Creston joins nation in ‘No Kings’ protest

For an hour on Saturday morning, those traveling Highway 34 will have noticed a crowd of signs in front of Rep. Zach Nunn’s office on the south side of the road. They may have even honked in support or jeered as they drove by.

In a sight especially rare for Creston, about 100 protesters brought signs, flags and voices to protest President Donald Trump and his administration. Messaging on signs, the most visible for passing weekend commuters, called for resisting authoritarianism.

Jackie Schmitt of Clarinda summed up why she started protesting and the fear she had with Trump’s grip on the power of the administration. She said she wanted her newborn granddaughter to live in a world with access to rural health care.

“I do not like what this administration is doing,” Schmitt said. “They’re taking away our constitutional freedoms. I started protesting with the ‘Hands Off’ a couple months ago; now I’m coming here to continue on. Everything he is doing is much worse.”

Nationwide protests

The protest in Creston, one counted among thousands across American cities, was arranged in part by the No Kings organization. A trip to their website immediately gives a mission statement.

"They’ve defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights and slashed our services," the statement said, referring to the Trump administration. “The corruption has gone too far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings.”

Other cities in Iowa witnessed their own demonstrations. Large protests in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Ames, Davenport, Muscatine, Perry and Waterloo all saw multiple thousands protesting.

Across the nation, millions arrived at over 2,000 protests to oppose Trump’s agenda. Over a dozen foreign countries held their own protests in solidarity.

The demonstrations come on the heels of the protests over the federal immigration enforcement raids that began last week and Trump ordering the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where protesters blocked a freeway and set cars on fire.

During Trump’s military parade, which took place Saturday on Flag Day as well as Trump’s 79th birthday, these demonstrations were scheduled across the nation, encouraging peaceful, nonviolent protesting in public spaces.

An hour of protest

Creston’s protest was not confrontational, although two police vehicles observed the protest from a distance. Across the street on the north side of Highway 34, a group of about a dozen counter-protesters gathered.

Interactions between the two crowds were limited and mostly civil. The most extreme calls involve members of the “No Kings” crowd jeering about the lack of support for the counter-protesters, while some counter-protesters mimicked the “No Kings” side crying.

Honks spurred the crowd on for the full hour between 10 to 11 a.m., cheering for the beeps of a passerby car’s horn. At times, the crowd signaled large semis, who would amuse them with a loud, supporting honk. Chants through the crowd, such as “this is what democracy looks like,” unified them.

Not all commuters were in support. At times, vehicles would roll windows down to yell back at the protesters. Others would rev their engines. For some in the protest, it was unclear whether the noise-makers were in support or against.

Some protesters sang songs, including “This Land Is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie. A portable speaker was carried by one protester as she moved through the group, playing American classics such as the “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America,” but also a bit of Bruce Springsteen, Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan.

Why they were there

Jerry Busenbarrick of Afton said he was protesting that day to fight against fascism and Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“I’m here to defend the rule of law in the Constitution, and to support democracy over fascism,” Busenbarrick said. “That’s it in a nutshell. The Big Beautiful Bill installs the 2025 project, which will eliminate America as a democracy. That’s important enough to stand in the sun for a while.”

Kathy Thorne Ralston of Creston and her family arrived as a group, protesting together.

“The most important thing to me the administration has begun is the rise in hate and the mass deportation and the inhumane treatment to anyone who is different or visiting,” Ralston said. “The devaluing of human life in our country; there’s a lot of other things I’m very concerned about but I think that’s the thing I’m most concerned about, and the absolute disregard of law and order in our Constitution which protects all individuals who reside in this country.”

Some of the counter-protesters said the protesters didn’t understand the good Trump was doing for the country. They accused the No Kings organization of paying protesters $20 to be at Creston, saying protesters were waving California flags.

One counter-protester who only gave her first name as Donna, said Flag Day was a day to celebrate troops, which the “No Kings” protesters were disrespecting. She also said peaceful protests in America were Democrat-controlled and not peaceful in the big cities.

“I’m a true believer in President Trump and his whole administration,” Donna said. “I’m all for America and our troops. [The protesters] didn’t care for all that. They don’t know what’s going on in our country.”

Signs against authoritarianism and fascism assembled by protesters warned commuters of similar threats. One cardboard sign read in all caps, “this is the government the founders warned us about.”

Another depicted Trump, using his portrait once displayed in the Colorado state capital which he called “distorted,” under a golden toilet seat. Text on the sign read, “the only throne for Trump.”

Allison Wallace of Mount Ayr explained her sign, which read “hate will not make us great.” Wallace has gay family members, and was worried about how they will live in this country.

“Make America Great Again is obviously the slogan we’ve heard for many years now,” Wallace said. “There’s just so much hatred [Trump] spreads into our country. There’s so much hatred about what’s going on right now. There’s nothing about hatred that’s going to make it great.”

Across the street, one counter-protestor took offense to the sign.

“One sign says hate will not make us great, and yet the Democratic party is the party of hate and violence,” the anonymous protester said.

Mayor Waylon Clayton witnessed the protest, saying he was proud both sides were peaceful and exercising their free speech.

“I’m not being political in any way,” Clayton said. “I support everybody being able to do their first amendment rights. I think it’s a great day for [the protesters] and these [counter-protesters].”

A little after 11 a.m., both sides cleared from their spots, clean as if they were never there at all.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.