Tommy Gannon, Contributing Photographer

A steady drizzle of rain did not deter the chants of “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go” which rang out from the New Haven Green on Saturday as around 3,000 gathered to protest Donald Trump’s presidency.     

Saturday’s rally, one of more than 2,000 “No Kings” protests nationwide, condemned Trump’s Washington military parade commemorating the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary. The parade was planned for Flag Day, the same day as Trump’s 79th birthday. 

“No Kings” protests were held in all 50 states, with 33 in Connecticut alone.         

“We here, today, are all the family!” Julio Núñez García, 28, a Farmington resident and the primary speaker at the New Haven rally, said to the crowd. “We are brothers, sisters and siblings united in one fight … because we are not a tyranny. We are not a monarchy.”     

Protestors assembled on the Green at 1 p.m., filling the air with impromptu chants, bullhorns, car-honking and animated chatter. Organizers set up six tents to shield attendees and their posters from the rain. 

Joe Bender-Zanoni, a local with an interest in the world wars, thought that Trump’s rise to power corresponded with that of despotic leaders of the 20th century. Other protesters drew similar parallels, carrying posters that labeled the Trump administration “fascist freaks.”            

“You have a president who is authoritarian, has no judgment, is ignorant, uneducated, lied his way, and cheated his way through everything,” Bender-Zanoni said. “This is just like Trump — you run around with a flamethrower and then try and gather praise for putting out the fire.”      

Throughout the event, Bender-Zanoni flew a large “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, a centuries-old American symbol of resistance. He pointed out that the United States was founded by separating from a king, but believes that now, a “king” dominates the Oval Office.    

Like Bender-Zanoni, many protestors drew historical parallels. One attendee toted a sign that read, “Rejecting Kings since 1776.” Others quoted past President Thomas Jefferson and referred to the United States’ history of sustained immigration. Many flew the American flag upside down, indicating that, as attendee Griselle Venegas put it, “this country is in disarray — it’s on its head.”          

Other protestors — and their signs —  advocated for socialism and a new wave of local, worker-oriented politics. Tents stationed around the Green’s flagpole advertised the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Democratic Socialists of America, Socialist Alternative and the Revolutionary Communists of America. Those groups’ Connecticut chapters have been active in organizing protests in New Haven in the past two years against Israel’s war in Gaza.         

John Barrett arrived at the protest representing the Connecticut Visibility Brigade, an organization that hangs anti-Trump signs over I-95 bridges across the state. Barrett said he was thrilled to see the large turnout at the protest.       

“We need to be able to show this mass support against the president, and it’s only by us showing up that we empower others,” Barrett said. 

At 2 p.m., the protesters mobilized on Chapel Street, marched up York Street and then returned to the Green via Elm Street. Even as the protest picked up speed and numbers, New Haven Police Sergeant Justin Cole, who leads the police department’s crowd control team, said that the event was proceeding safely and in a controlled fashion.       

Allison Law GRD ’30 cited federal funding cuts to scientific research and medical infrastructure as her primary motivation for attending the protest. 

“There are a lot of initiatives in the medical school and in the graduate school to spread the word about the importance of protecting federal funding to medical and scientific research,” Law said. “But it’s also important to show up in person and be with the community.”

Sarah Moreno, 23, was drawn to Saturday’s protest because of her frustration about family separation and deportation of undocumented immigrants. 

Moreno, a West Haven resident, pointed out that the West Coast of the U.S. was historically part of Mexico, criticizing the claim that Latino immigrants should return to their original countries. She has been told to “go back” to her country despite her family being originally from West Haven.

Moreno toted the Mexican flag and a sign she designed using the flag’s colors — red and green — to draw attention to her message written in both Spanish and English: “Somos indígenas, no inmigrantes,” or “We are indigenous, not immigrants.”

As the protest neared its end, attendees migrated toward the side of the street, many chanting pro-Palestinian slogans at passing cars. One truck that drove by sporting American and Trump flags was met with boos and jeers from the crowd.            

Trump’s military parade commemorating the army’s 250th anniversary was held at 6 p.m. in Washington, D.C.