STARKVILLE — Opponents of President Donald Trump’s administration are planning to speak out this Saturday with protests in cities all across the country, including Starkville.
More than 1,800 “No Kings” protests are set to take place to counter a military parade in Washington D.C. celebrating the Army’s 250th anniversary, which coincides with Trump’s birthday and Flag Day. The parade will feature hundreds of military vehicles and aircraft and thousands of soldiers, which is estimated to cost between $25 million to $45 million, according to reports from the Associated Press.
Michele Crescenzo, who lives in Starkville, is organizing the “No Kings” protest in the city. The protest will last from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Hub on the corner of Jackson and Main Streets. Crescenzo said the rally will be “peaceful and nonviolent,” with the goal of pointing out overreach from the current administration of the federal government.
“The current administration in Washington is overreaching in every conceivable way,” Crescenzo said. “They’re ignoring laws. They’re ignoring the Constitution. They’re ignoring habeas corpus. And they’re cutting federal programs that we the taxpayers funded ourselves.”
Habeas corpus is the constitutional right for people to legally challenge their detention by the government. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said in May that the administration is looking to expand its legal power to deport migrants who are in the United States illegally, including “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus, according to reports from the Associated Press.
Crescenzo said the protest will be a gathering featuring speakers, along with an open mic for others to express their thoughts. So far, Crescenzo said, she has gotten responses from 50 potential attendees, though she anticipates actual attendance will be higher.
Crescenzo said she started organizing the protest after receiving an email from the nationwide social movement Indivisible, saying to see if Crescenzo could find a protest in her area. When she didn’t see any, Crescenzo decided to organize one herself, deciding to take action now due to the cumulative frustrations with the federal government.
“One thing happens and then another thing happens, and after a while you’re outraged all the time and you can’t keep track of it,” Crescenzo said. “Which I think is what they count on, because you eventually become numb and you can’t even read the news anymore.”
Indivisible and a coalition of pro-democracy partner organizations announced the No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance in a May 5 press release. The No Kings website calls the military parade in Washington, D.C., a “made-for-TV display of dominance” for Trump’s birthday, going on to say that “real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else.”
“No Kings is a nationwide day of defiance. From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism – and show the world what democracy really looks like,” the website reads.
The site also emphasizes the importance of nonviolent action, saying, “We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.”
Crescenzo said she does not expect any form of violence at the protest in Starkville, and she said the group will do “anything to avoid any kind of violence.”
“We just want to keep our democracy as a democracy,” Crescenzo said. “And I don’t think it’s a partisan issue to want to respect the Constitution or to want to respect habeas corpus, for example.”
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