‘No Kings’ Protest Draws Crowd to Ashland’s Corner Park on Flag Day
ASHLAND, OH – A nationwide protest campaign known as “No Kings” made its way to Ashland’s Corner Park on Saturday afternoon, drawing demonstrators to the sidewalks along Claremont Avenue to voice opposition to the political influence of President Donald Trump.
The Ashland event took place from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m., part of a coordinated effort held across multiple Ohio cities including Mansfield, Shelby, and Wooster. The protest was organized in conjunction with Flag Day, June 14, which is also the president’s birthday.
While organizers described the demonstration as “peaceful,” there were occasional tensions, including sharp exchanges between protesters and passersby. At one point, a protest leader using a bullhorn singled me out, warning the crowd not to talk with me, and to tell me to “F— Off”. Another individual approached me multiple times, telling me to leave, to get off the public sidewalk.
Despite these interactions, many attendees remained focused on the message of the day: a rejection of what they called, an authoritarian leadership and a call to uphold democratic values. Protest signs and chants echoed themes such as “No Kings since 1776,” “Trump is not a king,” and “Silence is complicity.”
Adding to the turnout, members of the Lake Erie Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends—commonly known as Quakers—decided to take a break from their convention to protest in front of Ashland University. About half of the group then walked down from campus to join the “No Kings” protest.
According to the No Kings website, the movement was created to counter what organizers called “a spectacle of dominance” associated with President Trump’s past calls for military-style Flag Day celebrations. The site reads in part: “We’re not gathering to feed his ego. We’re building a movement that leaves him behind… No thrones. No crowns. No kings.”
Despite moments of confrontation, many participants emphasized their belief in the importance of free expression, peaceful assembly, and civic engagement—principles they said were central to the purpose of the protest.
