Following weeks of uncertainty as to whether the state would allow another large No Kings rally on the state Capitol steps, more than 1,000 people stood on the lawn as they protested what they said is creeping authoritarianism in the United States.

Montana poet and author Chris La Tray, along with former Gov. Steve Bullock headlined the event, with stark criticism of President Donald Trump, the Gianforte Administration and attacks on voter rights. 

Event organizers scrambled as the state Department of Administration went back-and-forth on a blanket ban of weekend events at the Capitol that was eventually nixed after pressure from legislators and the public.

“When the current governor tried to silence your voice to make it so that you could not gather here on the steps of the people’s house, you stood up and said, ‘No, that’s not who we are,’” Bullock, a Democrat, said. “Today, Montanans and Americans are finding their voices.”

More than 30 No Kings rallies took place across Montana, drawing more than 10,000 to Missoula and at least 5,000 in Billings, according to organizers.

In Helena, Bullock was sharply critical of state Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, now a Congressional Candidate in the western district, saying, “We still don’t know what she’s given to Trump’s DOJ (Department of Justice).”

Former Montana Poet Laureate La Tray spoke about bringing people together and how that’s both important to him, but also sees it important within the bounds of his Anishinaabe culture, specifically pointing to his nation, the Little Shell Chippewa — a tribe that was not federally recognized until 2019. 

After speaking about the complicated relationship he has with the American flag, he pointed to the Little Shell flag, which flies along with Montana’s other sovereign nation flags on the steps of the Capitol, and spoke to the nature of the rally.

“We are a sovereign nation, and we are here to build this future with everybody else,” La Tray said. “So what does that look like? I don’t know, but I think this is where we begin to see it.”

Attendees of all ages stood on the Capitol grounds, including Katy Mays, a Helena woman who had a sign saying “86 47” with a plushie of Kermit the frog.

It became personal to her when the Trump Administration came after public broadcasting.

“They came after PBS, and Kermit didn’t like that very much,” Mays said, who has taken the sign to several No Kings events.

U.S. Senate candidate Alani Bankhead spoke to voters while holding a sign saying “Pedo Hunter for U.S. Senate.” Bankhead, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, has made child protection and public safety a centerpiece of her campaign for the Democratic nomination in the state. She’s also been active in discussions around the city, also giving public comment in favor of an immigration resolution in Helena earlier this week.

Bankhead said she was encouraged by the protests, adding, “I tell people, make your casserole for someone who needs to be encouraged, and drop it on their stoop. That’s just as powerful as running for Senate.”

Across the state, organizers in Fort Benton said they reached 100 people at their event — 8% of the town’s population — adding it was nearly double their event in October. Miles City saw about 135 people, which was in line with their last rally. Havre had 151, according to Indivisible organizers there.

“​​People are concerned about a lot of issues from the Epstein files, ICE and giving lots of money to Argentina, but not supporting farmers here,” said Kurt Reinhart, with Indivisible’s chapter in Miles City.

Billings: Largest turnout yet

At the Yellowstone County Courthouse lawn and stretching for several blocks north and south, Billings’ “No Kings” organizers estimated 5,000 to 6,000 people showed up, making it the largest protest turnout so far in the “Magic City.”

“Our voices are louder than money,” said event organizer and leader of Yellowstone Indivisible Elizabeth Klarich. “Sign up for something, get involved because this is how we get change.”

The organizers and speakers at the two-hour event coalesced around the theme of registering to vote and boosting Initiative 194, a measure that hopes to drive out corporate spending in campaigning and politics. In Montana, some cities have elections for school board members in April, a primary in June and a general election in November.

The rally also saw a number of younger speakers, as well as speakers who had a bit more gray hair, including those who hearkened back to the rallies they participated during the Vietnam War era.

Billings Senior High School junior Gage Duffy was the youngest speaker of the day, though it wasn’t his first time speaking or organizing. Earlier this year, he led a walk-out of the high school to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement treatment of people.

“We call on the abolition of ICE not out of hatred, but out of humanity,” Duffy said, who was spending his 17th birthday speaking to the crowd and rallying. “We have to rethink how justice and immigrants are handled. Justice is not just something we celebrate, it’s something we work for.”

Scott Frazier, a Santee and Crow tribal member who is also Quaker, said he was inspired to participate because the Santee people had been rounded up, held against their will, not so unlike the same people who ICE is detaining.

“Those children who are being put in those camps will suffer for the rest of their lives,” Frazier said. “Yes, I am a Quaker, and you may know them for staying quiet, but we have to be talking about peace. The essence of peace is not hating each other, and guess what? It takes work to have peace.”

After speaking, Frazier sung a traditional sundancing song that is used in the morning called “Meadowlark.”

Tom Curry of Billings is a U.S. Navy veteran and brought a sign to protest for his first rally. He said he missed the other two because of medical issues, but said that his service was part of a NATO mission in Italy, and he wanted to show support for both the Armed Services and NATO.

“But there are 100 really good reasons to be out here,” Curry said.

The places where he served are now in danger because of the escalating war in Iran, he said.

“That scares the sh—t out of me,” he said. “There was no imminent danger. There was no nuclear threat. There were no missiles that were going to strike the U.S. — there never has been.”

