Thousands gather for Charlotte ‘No Kings’ rally, small group pepper sprayed hours later
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – At least 5,500 people gathered in First Ward Park for the ‘No Kings’ rally and protest Saturday afternoon. The crowd packed into the park carrying signs towering over the crowd with clear messages.
The Charlotte ‘No Kings’ rally aligns with thousands of protests nationwide pushing back against President Trump’s policies and the more than $45 million dollar military parade in DC on Trump’s birthday.
“I think the celebration of Flag Day is a wonderful thing, and it started out as a military parade, and it turned into something else that I’m very disappointed about,” Wayne Norris from Charlotte said. “I don’t think it’s worth that kind of money at all. I think a parade is fine, and the expression of of honoring our military is a very, very good thing.”
The massive group in Charlotte walked the streets of Uptown to spread their message. Some demonstrations in Los Angeles against immigration policies have turned violent, but in Charlotte the majority of the crowd was peaceful but emotional. People brought flags from different countries to represent the diversity of America.
“Immigrants make this country better and it’s just there’s just no other words for…people are people, and it doesn’t matter what the color of their skin is, it’s the content of their character and that’s what matters,” Beth Clements from Mint Hill said.
Immigration was the biggest topic at the rally. Some people say they’re concerned about Immigration Customs Enforcement in our local community.
“It’s scary. It’s heartbreaking seeing all of our families, all of our friends, being scared to come out at night, going to work, going to the store.
It’s impossible. It’s it’s it’s very emotional, honestly,” Brenda, Daughter of Immigrants said.
People in the immigrant community say they hope the nationwide support encourages President Trump to pull back some of his policies.
“It feels empowering. It feels. It feels like we’re not alone and we couldn’t be more grateful,” Brenda said.
Hours after the sanctioned protest in Uptown, there were a few tense moments between Charlotte Mecklenburg Police and about 200 protestors who remained after the march. Videos show officers lined up blocking protestors from crossing the light rail tracks near 7th street in Uptown.
CMPD says officers used pepper spray to control the crowd and made two arrests after they say protestors were aggressive toward officers pushing them. Police say they were trying to keep the group safe by stopping them from marching onto roads that were not closed to traffic. The escalation happened after 2:00 this afternoon with a group unaffiliated with the original event organizers stayed behind. 20-year-old Tirsa Sanchez and 23-year-old Brooke Riley are both charged with assault on a law enforcement officer.
