Donald Trump’s military parade on his 79th birthday on June 14 — which had a vastly smaller attendance than he expected and an obnoxiously squeaky tank wheel — was overshadowed by over 2,100 protests against his administration nationwide. A statement from the American Civil Liberties Union, which helped organize the event, said over five million people took part in the protests across the US. But down in Tukwila, one father was stolen from his family that same day, just before Father’s Day, with community members urging people to turn out at the location the day before.
While over 50,000 marched from Cal Anderson Park to the Seattle Center, a legal aid worker was assisting two detained people, warning one, Edipo Menezes, of the risks if he entered the Department of Homeland Security building to do a check-in. But he did — and never returned.
“Today in Tukwila, our undocumented and immigrant community needed you. We are vulnerable to ICE raids, deportation, and police violence. We asked you to come through. We needed your bodies, your voices, your protection,” the legal aid worker wrote on the Instagram account @LoveIsTransformativeWA.
“But instead, while we were asking for backup, thousands of you were at a protest party in Seattle. 50,000 of you showed up there. Having more people power and even a hundred more people could’ve prevented ICE from kidnapping people. Could’ve helped protect someone’s father. Someone’s husband. Someone’s life.”
The Burner reported on how people were requested to show up to the facility just the day before. The ICE enforcement center is closed on the weekends, its business hours being Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Tukwila Police Department and agents from the Department of Homeland Security carried out violence against protesters outside the building by firing tear gas canisters that emitted a bright green color and by shooting rubber bullets. There was also pushing and aggressive detainment of protesters.
The legal aid’s post went on to explain how they watched agents drive Menezes away, leaving them heartbroken, noting how “it was a deep, painful violation of human dignity.”
“Our people are getting taken. We’re being disappeared. And we need you now — not when it feels good, but when it’s life or death,” they said.
No Kings
At taxpayers’ expense — $40 million — Trump’s military parade was officially meant to recognize the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army. Over 6,000 soldiers marched out of step as 128 Army tanks rolled toward the White House. Trump projected over 200,000 in attendance but reports state that there were about 10,000.
Meanwhile, Cal Anderson Park’s No Kings protesters took an oath with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-7) that included the following: “To resist together. To defeat the pretender king. To win for justice. To win for democracy. To win for ‘we the people.’”
Rep. Jayapal added how America doesn’t have “kings or crowns, and the people will never back down,” and the crowd cheered. She then asked them to sing it with her, which some did.
A university student named Jacob also hopped up to the podium, announcing that too much is at stake, like the immigration and education systems, and democracy as a whole. Jacob said he is proud to be the son of a Filipino immigrant woman who never took education for granted.
“She used to say, “Education is the key to success that will open many doors in your life. It is a power that no one can take away,’” Jacob said. “Under Trump’s America, they’re trying to lock this door to success and throw away the key [for] young people across the country.”
Not long after, protesters marched with signs that said, “Immigrant parents with their wings cut, still teach their children to fly,” “You stole my father,” and “I protest, so you’re not next!” Those going about their Saturday activities stopped to take footage of the mass turnout.
Spotted at the Seattle Center gathering was a giant red hat that said “MAKE AMERIKKKA GREAT AGAIN,” but its stringy covering made it distinct. Handcrafted by José Camacho, who is originally from Mexico but resides in Burien, was a piñata that he stuffed with bags of candy he brought in his backpack. On one of the patios, he asked who wanted to hit it and offered up a stick. Multiple people jumped in, smacking the hat into smithereens, and once the candy flew out, everyone rushed in with glee to pick it up.
Minnesota’s mo(u)rning of seemingly politically motivated violence
But the assassination of a Minnesota state legislator, her husband, and her dog — and the attempted assassination of another and his wife — cast a shadow over the sunny Seattle day.
During her speech, Rep. Jayapal teared up as she asked the audience to take a moment to honor Democratic leader and former House speaker Melissa Hortman, who was attacked in her home.
That morning, a man named Vance Boelter, posing as a police officer in a Ford SUV modified to appear like a police vehicle, knocked on Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman’s door. Boelter allegedly shot Sen. Hoffman nine times while his wife Yvette was shot eight times, according to ABC News — though both remarkably survived. Afterward, the shooter headed to Rep. Hortman’s home and allegedly shot and killed her and her husband Mark, and shot Gilbert, their golden retriever, who was a trained service dog and was later put down.
Minnesota midterms are in 2026, and all Senate seats are up for grabs. As of April 29, the Senate had a total of 67 legislators: 33 conservatives and 34 liberals. If Sen. Hoffman had died, it would have left an empty seat.
As of March 17, there are 134 representatives: 67 conservatives and 67 liberals. The murder of Rep. Hortman forces a special election to fill her seat before the next legislative session, which starts in February of next year. This could lead to flipping the party majority of the House, giving conservatives more power.
“We are not a country that settles our differences at gunpoint. We have demonstrated again and again in our state that it is possible to peacefully disagree, that our state is strengthened by civil public debate,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement. “We must stand united against all forms of violence — and I call on everyone to join me in that commitment.”
