John Simon of Cape Coral was out early at U.S. 41 and Daniels Parkway Saturday before the official start of No Kings protests. He was giving out free signs and flags "of all the disadvantaged countries."
He explained why he was out today.
"I responded to some of the comment sections on the Indivisible, the 50501 (50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement). I said, I protest 'cause I'm alive. All you need to see what's going on with the government. If you're alive, you should be out here protesting what the government is doing."
This is the third No Kings rally he has attended. Originally from Wisconsin, he has lived in the Cape for 35 years.
In Fort Myers the crowds started off strong and continued to grow beyond the boundaries of previous No Kings events here. Rally participants lined the east side of U.S. 41 from close to the Sutherlin auto dealership north past Daniels Parkway and up past Bell Tower Shops, down Daniels about a quarter mile on both sides and west down Cypress Lake and then all along the west side of 41.
Units from the Lee County Sheriff's Office were in regular patrol in and around the Fort Myers crowd, which was peaceful but very vocal.
In Fort Myers there was no evidence of a counterprotest, as has happened in previous rallies. No reports of any confrontations or similar activities were made as of 11 a.m.
Jim Rosinus, chairman of the Lee County Democratic Party, was also out at Market Square in south Fort Myers. He stressed that the rally was not sponsored by the Democratic party. "It was put together by groups like Indivisible, 50501, Moms for Democracy. There's a number of different organizations that work to bring their people in. We're just supplying signs and refreshments and so forth.
"There are a lot of people who are here who are not Democrats," Rosinus added. "They're either NPAs, or even Republicans. There are a lot of Republicans who are just fed up with where their party is going and what's happening, and want to show it. And we personally welcome them. Absolutely. We're glad they're here."
Costumes seemed to be the order of the day in Fort Myers. Everything from sharks to cows to zebras, eggs, dinosaurs, kangaroos, koalas and unicorns were in evidence.Karen Nocella was out and wearing a zebra costume.
"Everything else was sold out," she said. "I like to wear costumes anyway."
It was her first rally in the 2000s, she said. "But I was doing stuff back in the '60s. Weren't we all?"
This one brought her out "Because they need to see that there's a lot of us who don't believe in what's going on."
100-year-old World War II veteran Robert Hilliard is a seasoned protester. "Today seems to be even more crowded, more people protesting than ever," he said. "I find this to be extremely satisfying with all these people out, because I fought and 400,000 Americans died to stop fascism, to fight with authoritarianism. And now we've got to do it in our own country."
"When we get more people like this turning out, as we did in the Vietnam War, you know, it took years, but people turned out. At the time, as a government official in Washington, D.C., I disobeyed the feelings of the president of the time, Lyndon Johnson, and I participated with my family in every anti-Vietnam War protest march.
"So at this point, I begin to feel the same way. I begin to feel the power of the people here today, going to protest what has become a fascist government in Washington, D.C."
The crowd in Fort Myers ranged from Hilliard's century mark birth date to the grade school set.
Amelia Diana of Fort Myers was with her mom along U.S. 41 holding a sign that said "Love your neighbor." Asked why she wanted to be at the rally, Amelia very seriously said: "I want to change the world."
Rita DiSalvo, leader of Southwest Florida Indivisible said she was pleased to see people working together. "The groups are coming together. And we need to do that more."
She said between Indivisible and Nokings.org there were 2,000 people registered to attend. The point was to "make sure that the Trump administration doesn't get away with what they're doing. Basically destroying all of our rights, human rights, civil rights, Affecting people's incomes. And it's a whole list of things, and he's a felon. He has 34 felonies. He does not need to be in the White House. We're here today to say, no. thrones, no crowns, no kings, no dictators."
Although she's active in the Democratic Party, when she's demonstrating she is nonpartisan. "When I do this with indivisible, I am totally nonparty, independent, and I'm reaching out to nonparty and independents."
A woman named Joan didn't give her last name, but agreed with the nonpartisan approach.
"My sign says it's not about left or right, it's about right or wrong," she said. "And that's really what we need to remember. We don't have to pick a side as to which party we want to follow. Just follow what's right, follow the Constitution, realize that we do have laws and we're supposed to be following them if we want to stay a democracy."
With the crowd several rows deep, Bruce Merton of Fort Myers chose to stand out in the median at U.S. 41. He wanted to be sure to be seen.
"The message is that Donald Trump really is a fascist. He's authoritarian, he's retributive, he is vengeful, he's a liar, and for the life of me, I don't understand why we elect a felon, who marries an immigrant and then tells us the problem are felons and immigrants."
Estero
People gathered all along the pedestrian walkway on the Estero Community Bridge and affixed signage to the safety fence, eliciting honks from vehicle speeding along I-75.
W. Charles Ivory from South Fort Myers, a military veteran, was one of those gathered on the span.
"What if someone, what if white people didn't jump on board for the civil rights movement? I wouldn't be here talking to you right now," he said. "So you don't have to be a member of the community to support it. And you pay it forward. The immigrants that are here illegally are trying to be good citizens. They want to be legal. They want a pathway to citizenship."
Jamie Dallas with the Fort Myers Visibility Brigade coordinated the protest on the bridge. She said she was pleased with the turnout from protestors.
“When I left the house this morning at 7 am, we had 437 registered with 110 confirmed. And so this is a pretty decent turnout.” Better than a previously protest she had organized, “We came on Labor Day and I had 26 people here. This is much better.”
Port Charlotte
In Port Charlotte, No Kings protesters stretched about four football fields long at U.S. 41 and Murdock Circle. Some passing drivers honked and gave thumbs up; others shouted and gave thumbs down as they passed the demonstrators in cars. People waved signs saying "Dump Trump" and "Defend Freedom."
