Thousands gathered at the Connecticut state Capitol in Hartford Saturday as part of a national “No Kings” protest against Trump administration policies.
Demonstrators held signs, waved flags, marched, donned costumes, operated puppets, played music, and chanted all over the Capitol grounds and on both sides of Capitol Avenue. State Capitol Police estimated the crowd at 12,000 people.
“I’m worried about my children, what their future is going to be,” said Denise Connolly of Farmington, holding a sign reading “No Kings, No Crowns, We The People Won’t Back Down.”
“I feel like just by standing up and protesting, it’s going to make a difference,” Connolly said.
Connecticut House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora said he considers the “No Kings” branding of the protests “divisive,” but supports individuals’ rights to assembly and free speech.
“I obviously don't share their concerns – I think our democracy is still strong as ever – but, you know, they're free to express themselves,” Candelora said.
‘They’re going to pick up anybody’
Annette Roman held a large, black-and-white poster above her head that read “abuelas para la libertad,” or “grandmothers for liberty.”
Roman is Puerto Rican, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York before spending 20 years on the island. But she, her children, and her grandchildren, are all here in Connecticut now. And the rise in ICE activity was top of mind.
“Puerto Ricans are American citizens. Whether people know it or not, we are,” she said. “But you know, they're going to pick up anybody that they feel looks like somebody they should be picking up, right?”
The Trump administration said it is targeting the worst of the worst for deportation. But a recent ProPublica report found 170 U.S. citizens have been detained by immigration enforcement — a figure federal officials don’t officially track.
Candelora said more across the aisle discussion is needed on the topic.
“We should try to work together to prevent it in the future, if those wrongful detentions are occurring, but at the same time, we have to acknowledge that there are criminal aliens on our streets that need to be deported,” Candelora said. “They've taken extremes. You have individuals that want everyone deported, and then you have individuals that want no one deported. And I think we need to find some common ground and have a conversation.”
Still, Roman’s message to her family has stayed consistent over the years.
“I'm not afraid of the Boogeyman. So I just go about my business,” Roman said. “I tell my children, ‘Just be careful what you're doing. Don't antagonize people, but don't let them antagonize you either.’”
Nearby, Bobbie Coughlin from Berlin, Connecticut, was preaching a similar message.
“I think the idea that we are ripping families apart, pulling people off the street because they happen to be brown or they don't speak English, it's like Nazi Germany, and it's terrifying, really terrifying, with this administration,” Coughlin said.
The 72-year-old has been protesting since the Vietnam War, and now, as the white mother to Asian children, and a retired pediatrician, her anti-ICE message was focused on the youngest generation.
“What wouldn't any one of us do for our children? The only thing I've done to deserve American citizenship was to be born to American parents,” Coughlin said. “I think about people who are in places like Guatemala and Venezuela, and they want a better life for their children. I don't understand why we can't offer them that.”
At the Hartford rally, Dominican Republic native Natalie Sanchez was protesting the tactics of immigration officials who wear masks.
“ICE is not here because immigrants are criminals. That's a lie. They're here to racially profile Black and brown communities and deport them,” Sanchez said. “And we're here to say we're not standing for that. We’re absolutely not.”
The rise in anti-ICE messaging at this second No Kings rally aligned with the uptick in immigration detentions in both Connecticut and nationwide since the start of the Trump administration. That includes a recent raid at a car wash in Hamden.
‘I’m not going to stand for it’
Allan Rosen of Windsor said he wanted to demonstrate against what he sees as Trump “violating the Constitution.”
“This government runs with three coequal branches of government,” Rosen said. “That’s the foundation of this government. This president’s administration is doing everything to destroy that.”
President Trump has faced accusations of attacking the judiciary. The National Guard has also been deployed in major cities led by Democrats, which the Trump administration has said was needed to fight crime.
“I have no idea what the hell this country is going to be like in 20, 50 years because of the damage he’s doing,” Rosen said.
Janice Steinhagen of Griswold was dressed in Revolutionary War-era garb and carried a banner depicting an eagle and the slogan “WE OWE ALLEGIANCE TO NO CROWN.” She said she was a historical reenactor.
“It’s obvious that we have a resident in the White House who thinks he runs the show, thinks the government is all for his personal enrichment and thinks that he can wrest the power of the purse and the power of governance away from our elected representatives in Congress,” Steinhagen said.
The administration has faced accusations of treading on Congress’s “power of the purse” by freezing federal funds that had been previously allocated by lawmakers during the Biden presidency.
“I’m here to tell you that that is exactly what the founders were afraid of, and I’m not going to stand for it now,” she said. “They would not have stood for it then.”
‘This is what changes democracy’
Elected officials speaking at the rally included U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Rep. John Larson, Connecticut Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, and Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, all Democrats.
“People ask me all the time: ‘What can we do? Does this matter?’” Larson said. “The answer is yes, it does, because this is what changes democracy. This is what sends the message to Washington and beyond.”
“I’m proud to go to the floor and speak on behalf of citizens of this district,” Larson said, “and I’ll tell you what: I’m even prouder to be an enemy of Donald Trump.”
“America is not about blind submission to authoritarianism,” Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal referenced the government shutdown in Washington, placing the blame wholly on Republicans.
“We are going to stand up for American health care, even if Republicans shut down the government,” he said. “We’re not going to back down. We’re not going to bend. Republicans are shutting down the government, but we’re not going to let them intimidate or bully us.”
Bysiewicz also made mention of the shutdown.
“While Washington can’t get its [expletive] together, Connecticut has your back,” Bysiewicz said. “Legislators and the governor and I push back against [Trump’s] cruel policies. While the government is shut down in Washington, we’re going to make sure that pregnant moms and their babies have the food and the formula they need.”
