Second “No Kings” protest draws 200 participants
On Saturday morning, October 18, roughly 200 people took part in the “No Kings” rally on all four corners at the intersection of Highways 160 and 372. This was the second “No Kings” demonstration, aimed at “resisting the GOP’s agenda, electing local champions, and fighting for progressive policies,” according to the website Indivisible.org.
The nationwide event was organized by a coalition of progressive grassroots and civil liberties groups, including Indivisible, whose local group, Indivisible Prickly Pears, organized Saturday’s protest in Pahrump, as it did for this past June’s “No Kings” rally.
Muriel Areno, a member of the Indivisible Prickly Pears and one of the protest’s organizers, alluded to how Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and other Republicans labeled the nationwide protests as “Hate America” rallies, and a politically motivated stunt by the Democratic Party during the government shutdown. “Mike Johnson is spreading lies and saying we hate America, which we absolutely don’t. Quite the opposite. We love America and that’s why we’re doing it. We want to save the country, because I don’t think it’s going in the right direction,” explained Areno.
Ginny Okawa, another protest organizer and member of the Indivisible Prickly Pears said, “We’re here because we love our country. We’re exercising our First Amendment rights. We’re trying to save our democracy, and we’ll be back. There are going to be plenty more of these rallies. The people are speaking out, showing their anger, their frustration, and we want to protect our democracy and take our country back.”
Both Areno and Okawa stated that membership in their group has increased since the first rally in June. “We have more people now. More people are interested and they’re not all Democrats either. We have a lot of nonpartisans, [and] we have a few Republicans,” said Areno.
“The promises that he [Trump] made — prices going down — none of it’s come true,” stated Okawa. “People are going to lose their health care, or if they do get it, it’s going to go sky-high, triple in some cases. Rural areas are going to suffer.”
Areno and Okawa cited several common issues, in their opinion, that are growing their membership — cost of living, actions against immigrants and the fear of losing health care. Areno stated, “There’s also the whole issue of saving the health-care laws that are in place and that they [Republicans] are trying to destroy. In the meantime, giving $20 billion to Argentina, and that $20 billion would do a lot for our health-care system.”
A commonly heard refrain is that political protesters are paid and are not local residents. A quick poll of 20 participants found no one was paid to attend and all, except for one couple from Massachusetts, who were here visiting family, were local to the area.
Sheriff Joe McGill and some of his deputies were present at the protest, mingling in the crowd and talking with protesters to ensure the demonstration remained peaceful and nonviolent.
Aside from drivers exchanging counter-viewpoints with protesters, heavier than normal traffic at the intersection from “looky-loos” driving by and protesters crossing the intersection, the protest was peaceful.
John Clausen is a freelance reporter living in Pahrump.
