No Kings Orlando, thousands rally

Orlando, FL – On Saturday, June 14, at least 6000 rallied outside of Orlando City Hall as part of the No Kings national day of action; several crowds spilled out into the surrounding streets. They rallied behind the slogan “We the people are pissed!” with a clear emphasis from protesters being placed on the ongoing campaign of raids being conducted by ICE, the continued repression and disenfranchisement of the LGBTQ community and women, as well as acting in direct opposition to the Trump administration itself.

Several groups made speeches, with calls to action to continue the fight and to get organized, including Orlando 50501, Orlando Against Police Crimes (OAPC), and Equality Florida.

Edmund Anglero, an organizer with OAPC, spoke on cases of police killings in Orlando, as well as cases of political repression by Orlando police. He also denounced President Donald Trump’s executive order 14288, which seeks to “unleash the police.”

Anglero also stated, “This kind of police and ICE terror is the same kind of terror used by Israeli occupation forces against Palestinians as well as the repression unleashed against activists in the Philippines by the U.S.-backed Marcos dictatorship.” He closed his speech by stating, “by uniting the many, we can and will defeat the few.”

Corey Hill, with Orlando 50501, spoke, emphasizing the common struggle shared between those fighting in Orlando and those fighting against U.S. imperialism elsewhere.

The connection to other struggles was not isolated to the speeches of organizers, however. Throughout the crowds, people held Mexican, Palestinian, Venezuelan and Cuban flags, alongside signs reading “Free Palestine.” Many protesters wore Keffiyehs, and discussion of the Trump administration’s emboldening of the state of Israel were hard to miss.

While militarized police, FBI agents, and National Guard members brutalize Chicano organizers in Los Angeles, and labor organizers in Milwaukee and Austin, solidarity with the national wave of protests was clear and potent in Orlando.

Protesters called for ICE to be “crushed,” and speakers and protesters alike chanted together in solidarity with the ongoing struggles across the country. There was an understanding in the air that this protest and this struggle were part of a larger wave of popular outcry across the country.

#OrlandoFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #PeoplesStruggles #ICE #Trump #OAPC