Hundreds gather at Tucson’s Reid Park for ‘No Kings’ rally

He said he hopes the “No Kings” rallies will compel members of Congress to listen, as Buckles said they are getting harder and harder for them to ignore. Buckles said he hopes protests like those Saturday will get people to oust Republicans in November’s midterm elections, specifically mentioning Rep. Juan Ciscomani. 

“I hope that that people like Juan Ciscomani go, ‘oh, maybe, maybe I should take a different tact,’” he said. “I don’t think he’s going to, personally, so (Joanna) Mendoza is going to be the next Congressperson for that district.”

Melonie Nicols said she’s gone to multiple No Kings protests and other rallies since Trump was elected and will keep going. 

“The administration is horrible, and we’re in a war that we should not be in, and there’s no plan. We’re rounding up our community members and putting them in camps. And it’s horrifying that it’s happening, that it’s allowed to happen, that the Trump family is making money off of the degradation,” Nicols said.

Part of being at a protest like Reid Park’s, she said, “is to be around other people who are pissed off and to not feel like you’re alone in the world. It feels good to be around other people who also feel the same thing and are fighting for the same things.”

Nicols said her hope is that Trump will eventually be impeached. But for now, she hopes Saturday’s protests and the community activists attending will inform the general public about what they can do to fight back.

“What really needs to happen is like a full on, actual strike. If there was a general strike, that is what would get attention. And I don’t know that that is going to happen, but that is what needs to happen. The hard part is that there’s a lot of people who can’t do that. If you’re working two or three jobs … you need to provide for yourself, provide for your family. Honestly, it’s rich people who need to —-ing cough up,” Nicols said.