Another round of nationwide “No Kings’ protests are set for Oct. 18.
There appear to be several dozen planned across North Carolina, with multiple events clustered around Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro, and Raleigh.
Not every dot on the map may have an actual protest as it was reported to me that no one showed up to the September protest at least three of the locations in North Carolina. In other words, it appears in some areas the map is being astroturfed.
The “official” Oct. 18 rally is taking place in Raleigh and is being organized by “Triangle Resistance United,” a “growing coalition of organizers” from around the state.
Triangle Resistance United lists current members as 50501 NC, Democracy Out Loud, General Strike Carolinas, Moms for NC, North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign, She Speaks Up, Socialist Alternative, Triangle Freethought Society, Wake County Indivisible, and Wake Women Have Mercy.
The Raleigh location for this protest is a busy shopping complex next to the Triangle Town Center on Capitol Blvd in northern most part of Raleigh before one hits the outer 540 expressway.
More To The Story
These “grassroots” protests started through 50501 but are now commercial properties of an anonymous national group that took the 50501 name and trademarked it.
A 50501 nonprofit was also set up, as well as a political PAC, and it’s a good bet whoever set it up likely saw this as both a Democrat campaign motivator and a cash cow opportunity.
Ahead of the October 18 protest, “No Kings” are holding a “media messaging, and digital engagement call. The call is happening today from 8 to 9 p.m. EST. The purpose of the call is “for a training on how to talk about your local No Kings movement, both to the reporters and on your social media channels.”
NoKings.org held a kick-off call for the September protest that included video and was posted to NoKings.org’s YouTube Channel. The call gave some insight into who took over 50501.
The meeting was started by Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, whose title was “movement organizer & strategist.”
Henderson is a progressive activist from Tennessee who has been involved in Black Lives Matter and who most recently had been a co-director of the Highlander Research and Education Center, which is an organization linked to the Civil Rights movement in the 60’s.
Her mother was a member of the Black Panther Party and Henderson National Leadership Committee of North Star Socialist Organization, per her bio on KeyWiki.
The Center has ties to the socialist group Liberation Road and which has received funding from George Soros’ Tides Center, according to KeyWiki.
Henderson said the kick-off meeting was to discuss “tactical” strategies.
“And we’re going to hear tonight from folks who are working in deportation defense. You’re going to hear from the House on Labor tonight,” Henderson said. “You’re going to hear from folks in the faith communities. We’re in the fight for our trans siblings and so much more.”
Other participant speakers included:
Ezra Levin, co-founder of the Hillary Clinton-linked group Indivisible.
Joel Payne, the chief communications officer for MoveOn.org.
MoveOn is the 501(c)4 dark money group set up as an opposition group to Bill Clinton’s impeachment in the late 90s.
Greisa Martinez Rosas, the executive director of United We Dream Action, 501(c)4 lobbying arm for the United We Dream Network.
The two groups were formed after DACA and focus mainly on illegal immigration issues. In 2021, the group called on former President Joe Biden to take unilateral action and grant U.S. citizenship for all illegal immigrants. Rosas herself was brought into the U.S. illegally from Mexico as a child.
Of note, Rosas’ comments included encouraging the audience to interfere with deportation operations through a description of school children refusing to let classmate, which she named as Ezra Ramirez, be deported. The proper name is Esdrás Zabaleta-Ramirez, an 18-year-old Guatemalan arrested during an ICE operation in the area of the car wash he worked at. He allegedly illegally entered the U.S. in 2023 and was not actually on ICE’s list that day.
Keya Chaterjee, executive director of “Free DC.”
Chatterjee is a long-time climate justice activist who was a previous executive director of the US Climate Change Network and a board member of the Sunrise Movement.
According to its website, Free DC is a “fiscally hosted special project “ of the left of center Community Change and Community Change Action.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. Weingarten used most of her time to promote her new book, “Why fascists fear teachers.” She said the “right wing” hates her book because it calls out their “fascistic behavior” and that teachers are the “antidote.” She unironically says this as school choice enrollment numbers continue to rise across the country.
Chase Strangio, co-director ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project.
His attorney bio says he is a “trangender rights expert.” His name may sound familiar as he was involved in the North Carolina HB2 case where the ACLU and Lamba Legal sued former Gov. Roy Cooper.
Mark Ruffalo, “actor & activist.”
His remarks were overly dramatic and repetitive, but the main thrust seemed to be “free speech is under attack.”
At one point he presented a defense of “anti-fascism,” in what appeared to be a vague reference to President Trump’s order designating antifa as a domestic terror organization. He then segued into implying the Trump administration was responsible for getting Jimmy Kimmel’s show canceled for a short while.
“They’re preying on our ability to speak the truth to power. That’s what this whole anti-fascist move is. Notice today—don’t call out an organization, they call out anti-fascism,” said Ruffalo. “Okay—okay? Because they don’t want you fighting against fascism.”
“But that’s what we’re doing here,” Ruffalo continued. “Now, we saw Jimmy Kimmel’s show was canceled. We don’t know what the reasons are really; it’s very cloudy and murky.”
Ruffalo then said, “I don’t understand what’s happening right now. My industry doesn’t understand what’s happening right now. But what they do understand is our freedom of speech is being attacked.”
The full No Kings October Mobilization Kickoff Call can be view below:
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