A look into Mesa’s ‘No Kings’ protest
Mesa residents took to the streets in an outcry against President Trump for “No Kings” Day, one of the thousands of organized protests across the nation Saturday.
Hundreds of people pooled the sidewalks for nearly a mile across Stapley Drive on March 28 for the third ever official No Kings demonstration. Over 3,000 locally organized protests took place across the U.S., according to NPR.
Protestors united over a belief that the federal Executive branch has overstepped democracy’s guardrails.
“When I grew up, we didn’t need these rallies against the president. We had rallies against [the] Vietnam War, but that was a whole different story.” said Patrick Rugicil, a Mesa resident in his 70s. “This is one man trying to become a king.”
Demonstrators showed outrage for a melting pot of issues and policies, but attendees united over a fearful feeling for the future under Trump’s presidency.
Mesa District 9 Representative Lorena Austin, a former Mesa Community College student, said she was inspired by the crowd and wanted to support her community.
“Our older generations want to leave it better than they found it, and they know that’s not what they fought for their whole lives, and they just want to ensure that this place has a future, a democracy,” Austin said, surrounded by protesters Saturday.
No Kings was first created by the 50501, a movement of people who organize against authoritarianism and stand for democracy, according to PBS.
Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), a grassroots organization focused on social, racial and economic transformation, had a booth set up with members and volunteers on a street corner amidst the protest. They were equipped with resources like whistles to blow when spotting Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in public and miniature cards explaining one’s rights under the First and Fifth Amendments.
President Trump has voiced contempt for the protests after previous No Kings days.
“I think it’s a joke. I looked at the people. They’re not representative of this country,” Trump told Fox News reporters in Oct. 2025. He called the protests small, ineffective and funded by “radical left lunatics.”
One of the most vocal protestors on the street Saturday was a woman dressed in an inflatable polar bear costume with a Greenland flag waving from her back, 70-year-old Mesa resident Velesta Fusco.
The costume was reminiscent of the protests in Portland, Oregon against ICE in 2025 where residents dressed up as animals to push their message of peaceful protest. Fesco was only one of several people bouncing up and down Stapley Drive in an inflatable animal suit.
She said she wore the polar bear to show disapproval for U.S. involvement in the Arctic, specifically Greenland and Canada.
“[Protesting] is more important now than it has ever been because we’ve never had a criminal gang in charge of our country,” expressed Fusco.
Fusco said she’s been attending protests her whole life.
“This is a rally of hope, so that everyone knows they’re not alone.”
