The unhinged attacks on No Kings

The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” On Saturday, October 18, millions of Americans plan to do just that at thousands of “No Kings” protests held across the country. The message of the protests is simple: “America has No Kings.”

In advance of the event, prominent Republicans have attacked the protest as un-American. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-IN) have all called it a “hate America rally.”

Johnson described the No Kings protests as an “outrageous gathering for outrageous purposes“ and said those who attend the event “don’t want to stand and defend the foundational truths of this republic.”

Of course, one of the “foundational truths” of the United States is that it has no kings.

“The original No Kings protest was 250 years ago,” actor Robert De Niro said in a video shared by Indivisible, one of the protest organizers. “Americans decided they didn’t want to live under the rule of King George III.” Organizers describe Saturday’s protest as a “peaceful national day of action and mass mobilization in response to the increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption of the Trump administration.”

Johnson, however, claimed those attending would be “pro-Hamas“ and “antifa people.” Emmer said the protest involved “the terrorist wing“ of the Democratic Party. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the event was “part of antifa.”

There are hundreds of groups involved in organizing the event. They include the ACLU, College Democrats of America, the Human Rights Campaign, the League of Conservation Voters, and the National Organization for Women. None of the organizing partners support Hamas or are affiliated with antifa.

Other Republicans claimed that the attendees would be paid. Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) claimed that the event would have “professional protesters“ who were paid for by George Soros. Duffy also said the event would be filled with “paid protesters,” which “begs the question who’s funding it.”

There appears to be no need to pay people to protest President Trump. YouGov poll released this week found that 55% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s job performance, including 46% who “strongly disapprove.” On average, recent polls show about 52% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s job performance.

About 4-6 million people attended the first No Kings protests in June. There is no evidence that any of them were paid.

George Soros has funded some of the groups involved in organizing the protests. But those donations, many of them made years ago, were for general support. There is nothing to suggest that Soros’ Open Society Foundation has provided any funding specifically for organizing the protests, much less for paying individual protesters.

“We do not pay people to protest or directly train or coordinate protestors,” the Open Society Foundation said in an August statement. “All Open Society grantees are required to comply with the law, and we expect our grantees to uphold our shared commitment to human rights, dignity, and nonviolence.” The invocation of Soros plays into the trope of wealthy Jewish men orchestrating major events.

Marshall also suggested the No Kings protests were a recipe for violence. “We’ll have to get the National Guard out,” Marshall said. “Hopefully, it will be peaceful. I doubt it.” The June protests were overwhelmingly peaceful. Among the millions of participants, there were a handful of violent incidents. One person was fatally shot by accident, and other incidents involved people violently attacking protesters.

Depicting peaceful protesters as violent terrorists is part of a broader campaign spearheaded by White House Advisor Stephen Miller. National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, signed in September by Trump, redefines commonly held views — including identifying as “anti-Christian,” “extremism on migration,” or having “hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on morality” — as “indicia” of violence. The memorandum instructs the federal government to “investigate and disrupt” any groups with people who hold these beliefs.

Organizers expect turnout to greatly exceed that of the last No Kings protest in June. Trump, meanwhile, predicted that it would be a flop. “I hear very few people are gonna be there,” Trump said on Wednesday.