On the day that may go down as the largest protest in American history, Narativ Live went live with Army veteran Nick Paro to cover No Kings Day as it unfolded across the country. With early estimates placing domestic participation between 8 and 12 million people, the third No Kings action shattered all previous records — and broke the critical 3.5% threshold that has historically preceded the fall of every authoritarian regime that faced sustained peaceful resistance.
The flagship rally at the Minnesota State Capitol drew over 100,000 people to the city where ICE killed Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti earlier this year. Bruce Springsteen debuted “Streets of Minneapolis,” a song written for the occasion, calling out “King Trump’s private army from the DHS” and honoring the two Minnesotans by name. “They picked the wrong city,” Springsteen told the crowd. “Your strength and your commitment told us that this is still America. And this reactionary nightmare and these invasions of American cities will not stand.” Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar, Jane Fonda, Joan Baez, Maggie Rogers, Tom Morello, the Brass Solidarity Band and the Resistance Choir all took the stage in what became part protest, part concert, part memorial.
Jane Fonda read a statement from Becca Good, Renee’s widow, that brought the crowd to silence. “My wife sparkled with sunshine and shone with kindness that is unmatched,” Becca wrote. “We were robbed of an incredible human. It has made people pause and take a breath and have to choose sides. We choose the side of love.” She called for “radical kindness” — a phrase that became the emotional throughline of the day.
Minnesota Governor Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Nation, delivered the day’s most forceful political speech. “When federal agents kill our neighbors in the streets, when cowards vote to steal healthcare and food off the table, and billionaires rip off everyday people, and wannabe dictators start illegal wars — we will not be silent,” she said. She invoked Paul Wellstone: “Sometimes you gotta pick a fight to win one.”
Paro, who traveled to Minneapolis weeks earlier with Veterans Fighting Fascism for an Abolish ICE event honoring Good and Pretti, described a community transformed. “They are so mad. But they are so together,” he said. “They have solidified around each other and the love for each other. Prince said a long time ago that Minnesota would be the start of the revolution. I don’t think he was wrong.” He noted that zero protesters were arrested — a sign, he said, that ICE stayed away from the sheer scale of the mobilization. Paro tracked crowd estimates throughout the broadcast: New York City drew 350,000, Washington D.C. at least 200,000, San Francisco over 220,000, Boston more than 100,000. International solidarity marches took place in Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid and across Canada — organized under the banner “No Tyrants” out of respect for nations that have constitutional monarchies.
Zev also shared his post “We Are The Light,” a meditation on the America that was promised versus the America that exists — the one bombing Iran without authorization, jailing journalists, criminalizing peacemakers, and deporting five-year-olds. “The presidency is occupied. The House and Senate are captured. The courts are cornered,” he said. “But the people — the people are free. We are the people. We are the light.”
Joan Baez and Maggie Rogers dueted on “The Times They Are a-Changin’” — the song Baez first sang with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Grenada, Mississippi, and again at the March on Washington. Tom Morello jumped in for the final verse with the lyric adjusted for the moment: “So get the fuck out the way if you can’t lend a hand, for the times they are a-changin’.”
Thank you Cheech Previti, Pamela, Leah Anderson, Eric Lullove, Skutt Hope, and many others for tuning into my live video with Nick Paro and Banner & Backbone Media! Join me for my next live video in the app.
