Protests against the Trump administration are planned for Saturday along Langston Boulevard and I-66 overpasses in Arlington.
We of Action Virginia are forming a “human chain” around 5.2 miles of sidewalk between Rosslyn and Falls Church to resist “authoritarianism and the militarization of our democracy.”
The group also plans to erect signs on various I-66 bridges, accompanied by American flags and slogans such as “No dictators, no crowns” and “We the people, not a king.”
Organizer Julie Hanson Swanson told ARLnow that over 2,000 people have already registered to participate in the demonstrations, which will take place prior to the military parade, which begins at 6:30 p.m. on the National Mall.
“We want to make sure that the Trump administration knows that we in Arlington respect the Constitution and our democracy, and we are willing to fight for it and speak out,” Swanson informed the crowd.
The Arlington protests are among over 1,500 “No Kings Day” actions planned across the country on Saturday, criticizing the administration’s handling of a variety of issues.
Swanson, a retired USAID employee, identified large government layoffs, the methods of Trump’s immigration enforcement, and potential changes to Medicaid and food assistance programs as some of the most pressing issues confronting Arlington.
“The whole theme is that we do not have kings in America,” she told me.
Swanson emphasized intentions to make demonstrations “very peaceful,” serving as a counterprogram to the parade in D.C. while remaining firmly in Virginia.
Trump has vowed to use “very heavy force” against any protesters during the parade, which marks his 79th birthday. Federal agencies in charge of safety at the event have taken a more measured approach.
“If it’s just people exercising their First Amendment rights to protest, we’re not going to do anything about it, but if it turns violent or if any laws are broken, [the Metropolitan Police Department], park police, and the Secret Service will get involved,” Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s D.C. field office, told reporters on Monday.
McCool did, however, mention that “there is a plan to call in the National Guard, if needed.”
In Arlington, Swanson stated that organizers have contacted local police and undertaken trainings to deal with any “provocateurs.” She did not expect any trouble, however.
“We want to make sure that we are not a provocation to the Trump administration, and instead the mantra is to be everywhere where he is not,” according to her”
Overall, Swanson believes that the protests will send a message to the other side of the Potomac.
“It is really just a reassertion that we are a democracy,” she told me. “We are not an autocracy.”
