MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — More than a dozen ‘No Kings’ protests are scheduled across the state on Saturday.
The protests against President Donald Trump and his administration will begin at noon outside the state capitol in Charleston. Protests are also scheduled to take place in Huntington, Wheeling, Charles Town, Morgantown and several other locations.
Mountaineers Indivisible will participate in the protest in Morgantown near the Hope Coliseum. Organizer Cynthia Fox said they will line the sidewalks and will hold up homemade signs.
“Then we’re going to spread out on the sidewalks in two directions,” Fox said. “Our launch time is 12 noon, so we’re asking people to arrive a little ahead of that.”
The people who have attended past ‘No Kings’ events have expressed concerns about the direction the country is headed. She said some that come just want to be others feeling the same way, and others have a message and are very vocal.
“Some people will want to come out to feel the solidarity with other people that feel as they do,” Fox said. “Others may want to come because they want to make very public how they feel and they think and they want to broadcast that to others in the community.”
She said three groups have recently downgraded the level of freedom in the United States. She said the groups believe the United States is moving to an autocracy under the Trump administration.
“The loss of personal freedoms and the loss of accountable government,” Fox said. “That represents what a lot of people as individuals have been seeing and feeling when they look at what’s going around.”
The people that attend the events are upset about a wide variety of things that are happening and have happened over the last year or so. Budget cuts made by DOGE, reductions in social services, the economy, and world tensions are just a few reasons why many of the people will come out.
“The Epstein Files, they’re concerned about what they see as a deterioration of the rule of law where it appears the Trump Department of Justice is going after his personal enemies,” Fox said.
The protests will last until around 3 p.m. The state capitol protest will overlap with the Gov. Patrick Morrisey and First Lady Denise Morrisey’s annual Rhododendron Roll Easter Celebration that is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.