The new "Gestapo"
Having a heart-shattering history of being taken over by an authoritarian regime, countries across Europe joined in the No Kings protests, like one outside of the US Embassy in London, and others in Amsterdam, Paris, and Berlin, some of the nations hit hardest by the Nazis in World War II.
Many stateside are drawing parallels to Nazi Germany. In Seattle, one protester held a sign with a picture of Adolf Hitler; underneath it said, “Stealing from you,” while another held a sign of a swastika with a slash through it.
Since Trump’s return to office for his second term, and given his recent orders for ICE agents to ramp up kidnappings of migrants and undocumented people, many have referred to ICE as Nazis and Gestapo agents.
During the Nazi era, the Gestapo’s main responsibility was forcibly taking Jews, Queers, and people with disabilities to ghettos, concentration camps, and killing centers. The brutal Gestapo, or the German Secret State Police, conducted surveillance, raided houses, used informants, and tortured those they persecuted during interrogations, according to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
“Gestapo agents had the power to determine people’s fates. Individual agents could choose to be lenient. They could let people go, dismiss cases, or issue warnings and fines,” the museum website states. “But Gestapo agents could also choose to be ruthless. They could detain someone in prison indefinitely or condemn someone to a concentration camp. The only monitoring of these decisions came from within the Gestapo itself.”
On June 17, Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by federal agents while at an immigration court, where he was escorting a man out of the building. In an interview with MSNBC, he said ICE agents had been hanging around in the courthouse, while cases are dismissed or people are stripped of their protected status. This leads to agents hovering near elevators to catch people while leaving, he said.
Lander emphasized how the man he was with showed up to his court date on time, expecting to receive a hearing on his asylum case. Lander never saw a warrant for his arrest when masked ICE agents in plain clothes confronted them, he said.
“They were huddled around the elevator banks in masks without identifying information,” Lander said. “What a terrifying — like, these are Gestapo tactics. And that’s why I thought it was important to show up and bear witness for folks who are having their due process denied, but also because it’s an urgent time. Trump is coming for our cities and for the rule of law, and we’ve got to find ways to stand up.”
Lander is accused of assaulting a law enforcement officer and impeding their work. Both men were arrested, but Lander was released a few hours later. He said he has no idea where the other man is other than in custody at an ICE facility, and that he’s worried for thousands of other immigrant asylum seekers, as this wasn’t a one-off.
The day after Trump’s birthday and the No Kings protests, June 15, Trump posted on Truth Social, applauding ICE for its work regarding the “largest Mass Deportation Operation of Illegal Aliens in History,” but he claimed that ICE agents are met with violence every day. He said the nation’s biggest cities — Los Angeles, Chicago, New York — where “millions upon millions reside,” must be targeted.
“These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens,” Trump wrote. “These Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities.”
He also specifically called out Trans people in this post.
“There is something wrong with them [Democrats]. That is why they believe in Open Borders, Transgender for Everybody, and Men playing in Women’s Sports — And that is why I want ICE, Border Patrol, and our Great and Patriotic Law Enforcement Officers, to FOCUS on our crime ridden and deadly inner Cities, and those places where Sanctuary Cities play such a big role…
“To ICE, FBI, DEA, ATF, the Patriots at Pentagon and the State Department, you have my unwavering support. Now go, GET THE JOB DONE!”
3.5% principle
Fascism is knocking on our doors, if it is not already here. But can the 3.5% rule put a halt to what’s happening, even though Trump and his cronies are defying laws and judicial orders?
A movement called 50501 has local chapters that have been putting on these anti-Trump protests, including one in Seattle, which organized April’s “Hands Off” protest, in addition to the No Kings one.
The official No Kings website posted a note about what organizers think comes next:
“As ICE raids escalate and Trump doubles down on authoritarian tactics — including politicizing the military — we’re meeting the moment with action. The road ahead isn’t just about one protest or one day. It’s about building a movement powerful enough to win against authoritarian forces dead set on destroying our democracy.
“We’re inspired by the 3.5% principle: it only takes 3.5% of the population engaging in sustained, strategic protest against authoritarianism to achieve a significant political change. Everything we do from here on out is grounded in three core commitments: staying in the fight, taking concrete action today, and investing in the long-term.”
The US has a population of about 341 million people, according to the US Census Bureau, meaning approximately 12 million would represent 3.5% of the population. With the No Kings protest turnout estimated at five million people, it must more than double to reach that benchmark.
Prioritizing voices of the impacted
Menezes was snatched from his family the day before Father’s Day. La Resistencia Northwest, the grassroots undocumented-led movement, has been outspoken about the rise in deportation flights and horrid conditions at the Northwest Detention Center, like refusing yard time, allowing diabetics and those with cancer to go without medications, and mass overcrowding.
Those at risk of being or who are impacted by ICE, their families, and community members continue to speak out and rapidly mobilize, but more is needed, they say.
“We need to stop showing up only when it’s trendy,” Menezes’s legal aid wrote. “We need people who are ready to move when it’s hard and scary and not on the news. We need people to learn skills & practice these skills — how to de-arrest, how to hold a line, how to deal with tear gas/mace/rubber bullets, how to protect one another when the police & ICE come for us. We need people trained in movement security, legal observation, jail support, and direct action — not just chants and signs.”
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