using the immense power of the federal government to silence opposition through fear.”

“’We the People’ was never meant to be a phrase just found in a textbook,” said Livingston High School student Shona Kumar, co-chair of her school chapter of the League of Women Voters. “It was meant to remind every generation out there that the responsibility of freedom belongs to us Americans.”

Indivisible and about 200 other groups organized the No Kings Day of Political Action. The coalition includes the 50501 movement, MoveOn, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the League of Women Voters, the American Federation of Teachers, the Interfaith Alliance, Common Defense, League of Conservation Voters, Public Citizen, National Nurses United, the Human Rights Campaign and others.

“Authoritarians want us to believe resistance is futile, but every person who turned out today proved the opposite. This movement isn’t about a single protest; it’s about a growing chorus of Americans who refuse to be ruled. Trump may want a crown, but in this country, there are no kings,” said a statement from Indivisible co-founders Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg.

In the run-up to the rallies, House Speaker Mike Johnson blasted No Kings as a “hate America rally” that would draw “antifa people” and “pro-Hamas” Democrats. Governors of Texas and Virginia called up their National Guard troops to provide protection from angry protestors. People in the Morristown crowd said they love the country, and are fed up with where Trump and the GOP are taking it.

‘DYING BEFORE OUR EYES’

Darlene Reese of Long Island brought her grandson, 7-year-old Jonah of Chatham.

“I’m here because I would like the best future possible for Jonah. Democracy is dying before our eyes,” said Reese, a speech pathologist who lamented the dismantling of the federal Department of Education and its Special Education branch.

“It’s like watching civil rights decay. Our most vulnerable people are being attacked,” she said.

Patra Brown, co-president of the League of Women Voters for the Morris Area, a sponsor of the local rally, addressed concerns the organization is abandoning its traditional non-partisan status.

“For a very long time, the League’s tagline has been, ‘Educating Voters, Defending Democracy,’” Brown said.

“We define defending democracy as the right to hold our elected officials accountable,” she continued, asserting the LWV will continue acting based on “principles and positions,” not political parties. The current administration, she said, “has placed our country in a constitutional crisis” with a steady, authoritarian erosion of constitutional boundaries.

Brown called for volunteers to help canvass Morristown neighborhoods to encourage registered voters to vote. New Jersey will choose a governor next month.

Former Republican Gov. Christine Todd Whitman attended Saturday’s rally. “The American people have to take back their democracy,” she told Morristown Green. “Most important thing to do is to vote, and vote for every level of office to make a difference.”

Beth Bayles from Morristown and her friend Francie Hoyt from Basking Ridge said they have been to several protests this year. “We have to get back our justice system,” said Bayles. “And get people to vote,” added Hoyt.

Johanna McCarten, of Far Hills, echoed the fear of authoritarianism: “I want to save my democracy.” Addie Gundlach, of Basking Ridge, wants to stop “our country from being taken over by an orange clown.” Gundlach said when she and McCarten were high school students in the ’60s in Summit, they never envisioned demonstrating “because our democracy is being lost.”

‘KINGS DO NOT LAST ALWAYS’

Echoing the voting theme, the Rev. Lance Mann, pastor of Union Baptist Church in Morristown, offered hope to those who are fearful. “Tyranny never lasts always. Tyrants don’t last always. Kings do not last always,” he thundered from the steps of town hall.

Luanna Cook Scott, pastor of the Morristown United Methodist Church, took on the evangelical far-right and its influence on the GOP.

“They hide behind Jesus with the lies and their cruelty. But Christianity was never meant to be a form of government. Not ever, not ever. As a matter of fact, Christianity was created as a spiritual movement under occupation, not to seize power, but to free people from it.

“We have been here before, when Christians looked away, when the church stood silent in the face of Nazism, the faith was twisted to sanctify empire, and how ordinary people, not just prophets, kept the light alive anyway.

“We respond with kindness, creativity and courage,” Scott insisted, leading the crowd to repeat her mantra.

Kathy O’Leary of Pax Christie USA, told the throng she has been volunteering outside the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, helping families who are kept waiting for hours in all weather, with no shelter or bathrooms, in hopes of seeing loves ones snatched by ICE.

“If you think immigration detention is something that doesn’t impact everything, I’m here to say, no, it does,” O’Leary said. “No matter what issue you care about, whether you care about healthcare, tenants’ rights or poverty issues, it’s all there. We are all in this together. All our struggles are interconnected.”

Joshua Bermudez, a college student and volunteer with the Wind of the Spirit Immigration Resource Center, said his family emigrated from Costa Rica 30 years ago for opportunity and freedom.

“Unfortunately, that promise of the American Dream that brought my family here is not only fading, but is under direct attack,” he said.

Bermudez urged listeners to tell state lawmakers to pass the Immigrant Trust Act, so undocumented individuals can interact with state and local agencies without threat of deportation.

“Do we want a government by the people and for the people and works only for the people, regardless of their legal status?” he asked. The crowd shouted: “Yes!”

Mark Thompson, a retired locomotive machinist from Rockaway, said he came out to protest the Trump administration taking people off the street and torpedoing boats off Venezuela, “being judge, jury and executioner. I think Congress and the judiciary have let us down. Checks and balances aren’t being fulfilled, so we have to do it ourselves.”

Christine of Morristown — she declined to give her last name — held a sign quoting author Edward Abbey: “The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.”

“We need our country back,” she said. “We need a Superman. We got Bizarro.”

Garret Gerow and Kevin Coughlin contributed to this report.

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