Hundreds Attend Yonkers 'No Kings' Day of Protest

June 14, 2025 - Greystone Neighborhood

On any other Saturday, the intersection of Warburton and Odell Avenue would be as quiet as a breeze, with the most action being a slow trickling of cars, perhaps a few joggers or people walking their dogs. But on June 14 the cross street was alive with hundreds of protestors who united on the foothills of Yonkers to demonstrate their grievances against the Trump administration and the slow creep of authoritarianism.

An estimated 4 - 6 million people turned out for the first No Kings Day protest, according to Strength in Numbers, an independent group of data journalists. The protests were in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement of a $45M military parade on Flag Day, the holiday celebrating the adoption of the American flag in 1777. This year the commemoration coincided with the 250th anniversary of the United States armed forces and the president's 79th birthday. 

To many across the country and political spectrum these festivities, in addition to the dismantling of the federal government, was a blatant signal of a descent into dictatorship, launching the No Kings movement. “President Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday.” the No Kings website explains. “A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else.”  

This sentiment is what inspired Yonkers resident Providencia Casado to attend the rally. “We’re becoming a fascist dictatorship,” she says. “I just can’t allow that to happen, none of us can.” 

As one of the more than 1,800 demonstrations nationwide, over 500 residents from Yonkers and Westchester gathered at Hudson Fulton Memorial Park. People spilled out onto the surrounding sidewalks, waving handmade signs and flying American flags big and small. Demonstrators encouraged drivers-by to honk their horns in support, encouraging people to cheer even louder. Some vehicles drove by with their own signs or blasting music at the red light for protestors to dance to. Only one anti-protestor drove past a few times with their Trump flag in tow. Law enforcement was kept to a minimum with a few police vehicles parked alongside other cars out of the way on standby.

Wet weather couldn't dampen the humanitarian spirit of people who were determined to express their anger over the incremental destruction of the government that now defines the administration’s first 100 days. 

Launching on Jan 20, Trump's nationalist celebrations were punctuated by a Nazi salute from Elon Musk, which loudly signaled what was to come over the next several months. As Musk established a new government agency, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he targeted the public welfare functions of the state, under the guise of cutting wasteful spending. 

With the precision of a chainsaw, the agency targeted any government entity that appeared to help the most vulnerable abroad or domestically. Racist undertones on the campaign trail have become blaring horns as the federal government has been reconfigured to mirror Trump's cruelty. DOGE focused the ire and might of the government on DEI policies in academia, anti-genocide protestors, travel bans, and dismantling the Department of Education.

In all the chaos, Trump has yet to eke out a clean win to boast about. Instead, he's been called the TACO president, or Trump Always Chickens Out, as the public has started recognizing his pattern of veiled threats to bring people to the negotiating table. In recent weeks the hunt for undocumented people has become increasingly at odds with a growing portion of the political spectrum. Apart from his most loyal fans, Trump’s approval rating hovers around 43.4%, the lowest for any president in history this early on into a new administration.

In the months leading up to June 14, the public frustration has grown due to the lack of opposition from Democratic leadership who critics say appear ill-equipped to navigate the current constitutional crises. Besides the actions of a handful of star Democrats like House representatives Jasmine Crockett, Adriano Espaillat, Andrea Ocasio-Cortez, and Senators Bernie Sanders, and Cory Booker, oppressive policies are becoming entrenched with little friction from Congress. In contrast, the state and federal Judicial system has been largely left intact and functioning as designed as judges challenge the merits of Trump’s executive orders. 

Running on a diet of empty anger from Chuck Schumer and platitudes from House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries about responding to Trump at a “time, place, and manner of our choosing” has left liberals and progressives hungry for action.

But what good is it to show up at a protest? What power does the ordinary citizen have in the face of the overwhelming weight of pressure from the highest authority in the world?

According to Ruth Ben-Ghiat, fascism expert and Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University, everyday people have a great deal of power when they act together she explained during “America Fights Back”, a 3-hour news livestream of the No Kings protest on Youtube.

The program was hosted by former network news hosts Don Lemon, Joy Reid, and Jim Acosta. Each veteran journalist was given the boot during or after the election as media companies responded to a change in political tenor, another telltale sign of authoritarianism. Ben-Ghiat shared her perspective on the power of showing up. 

Dictators she says “want to banish images that are threatening to them and that is ordinary people who’ve been coming out not just to today’s No Kings protest, but they’ve been coming out in neighborhoods to try and stop [ICE] arrests. That show of solidarity, helping the vulnerable is very threatening to authoritarians because they always want to divide us and break these horizontal bonds… They didn’t expect this response... The future of resistance is going to be decentralized.”

In major cities like Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York City people showed up in the 10s of thousands to take over the streets. In smaller towns like Yonkers where people largely kept the sidewalk, protests appear to have less impact, garnering less news coverage. For Ben-Ghiat, no matter how small these gatherings are, the importance of coming together cannot be understated because it encourages people to return. “We have to think of this as one step in a collective movement,” she said during the webcast, “transforming individual outrage into a collective moral force.”

Following the success of the nationwide demonstration, No Kings organizers held a Zoom call with over 20,000 attendees ready to mobilize and keep up the momentum. As of this writing it has been replayed 41,000 times.

Will history look back on No Kings Day with the reverence of Flag Day? As troubling as these times are, we may have witnessed a spark on that dreary, wet Saturday afternoon of a movement to reclaim the country for everyday people. Authoritarians need to show force and although threats are as real as their consequences, they rely on the public's permission by instilling fear into the opposition. This is to hide the fact they only have power. They don’t have roots and are hollow at the core where hearts bleed with humanity.

For Mount Vernon resident Sherwin Harris risk comes with the responsibility of citizenship. “It feels dangerous to participate, but that’s okay,” Harris says. "It was dangerous creating this country.”