(Hunter Morrison/KRBD)
It was a sunny afternoon following a week of heavy snow in Ketchikan. Roughly 200 people gathered near the Federal Building downtown. People blasted music from speakers and cars honked as they drove past. Protester Sid Hartley held a sign that said, “why are we not arresting pedophiles?”
When asked why she’s protesting, she said she has too many frustrations with the Trump administration to name.
“There’s, like, a thousand reasons,” Hartley said tearfully. “But I’m pretty disgusted, and I love people, and that’s why I’m here, because I do love my country, and I’m sick of it looking like this.”
Hartley said she is protesting the war in Iran, which she described as a “pure lack of humanity.”
Saturday marked a month since the U.S. launched airstrikes against Iran, triggering a month of violent unrest, rising gas prices and political turmoil. Alaska lawmakers have recently shown support for the war in Iran, claiming the U.S. did not start the conflict.
Hartley said coming together for local protests helps show the humanity she thinks is missing in the current administration.
“This right here paints the entire picture that we are together in this and that there is a lot more love than what Trump is insisting that there is,” she said. “He’s insisting that there’s just so much hate, and that we’re awful people, and that anybody who doesn’t agree with him is garbage or whatever slur he wants to throw out there — and yet, here we are. None of this looks like garbage to me.”
Larry Taylor was one of the organizers of the protest. He’s with the local chapter of Voices for Reason, an anti-Trump political action committee founded in Alaska.
When asked why he was protesting, Taylor said, “I wish I had my list.”
“We’re trying to show that we love our democracy and that our democracy is under attack,” Taylor said. “Right now, it’s all one party. They’re in charge. They’ve got the presidency and Congress and the Supreme Court. They’ve got it wrapped up, and they’re changing the basis of our society for the worse.”
Taylor said with the large nationwide turnout at this No Kings protest, and the last two, he believes that could be enough of the population to make a difference.
In Wrangell, close to 40 people protested along the waterfront. Many carried signs — including one that said, “in your guts, you know he’s nuts.”
“I’m just sick of it,” said protester Jenn Hatch. “Nothing for the people. Everything’s for grift, for the Trump family. And then there’s a heck of a lot of stuff going on with ICE that I completely detest.”
Steve Murphy held the American flag and a sign he made that said “thank you for electing Donald Trump President.” He was one of about five counter-protesters in Wrangell. He was marching and chatting with the larger group, wearing a big smile on his face. He said half of the protesters are his friends and this is part of the democratic process.
“I agree with No Kings, and he’s our elected president, and he’s going by rule of law,” Murphy said. “We may not like that, but that’s what he’s doing.”
The group eventually walked over a block to downtown Front Street, stopping in front of businesses and chanting in front of storefronts.
But not every counter protester had something friendly to say. Larry Daly watched from the other side of the road with another person.
“I’m thinking about their stupid,” Daly said. A pickup truck drove by, flipping off the protesters.
Back across the street, Tom Loners wore a veteran’s hat with 82nd Airborne Veteran on it. He served in the Dominican Republic in 1965.
“I think Trump is doing so much harm to this country,” Loners said. “I just hope it’s not irreparable. I think we just get rid of him. You know, gotta get the Democrats in this next election, November, and take his power away from him.”
Over 100 protesters showed up in Petersburg.
Chelsea Tremblay is a community organizer for Petersburg Friends and Neighbors. She said it’s important to come together, because what’s happening federally has a direct impact on small Southeast towns.
“Petersburg is not unaffected by what’s going on,” Tremblay said. “We have prices going up because of this illegal war and tariffs. We have neighbors who have lost their jobs at the Forest Service. We have neighbors not getting paid right now because of the conflict happening with the Senate and House and what have you. And then we just have people scared.”
Despite some demonstrators saying they think things have gotten worse since the last No Kings protest, today’s turnout isn’t as strong as the previous one in October.
Nicole McMurren, a former federal worker, said she wanted to show support for her community — and she was glad to see people speak up peacefully.
“It’s an act of courage to abut our neighbors,” McMurren said. “Alaska is a very red state, Petersburg, came out voting for this current president. So I see it as an act of courage for people to stand up and say that they don’t like what they’re seeing.”
In Sitka, groups of protestors marched towards Totem Square across the city. In a snowy clearing, over 400 Sitkans listened to speakers condemn the Trump administration’s deployment of ICE, and weaponization of White Christian nationalism.
Organizers were raising money for ACLU Alaska, the state’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
James Clare has been volunteering with the ACLU for about 40 years. His decades-long history of disobedience began during the Vietnam War. He said with the U.S. once again engaging in war with Iran, it’s another chapter that’s all too familiar.
“It’s very frustrating that the vast majority of my life, it seems like there have been wars, and there have been people opposed to the wars, and what leads up to the wars,” Clare said. “There’s oppression that occurs throughout the world, and it’s that oppression that causes people to revolt. And I hope we can have some impact. I don’t know whether little Sitka can do that or not, but I’m hoping we can.”
Protester Bryce Walsh waved a cardboard sign with the words “No more bombs, no more raids” scrawled in thin black marker. Walsh said he felt positive about the turnout of the rally, and he hopes the enthusiasm will continue as the U.S. approaches midterm elections.
“I hope that… it gets a lot of people excited to vote,” Walsh said. “That’s obviously one of the main levers that we can pull to actually change what’s going on in Washington. But in general, just I hope that our country starts going in a different direction, and that seeing this many people, this large scale movement, more people will join, and that can help to make that happen.”
There was also a protest in Tenakee Springs of around 20 people/
The first No Kings protest happened last June on Donald Trump’s birthday. The protests are part of a national movement against abuse of power and in protection of democracy, according to the No Kings website. There were over 3,000 protests held Saturday across the country in all 50 states.
KCAW’s Ryan Cotter, KSTK’s Colette Czarnecki, and KFSK’s Taylor Heckart contributed to this report.
