Colorado’s “No Kings” protests were peaceful. The evening brought a different outcome

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The “No Kings” protests that took place this past Saturday drew millions across the United States, including tens of thousands in Colorado.

That’s according to organizers of the protests, who are calling it the biggest single-day anti-Donald Trump protest of his second term.

The protests were organized to counter Donald Trump’s military parade that evening. Most of the rallies came and went peacefully, though there were reported clashes between police and protestors in Los Angeles. In Salt Lake City, one man was shot and killed, and in Virginia, a man was arrested for allegedly intentionally driving an SUV through a crowd.

KGNU News Department contributors attended three different demonstrations yesterday in Colorado. Don Davis stuck around in Boulder, News Director Jackie Sedley went to Denver – as did Verity Matthews – and John Kelin was up in Fort Collins.

We’ll start in Boulder.

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People filled the area between the Penfield Tate II Municipal building and the Boulder Library along Canyon Road for the local “No Kings” rally. The event kicked off with remarks from guest speakers, including Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, Boulder City Councilmember Nicole Speer.

KGNU’s Elena Klaver led singalongs singalong at the Boulder “No Kings” protest of Woody Guthrie’s “All You Fascists Bound to Lose.”

After the speakers wrapped up, protestors spread out along Broadway from Canyon Boulevard. Organizers estimated 5,000 people stood along Broadway by 1 p.m.

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Over in Denver, the crowd was about 4 or 5 times as large – that’s according to KGNU’s own personal estimate. There was no clear organized point of the rally with speakers, though some individuals did gather to hear attendee’s personal testimonies of how the Trump administration has impacted them and lead chants together through the streets.

There were a whole bunch of tents set up in the Lincoln Memorial Park, in between Lincoln and Broadway in front of the Capitol. The idea was that people could walk around and “organization shop” – find an organization that matched with their values – and to get involved. Denver’s Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Denver Justice Project, Indivisible, Denver Democrats, 350 Colorado, Stand Up for Science, MINES Students for a Democratic Society, and more were just some of the groups hosting booths at what they called “The People’s Fair.”

People held up signs saying “I hope he chokes on his birthday cake” – Saturday was also Trump’s 79th birthday – “You know it’s huge when the introverts come out,” “Are we great yet? Because I just feel embarrassed,” and other clever and humorous anti-Trump signs.

Protestors brought many symbols of Palestine – including the country’s flag, and keffiyahs, and more. That could’ve been in part because  the demonstration coincided with an “All Out For Gaza: End the Genocide Now” protest led by the Colorado Palestine Coalition, SDS Denver, and several other groups. However, many groups affiliated with the No Kings protest – including MINES Students for a Democratic Society and Ore Diggers against Apartheid – spoke to passing protestors about the genocide overseas. They also displayed a tall student-created mural.

Large swaths of the crowd left at different times, going in different directions down streets throughout Denver’s downtown, while others hung back on the lawn of the Capitol of under the shade of any tree they could find.

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Around 4 p.m., Denver’s branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (or PSL) and Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC) took over. They led an “ICE OUT: Stop the Deportations” protest, similar to the one they led on Tuesday. This protest was overall much more localized, focusing on the specific issue of mass deportations and making specific calls to action for ground-up change.

That rally had speakers, including PSL’s Alfonso “Poncho” Espino with PSL.

Actions continued into the evening, and did not end nearly as peacefully as the Denver “No Kings” rally. It’s not confirmed if the protestors aggressed upon by law enforcement were affiliated with the PSL or CIRC protest.

Around 6:30 p.m., a group of demonstrators allegedly attempted to march onto Interstate 25 at the intersection of West Colfax Avenue and Osage Street. Police responded by aggressing against the protestors with smoke or tear gas and pepper bullets, before arresting 14 individuals.

Another group tried to march onto I-25 near Coors Field around 9:20 p.m. but were blocked by law enforcement at the intersection of 20th and Blake. Denver officers also used smoke and pepper balls to disperse the groups.

In total, three dozen people were arrested in Denver on Saturday on investigation of charges ranging from blocking streets to resisting arrest, according to the Denver Police Department.

Though police denied using tear gas, KGNU’s Jackie Sedley said they felt the effects of chemicals in the air wafting into the streets of Capitol Hill around 10:30 p.m. and had trouble breathing for several minutes.

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In Fort Collins, KGNU’s John Kelin spoke with a couple of folks amongst the thousands who attended that town’s “No Kings” protest. You can hear from them in the audio version of this story.