‘No Kings’ Protest Marches Through Downtown Bowling Green

Hundreds gathered in Downtown Bowling Green Saturday for the ‘No Kings’ Protest

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WNKY) — Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Saturday at the Old Courthouse before marching through downtown Bowling Green to Circus Square Park, joining thousands across the country in the national “No Kings” protest against perceived authoritarianism.

Organized locally by SOKY Indivisible, the demonstration began around 11:30 a.m. and wrapped up at roughly 1 p.m.

Participants carried signs and chanted as they moved down College Street following several speeches from organizers and supporters at the Old Courthouse. The event ended at Circus Square Park where attendants held their signs on both sides of E 7th Avenue as vehicles passed by. Police maintained a presence there were no incidents or arrests reported.

The demonstration followed other recent local protests, including one over the arrest of a Bowling Green teenager on immigration charges.

“I have seen a lot a people out here who haven’t been to a protest before” said citizen Magnolia Gramling. “People are starting to mobilize and starting to realize our voices are stronger than the fewer billionaires.”

Another attendant of the event, Local Pastor Nicholas Bowling, said the message of some of the chants of the event aligned with Christian values.

“We came out representing Jesus Christ in the garden and just preaching Jesus. He said to go to all the earth, preach the gospel to every creature.” Bowling said. “We are here to tell them about the good news, because true justice for peace, which is a lot of what these people are talking about, it can only truly come from King Jesus. ”

Among the crowd was a man originally from Venezuela, who said he felt compelled to attend after seeing what he described as echoes of political repression in his home country.

“The same things that we lived through and say in Venezuela, we’ve been seeing.” he said. “It’s very disheartening. But seeing these people here today gives me hope.”

The timing of the protest coincided with a military parade in Washington, D.C., organized to mark the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary. Critics nationwide raised concerns over the cost of the parade, the use of military displays, and the placement of the event on President Trump’s 79th birthday, comparing it to political theater in authoritarian regimes.

At the Bowling Green event, participants carried American flags and signs with messages such as the phrases they chanted like “No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA”.

The local marches in Bowling Green and Franklin were just a couple among several across Kentucky and part of a larger national movement coordinated by the 50501 coalition, which includes civil liberties and pro-democracy organizations. Similar protests were held in Louisville, Paducah, and Ashland.

To find out more about the event and what the local organizers are planning next, visit NoKings.org or Mobilize.us/indivisible.