Saturday, March 28 was a bright and sunny day in Devils Lake, ND, for the area’s third No Kings Rally which occurred 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. meeting, this time, on the steps of the Memorial Building located at 5th Street and 4th Ave., NE.
At first count the gathering numbered 66, then approximately 20 more joined the group with one or two more adding to the numbers every few minutes, ultimately bringing the estimated count to just under 100 people.
Attendees who did not want their faces to show in photographs were to hold their signs up and cover their faces, to protect their anonymity, speakers identified themselves if they wished to by first names only.
Some chanted with the group when a leader, like Sue, who lives north of Langdon on a farm near the N.D./Manitoba border, who stepped up from the crowd to encourage a catchy chant. Another speaker had a list prepared of his concerns as a farmer in the Lake Region, he read his list and then returned to the friends he came with. Only a few stepped up to express their opinions, but they were greeted with respect and applause.
Mostly it was about the signs, some were very simple, some were well-made, but all expressed the concerns each had about a number of topics; the signs said it all; the war with Iran, voting rights, the price of oil, the nation’s economy, the erosion of democracy, immigration, the ’Save America Act’ and many more things.
The largest number of people came from Devils Lake, itself, but there was a sizeable group of people from Sheyenne, Pekin, Tolna, Esmond, Langdon, Michigan, and other smaller towns around the region. A few who attended were former residents living elsewhere, now, but in town for the weekend and who said they were glad to be able to attend a rally here in Devils Lake just like people were throughout the country.
One young fellow didn’t have a sign, but he did have a paper crown on his head from Burger King that he turned inside out and displayed his message “No Kings!”
Mostly the small groups visited with one another and occasionally stepped up front to speak about the issues that concerned them the most.
The passers-by who honked their horns in support of the rally-goers brought a cheer from the crowd each time they drove by honking, waving or giving “thumbs up.”
Some of the group stayed near the Memorial Building and most marched of them with their signs to the corner of 4th Street and 4th Avenue, the heart of historic downtown Devils Lake, where they occupied all four corners of the intersection for part of the morning.
The rally ended at approximately 12:30 p.m. as the crowd dispersed one by one.
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