No Kings III

Florence was one of thousands of cities across the country and world to hold a No Kings Rally on Saturday.

Debbie Anne, 71, of Florence came to the protest because she wanted to send a message to the entire country.

Written and photographed by Will Yurman

Hundreds gathered along U.S. Route 101 in Florence, Oregon on Saturday as part of the third national No Kings protests.

In Florence, the protest stretched from City Hall to the intersection with U.S. Route 126. Protesters began arriving before 11 am, with the crowd numbers peaking around 1 pm.

Teale LaRosa, holding a sign that said, “THE MATRIARCHY WOULD NEVER” stood in front of a small group of counterprotesters. “Making love the loud voice instead of hate the loud voice is why I’m here,” LaRosa, who lives near Mapleton, said.

That small group of counterprotesters included Gary Cannon of Florence. “I think that we need to stand up for this country. These people can’t support a government that supports them,” he said of the No Kings protesters.

This Florence protest was similar in size to the two earlier No Kings events. There were signs calling for specific policy changes, referencing the war in Iran, the Epstein files and ICE, as well as more generalized concerns from demonstrators about the Trump administration and attacks on democracy.

If one sign summed up the feelings on Saturday, it may have been the one 71-year-old Debbie Anne was holding, “NO KINGS. NO I.C.E. NO WAR. NO TRUMP.” Anne has lived in Florence for eight years and said she grew up a child of the 60s and 70s. She has been at each of the earlier No Kings protests in Florence. “We have to save our nation,” she said. “I miss our country. I want our country back.”