Several people set up across the roadway and waved "Make America Great Again" signs.
An 80-year-old protester gave his first name only: Craig from Punta Gorda. He said he is heartsick at what is happening in America, and will take action as long as he can to defeat what he calls autocracy in the government.
Sanibel
Crowds of protesters gathered before the 10 a.m. start of the No Kings rally on Periwinkle Way in Sanibel. People stood on the grass, in the bike lanes and the median.
Among them was retired postal worker Tom Mitchell, who made the drive to Sanibel from Cape Coral to gather with protesters on the island. He said Saturday was his first-ever protest.
He said he is most concerned about the federal government shutdown and cuts to health care.
Frank, who gave only his first name, said was somewhat concerned about anti-protesters' reactions.
"I think it's a little bit of a tenuous situation right now. The last protest, which I suspect was not as well attended as this one will be, because people are even more outraged. We stood here on beautiful, peaceful, loving, Sanibel Island, and people were driving by and giving us the finger. Now people are allowed to walk around with shotguns and pistols and everything else. I just hope I know everyone here is going to be very peaceful. I just hope it is met with the respect that it deserves."
Molly Burns-Fischer, also from Cape Coral but demonstrating on Sanibel, was concerned about history repeating itself.
"My friends' mothers are telling me this is what it was like in Germany before Hitler took over," she said. "And we can't be passive. You know, like many of them were like thinking, 'Oh, it'll all be better. We'll pray our way out of this.' It's not happening, and too many rights are being taken away from us every day."
Bill McBeath now lives in North Fort Myers but was a resident of Sanibel for years. He came to the island because he thought it might be safer. At age 83, it was his first protest.
"Truthfully, I'm concerned right now that we're losing democracy," he said. "When someone in the office can get you kicked off the radio for being a comedian, that type of stuff. Our First Amendment is probably just as strong to me as Amendment No. 2. I'm for both of them."
Angela Frank said she voted for President Trump, but doesn't agree with some of what's happening now.
"I don't think that we should be giving money to other countries for any war. ... When we have homeless people on our streets here, like here in our area. You know, we got these older people. They come here to retire, and they need the help, and we can't get them no help, but we can send all this money over to Ukraine or Israel or Nigeria."
David Vaughan was on Sanibel wearing a chicken costume. He was carrying a sign in Spanish that translated in English to “Covering your face makes you a coward.” That was directed at ICE, he said. "One of the things we're protesting is the tactics ICE is using and one of those is covering their face when it's unnecessary. You don't need to cover your face to arrest a housecleaner."
Estero
Waving hand-made signs, dozens of people lined both sides of the Estero Bridge as part of the No Kings Protest Day. Jamie Dallas with the Fort Myers Visibility Brigade coordinated the protest over Interstate 75. At around 11 a.m., she said she was pleased with the turnout from protestors.
“When I left the house this morning at 7 a.m., we had 437 registered with 110 confirmed. And so this is a pretty decent turnout.” Better than a previously protest she organized, “We came on Labor Day and I had 26 people here. This is much better.”
Naples
A very large crowd had gathered at the Collier County Courthouse by about 9:30 a.m.
When the event started at 10, the plaza outside the courthouse was full of people holding "No Kings" signs, "Elect a clown, get a circus," "No fascists," and other slogans.
The crowd was energized but peaceful. One of the Collier County organizers estimated the crowd at 3,000 or more.
Dr. Katheen Broderick of Naples came to the protest with her walker. Despite how hard it is for her to get around, she wanted to show up. "I'm going to tell you the truth. If it were just one of these things, I wouldn't be here. But it is a relentless assault on democracy. The worst is putting political opponents under pressure or in jail. Trying to silence the opposition is the worst."
Joanne Aprile of Naples said, "I think the threat to bomb California was about the final straw for me. Even to threaten that, whether he does it or not, is unreal."
Another protester said she thinks too many people are remaining silent about the "atrocities" being committed by the White House. The general tone is that people are fed up with the Trump Administration and how they have overstepped, going after their political opponents, using violence against immigrants, and generally ignoring the U.S. Constitution. People say they will continue to protest until something changes in the U.S.
After gathering at the courthouse, protesters walked to U.S. 41 and lined up along the road, holding signs. Drivers honked, some in solidarity and some in protest.
Sebring
While No Kings demonstrations dominate major cities and coastal communities in Florida, the closest demonstration to the one in Sebring was easily a 90-minute drive away.
Stephen initially wore a neck and face mask, similar to those worn by ICE agents. He said he was trying to conceal his identity from his family, whom he described as "far right."
"My brother and I are half Hispanic and he just informed me he's a Christian Nationalist."
He said if his family learned of his opposition to Trump, they'd kick him out of the house.
"I'd be out on the street," he said.
He said he does his best to steer discussions at home away from politics. "Fake it till I can make it out on my own."
A 77-year-old woman named Jackie held back tears when she spoke of Christian Nationalism sweeping the country.
She said she gets on her knees daily, seeking guidance in how to live during what she calls deeply troubling times.
Jackie is a first generation Cuban American. She said she never thought that America would get to such a tipping point forcing her and millions of others to take to the streets.
Englewood and Venice
In Venice, every corner of an intersection was filed with a crowd and they took up half the bridge on North Tamiami Trail. There were multiple organizations that co-organized this event including Venice Resistance, Venice Indivisible, Social Justice Alliance and the Democratic Party of Sarasota.
Multiple police officers were present.
One person in a purple hippopotamus costume said she was in hiding because she was a local business owner who wanted to stay neutral . Around her were people of all ages and races.
A mother of seven, Alexandria Conner, brought her three youngest children, ages 6,5 and 3. Her main reason for coming out was "just to stand up and say what's right and to have my kids stand up, too."
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