Speaker reminds the up to 8,000 that protest is just the first step toward change.
By Klaus Obermeit
Original Air Date: June 18, 2025
Host: The No Kings protests prompted record numbers to take to the streets last weekend on the Suncoast. But one of the speakers at the biggest local rally told the crowds that protesting is just a first step. Klaus Obermeit was at the downtown rally.
Klaus Obermeit: Thousands of people gathered in downtown Sarasota on Saturday afternoon to voice their anger and disagreement with the Trump administration. The Sarasota protest was one of over 2,000 No Kings demonstrations around the United States—plus a handful abroad—coinciding with a military parade in Washington, D.C. on President Trump’s birthday. It’s been reported that a total of over five million people participated in one of the 2,000 events, making the largest so far since Trump moved back into the White House.
The organizers of the Democratic Women’s Club estimated attendance in Sarasota at between 5,000 and 8,000, the biggest protest crowd so far this year. Two other similar demonstrations had taken place earlier in Sarasota County, one near University Town Center and the other in Venice, both drawing big crowds as well.
The veterans’ monument at J.D. Hamel Park during the rally. Photos by J. Werner
One of a half dozen speakers at the downtown rally at the foot of the veterans’ monument at J.D. Hamel Park, Zander Moricz—the founder of a youth group that mobilizes young people into electoral politics—tried to get across the point that protest is only an initial spark.
[Crowd applauding, cheering]
Zander Moricz, executive director and founder of SEE Alliance.
Zander Moricz: Together we show up and we protest. And protest is powerful. It brings us together. It shows the opposition that we’re not backing down. Are we backing down?
Crowd: No!
ZM: So it shows our team that we have people ready to have our backs. Do you have one another’s backs?
Crowd: Yeah!
ZM: It brings new people into the fight, and it energizes the ones who’ve been in it for far too long. But protest is not the movement. It is one tactic. It is one part. It is one spark. Protest does not stop bad policy. Protest does not pass good policy. Protest does not flip seats. Protest does not register or turnout voters. Protest is the spark. Protest puts gas in our tanks, but we still have to drive, y’all.
[Crowd cheering]
ZM: And Midterms on Our Terms, which you’ve heard so much about, is the road that we’re driving on. It’s the plan. It’s the path. It’s the road forward.
[Crowd applauding, cheering]
ZM: The extremists, the fascists, the morons—whatever you would like to call them—can come at it from every level. They’ll come at us—and they are—from the courts, from the legislatures, from the White House, and they can try to have us scattered, but we are choosing to focus. We’re starting where they never thought we’d pay attention. We’re starting where they’re not organized. We’re starting where we have the most power. We’re starting—we’re even winning—here in Sarasota. We’re starting with our school boards. Give it up for school boards!
[Crowd applauding, cheering]
KO: People lined busy Highway 41 next to J.D. Hamel Park. People on both sides of the street were waving signs, chanting and waving at passing cars, many of which honked their horns in support. Occasionally a Trump-supporting vehicle drove by with their own signs. A small police presence was on hand, both in uniform and undercover, according to one officer we spoke with who was walking around the area with his partner.
“No kings; only queens.”
The signs showed a variety of messages, but all with the same theme: dump Trump; no kings in this country. Variety also describes the protesters: young and old, gay and straight, religious and non-religious, frequent activists and first-time participants.
I spoke with a number of protesters. Here are some comments:
KO: And your name is?
Sandra Ross: Sandra Ross.
KO: Do you live in Sarasota?
SR: I do.
KO: Are you retired?
SR: I am retired, and I’m disabled.
KO: I see you’re holding the flag upside down.
SR: I am.
KO: What’s that supposed to mean?
SR: Distress signal. That our country is in distress at this point.
…
KO: I’m here with—and what is your name, ma’am?
Cara Antonaccio: Cara. My last name is Antonaccio.
KO: And you have a sign that says “mad scientist,” and it points down—I guess you’re holding it up above you, right?
CA: Yeah.
KO: So, are you a mad scientist?
CA: I am. I’m a researcher at Brown University, and I do research in global health, and all of my colleagues are watching their grants get terminated left and right. It’s just a matter of time before my work—I work in global mental health—implementing a mental health intervention for high schoolers in Sierra Leone—and, apparently, that’s not a priority of this administration anymore. We’re waiting to hear about whether our grant will be renewed, and if not, a lot of people will be losing their jobs. Children will be losing their access to mental healthcare. A lot’s on the line, and that’s one grant.
KO: And where is Brown University?
CA: In Providence, Rhode Island.
KO: You’ve come all the way from Providence? Do you live in this area?
CA: I’ve just travelled down for a bit and figured I would use it as an opportunity to protest here.
…
KO: Sir, your name is…?
Jack Wilhelm: Jack Wilhelm.
KO: And your sign says “Democracy dies when we stay silent,” and the other side says…
JW: 8645.
KO: What does that mean?
JW: I’m not exactly sure. Do you know what it means? It basically means to get rid of [indistinct].
KO: Yes. “86” means “get rid of”; “45” means Trump.
JW: Yeah. 86 is like to dump it, or something.
KO: Reporting for WSLR News, Klaus Obermeit.
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