Billings Public Schools Trustee Luke Ashmore, who ran on a platform of no corporate donations, said that sometimes the headlines of news can feel isolating and that’s why he’s participating in these rallies.

“On the worst days, I feel alone, but then look around,” Ashmore said. “But if we rely on each other, and if we stand with each other, and if we join together we can make a difference.”

Billings resident Billie Weston said this was her third “No Kings” rally in Billings. She said that she had never attended a rally or protest before these began.

“I am 67 and had never been to a protest before,” she said.

When asked what made her decide to attend, Weston replied, “How can I not?”

Missoulians protest war in Iran, SAVE Act

In Missoula, more than 10,000 people turned out to protest the Trump administration at a peaceful gathering that started and ended with song.

They came to protest the war in Iran, the SAVE Act, the flagrant disregard for the U.S. Constitution, the erasure of history, attacks on the press, and the enrichment of billionaires at the expense of poor people.

Many veterans showed up to state their disagreement with President Trump’s decision to drop bombs on Iran. Sandy Pisauro, of Seeley Lake, said she is a military veteran who believes in the U.S. Constitution and is tired of seeing Trump fan the flames of hatred.

“Where is the love in our society?” she asked.

Pisauro said she is retired and might be “kind of OK” financially, but she worries for young people who can’t afford homes. She said Trump is creating pain and suffering as he helps rich people make even more money off the backs of others.

“I am sickened by what Republicans have done to this country. I don’t even know how to put it into words,” Pisauro said.

A parade that started at the north end of downtown extended all the way to Caras Park blocks away at the other end, and demonstrators drummed and chanted and even expressed sign envy along the route. Jody Hammond, of Missoula, made eight signs on four boards, including one to which she attached small balls.

“Free Balls For Members of Congress Who Have Lost Theirs,” read one of her signs.

Hammond said she’s so worried for the country, “I can’t stand it.”

She made the signs last week that she and her friends used on Saturday.

“What I worry about more is not so much Trump but the people who know what he’s like and vote for him anyway,” Hammond said.

Penny Bertram, of Florence, drew admirers who stopped to take pictures of her sign: “Trump Sandwich. White Bread. Full of Baloney. W/ Russian Dressing. And A Small Pickle.”

Bertram said she wanted to have fun with the sign despite the attacks on democracy she sees in the country.

“I can’t imagine anything more serious that’s facing our country right now,” Bertram said.

Before the parade started, Laurel Tynes sat in a wheelchair at the head of the No Kings banner, and asked why she showed up to the event, her eyes flickered, and she paused.

“He’s going to kill us all,” Tynes said.

On the parade route, the demonstrators chanted: “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Donald Trump has got to go;” “No kings. No tyrants. The people will not be silent.”

Previous demonstrations in Missoula have drawn thousands, and the one Saturday, organized by Missoula Resists, Indivisible Missoula and Stand Up Fight Back, was estimated at more than double, possibly triple, the first No Kings rally.

Joanna Morrison, who watched the parade for a few minutes before going to work, described herself as a child of the ‘60s and ‘70s. She said she was arrested in her 20s in front of Malmstrom Air Force Base to protest the nuclear arms race. Morrison said she appreciated the attendance Saturday, both the high number of people and the lack of heckling.

“I’m thankful to see so many people on the same page,” Morrison said.

One speaker, Amber Shaffer of Missoula, said she’s an enrolled tribal member attending her first No Kings rally. Shaffer said she feels like she’s been judged for not participating in the past, but many Native Americans don’t feel secure in the country.

“I just want to acknowledge the privilege that everyone here has to feel safe enough to gather in these spaces,” Shaffer said. “Many of my Indigenous relatives don’t feel that sense of safety in our country, or any marginalized people.”

Lindsey Stout, who came to the rally with her daughter, Morgan Taylor, said she opposed the fear Trump was bringing not just to the country but the world. Stout also said under the SAVE Act, she wouldn’t even be able to vote as a woman who changed her last name.

“I think that’s insane,” Stout said.

Sean Eudaily, a professor of political philosophy and Constitutional studies at the University of Montana-Western, also spoke to the crowd, although as a concerned citizen. Eudaily said he watched his dad, a conservative Republican from western Montana, work on conservation efforts in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the Rock Creek drainage. He said Montana’s political history offers “good, old common sense wisdom” for people today.

“We were the first state to systematically regulate the influence of corporate money in politics. We were the first state to send a woman to Congress, Jeannette Rankin,” Eudaily said.

He also said when it was time to rewrite the Montana Constitution in 1972, Montana sent everyday people to do it, not politicians, and it has a model document in the country.

“If you let the politicians write the constitution, the people will be sidelined. So that’s not how we do it,” Eudaily said.

Organizers said more than 10,000 people showed up, and possibly as many as 15,000. Rose Zee, with Missoula Resists, said the protests weren’t about political parties, but about protecting the country.

“It is about standing up for what we know to be right and taking action against what is wrong,” Zee said. “Today (Saturday), about 15,000 Montanans came together in Missoula because we can no longer remain silent while our Constitution and our rights are under attack.”