Sequim ‘No Kings’ protest draws 2,600 participants

Published 8:00 am Sunday, June 15, 2025

At least 2,600 people lined both sides of West Washington Street on Saturday as part of the “No Kings Day Nationwide Day of Defiance” demonstrations to protest the Trump administration’s ICE raids and the military parade in Washington, D.C., which coincided with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.

More than 2,000 demonstrations were scheduled to take place in all 50 states. A protest also drew a crowd in Port Angeles, on both sides of South Lincoln Street by the courthouse.

In Sequim, the thickest concentration of rally participants radiated from west of Priest Road to the lane between Costco and Ross department store, with lesser concentration in both directions, petering out in the west near the River Road traffic circle and in the east near the “Welcome to Sequim” sign.

The count was provided after the event by Chris Walker of Indivisible Sequim, which organized the demonstration. Walker said the 2,600 figure may have been an under-count.

“We had four of us counting with clickers, two on each side of Washington Street. We would come back periodically with a count and compare numbers,” said Walker. “We will also get a really good count once we review the drone footage.”

The online version of this article will be updated with the drone count.

The protest was scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. At 12:33 p.m., a count of 2,400 was reported by Jim Stoffer, Walker said.

People began showing up at 11:30 a.m.

“Usually it starts slower,” Walker said.

Indivisible member Susan Waldorf said the protest might be the largest ever held in Sequim.

“It’s historic,” she said. “It means something to every citizen of Sequim.”

Many of the participants carried flags. They also carried signs, many homemade, and held them up by the curb so passing motorists could see why they chose this way to spend their Saturday afternoon.

Many of the signs referenced the military parade and Trump’s birthday, but many also referred to perceived executive branch over-reach, the weakness of the legislative branch and trespasses against the principles of the United States Constitution.

A Canadian man at the protest who wished to be anonymous but identified himself as a long-time legal permanent resident alien, a taxpayer and a retired teacher, said he is worried about crossing the border.

“I will be taking precautions with my phone when returning from a family visit in September,” he said.

“There are so many people that have anxieties and fears that they didn’t have before. I feel like the fears that are being pushed on our society are unfounded and could be solved by simple fact checking.”

‘Well organized’

Volunteers from Indivisible Sequim in neon safety vests guided the event, ensuring that people crossed roads safely and did not step out into passing traffic, which was heavy.

Sequim police also kept an eye on things and said that everything went smoothly.

Deputy Police Chief John Southard said the event was “very well organized. We appreciate their safety vests.”

He said that there were no issues except a complaint from an auto parts store. Event attendees have taken up all their parking spaces,” he said, “leaving none for customers.”

The large parking lots in the area had more cars than usual but still had plenty of spaces free for customers.

Walker said she would reach out to the auto parts store and apologize. She noted that participants in future demonstrations will need to keep businesses in mind when parking.

Southard said the protest was the sixth such event this year.

“I appreciate supporting everyone’s first amendment right,” he said. “(But) it costs local people tax money to bring in officers on overtime to make sure we have enough law enforcement present.”

Peaceful neighbors

By all appearances, the demonstration was low-conflict.

Participants said there were a few people who made rude gestures from cars and one (or possibly two) truck driver who purposely revved his engine to give off black smoke. Occasionally someone shouted something from a car, but the demonstrators reminded each other to not respond.

“When you look at the demographic around here, it’s a lot of older folks,” said participant Tracie Millett. “They’re being peaceful. They’re staying safe. That’s what most protests are like, even in the big cities.”

Millett said that 98% of people protest peacefully and “the other 2% are what’s shown on Fox News.”

“It makes me feel good to be with them,” said Millett of fellow demonstrators. “They’re standing up because other people are disadvantaged…. We’ve all seen them being detained without cause.”

“We’re doing our part,” said Nancy Fuller as she left the demonstration. She explained that she came because,”I’m really afraid for our country. We’re going in the wrong direction. I want Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to be safe.”

Walker said that protesters want to make sure people don’t lose their 401ks or Social Security benefits.

”So many people, especially seniors, are living on the edge,” she said. “If they lose their Social Security, where will they go? We’re doing this for everyone in Clallam County.”

Walker gestured to the crowd around her.

“This is Sequim,” she said. “These are your neighbors; these are people that are standing up for you… once a month for a couple of hours.”

A food drive was organized concurrent with the demonstration.

“One bin was completely full and there was enough food bags to fill another bin,” said Walker. “It was quite successful.”

For more photos from the event, go to sequimgazette.com.