A crowd that was estimated at 2,000 to 2,500 and included several Democratic elected officials gathered at East Hampton Town Hall on Saturday for the latest "No Kings" protest against the Trump administration.
The rally, one of more than 2,600 events nationally, came amid a growing fear of authoritarianism in America. A government shutdown is in its third week, National Guard troops are on the streets of American cities, and the president openly muses about invoking the Insurrection Act.
"I don't like dictatorship," said one attendee, Don Matheson of East Hampton. "Anybody who thinks we're not already in a dictatorship isn't looking beyond one television station. . . . The F.B.I., the C.I.A., the National Guard, the Army, the Justice Department, the people who count the jobs -- all of those people are now under Trump's thumb, and they never disagree with him on anything. That's dictatorship."
"I love my community, and I hate to see what's happening with the division and with more and more hungry people, our rights being taken away, and my neighbors disappearing," said Gloria Frazee of East Hampton Village. "We have to stand up and speak out."
At first, said Laurie Sykes of Bridgehampton, she was unsure "if being here mattered," but reasoned that "we all need to know that every little bit helps." Her children are now young adults, she said, "and I'm worried about the world they're facing. It makes me sad."
"My dad was a Republican," said Barbara Dayton of Springs, "but he would be appalled by what the so-called Republicans today are doing. Their generation knew that tyranny was wrong and were willing to die for it. Half of the current population seems okay with walking into it. Did the Greatest Generation all fight for nothing?"
An uncle, she said, was killed in the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Another uncle served in the relief force at the Battle of the Bulge, and her father served in England. "I have a 48-starred flag and a Purple Heart in my basement that my grandparents were sent when their son was killed," she said. "I take that sacrifice very seriously."
Former Councilman Jeff Bragman attended the protest "because things have gotten so dangerous," he said. "Showing up is very important. I never thought things could get this bad. You've got to be in the streets."
"It's energizing to be here today in this crowd," said Suffolk County Legislator Ann Welker, who is seeking re-election next month. "I'm here today because this is so vitally important. We need to take all of this wonderful energy and move it forward to our next local election, which is Nov. 4. Early voting starts Oct 25. It could not be more important."
"No Kings" events also took place in Hamptons Bays and Riverhead on Saturday. In East Hampton, protesters lined Pantigo Road in front of Town Hall, the crowd stretching close to a quarter-mile in length. They waved signs bearing messages such as "Rejecting kings since 1776," "Trump is a faux-king joke," "Grow a spine Congress," "Bring back humanity, end ICE brutality," and "Release the Epstein files." A cacophony of horns from passing vehicles was a constant throughout the two-hour rally, occupants offering thumbs-up to those lining the roads with only a scattering of opposing viewpoints.
When drafting the First Amendment, the nation's founders based their rationale on four principles, Councilwoman Cate Rogers told those who had gathered behind Town Hall, where officials took turns standing atop a picnic table to address the crowd before the group proceeded to Pantigo Road. "One, freedom of conscience is an unalienable right, because people have the right and duty to think for themselves," she said. "Two, free speech makes representatives accountable to we, the people. Three, free speech is necessary for the discovery of truth and the rejection of falsehood."
The fourth, she said, is that "free speech allows for the public discussion necessary for democratic self-government. This is the First Amendment to the Constitution: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or of the right of people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Kate Mueth, a founder of the Neopolitical Cowgirls, spoke of the importance of mutual aid, "a collaborative exchange of resources and services for common benefit that takes place amongst community members to overcome social, economic, and political barriers for meeting common needs." This is of the utmost importance today, she said. "We have to have mutual aid in place to think about the power of a national strike, and what that looks like. . . . We have to engage our voice and speak up on behalf of each other, especially for those who are most at risk of being attacked."
Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni was direct in assessing the current president and his administration. "It seems odd that we are actually here as a 'No Kings' rally," he said. "This is a conversation that has been settled for more than 250 years on this continent. Not only that, we put safeguards in place. We put safeguards in our republic in place to push back against authoritarian rule. It's called the United States Constitution."
He referred to former Representative George Santos of New York's Third Congressional District, who served just 84 days of a seven-year prison sentence for committing a broad range of fraudulent activity, Mr. Trump having commuted that sentence on Friday. Mr. Santos had admitted to personally gaining from his campaign fund-raising apparatus and stealing the identity and financial information from elderly and cognitively impaired donors, all following a campaign characterized by self-aggrandizing lies about his background.
"We believe in the rule of law," Mr. Schiavoni said. "We are a government of laws in the State of New York and the United States of America. When I went to school, when I was a little kid, that wasn't even in question. It wouldn't even be a question that someone as horrendous as a former congressman who broke so many laws can have his sentence commuted and he can walk out of jail because he votes for one particular party."
He also aimed criticism at Representative Nick LaLota of New York's First Congressional District, an early endorser and supporter of the president. "Article One of the United States Constitution requires that Congress check the power of the executive," he said to cheers. "So I am here again publicly asking that our Congressman Nick LaLota check the power of this president. We elected him, he wanted the job, he's got the job. Now he needs to do his job."
He noted that New York State's flag depicts liberty and justice in the form of women. "Justice, she's blindfolded, she's holding a scale," he said. "The other woman is Liberty, and Liberty, she's holding a staff. On top of the staff is a peasant's hat. Under her left foot is a crown symbolizing our rejection of nobility."
"I want to thank you all for being here," he said. "Your presence here speaks volumes."
As of Saturday morning, 475 people had registered to attend the rally in East Hampton, said Katherine Stahl, an organizer of it and a co-founder of People for Democracy East Hampton, a chapter of the Indivisible movement. Attendance has typically been three times the number of registrants, she said, but Saturday's turnout greatly exceeded that equation.
Polls consistently show that the president and his agenda are unpopular. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll this month put his approval at 37 percent, against 61 percent disapproving. The poll's numbers are similarly lopsided on his handling of the economy, immigration, and trade negotiations.
In the days preceding the "No Kings" rallies, Republican officials sought to portray them as hateful, extremist, un-American, and funded by the investor and philanthropist George Soros. "It shows how fearful they are," Ms. Stahl said just prior to the rally. "These comments, this talking point of hate, has caused the opposite to take place. I think a lot of people on my end are signing up saying, 'Wait a minute, this is not what we're about.' "
After the rally had concluded, Ms. Stahl observed that "the administration is afraid of citizens rising up in huge numbers and saying 'No.' The way countries resist the fall to authoritarian takeover is by citizen pushback. We will not agree. We dissent. We will stand up for our beloved democracy, our beloved country, and, importantly, we will stand together. So as we grow, 'their' power to transform our country into an autocracy is diminished. We are the leaders that will save us."
