Las Cruces gathers for 'No Kings' protest in sweltering heat

LAS CRUCES — Triple-digit heat did little to discourage more than 2,000 people from assembling in the small city park near Las Cruces City Hall for over four hours Saturday.

The prevailing sentiment was celebratory as demonstrators lined Main Street and Picacho Avenue with signs, drums, cowbells and cheers. Passing motorists expressed solidarity with prolonged blasts of their horns, while a few registered dissent by revving their engines and spewing exhaust fumes close to demonstrators.

The event, organized by the community group Indivisible Las Cruces, was among protests planned across the country, styled as the “No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance” in protest of President Donald Trump and his policies. The protests fell on the day of an unusual grand military parade in Washington, celebrating the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, which coincides with the president’s 79th birthday.

The assembly comprised younger and older generations displaying messages mocking Trump and venting anger at mass deportations; the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as ICE; proposed cuts to federal benefit programs; militarization of the nearby U.S.-Mexico border; and a raft of issues connected to the Trump administration.

One protester’s sign simply read, “Where do I begin?”

Volunteers distributed chilled bottles of water and staffed tables offering connections with Indivisible and other local groups, as well as voter registration service. A food drive drew a growing heap of donations near the park center. Yet in signs and chants, the crowd expressed an angry rejection of the administration's leadership style at home and abroad.

“We’re watching our democracy being decimated by a handful of people that want to — I don’t know,” Mary Brannon, an organizer with Indivisible Las Cruces, said in an emotional interview. “We cannot let this country go by the wayside without a fight, and this is our fight: Nonviolent, standing up to the bully.”

Similar demonstrations were staged across New Mexico, including gatherings in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Hobbs and other cities.

The Republican Party of New Mexico did not comment directly on the protests, but on its X social media account the party shared posts criticizing the “No Kings” movement along with birthday greetings for the president and a message celebrating “two pillars of our national heritage — Flag Day and the 250th Birthday of the United States Army.”

Police presence at protests

Las Cruces police bicycle officers watched over the protest. A few officers were also visible close to City Hall, where workers secured six windows that had been smashed overnight. There was no immediate indication this was connected to weekend demonstrations. Indivisible organizer Pam Hett said the incident was “unfortunate” and unrelated to Saturday’s event.

The police presence Saturday was notably different than Friday evening, when a smaller gathering of about 200 people assembled in the same park to protest ICE operations and immigration detention centers in the state.

During Friday's demonstration, at least two LCPD sharpshooters were prominently stationed on the roof of LCPD headquarters across the street and a balcony over the entrance to the public library neighboring the park.

LCPD Chief Jeremy Story told the Journal, “There were multiple comments we were made aware of that directly threatened, or inferred violence on, the planned protests. The officers should not have been visible with their rifles, but they were there to keep those exercising their First Amendment rights safe.”

City Councilor Johana Bencomo criticized the response in a statement Saturday. “Given the current political climate, LCPD’s decision to station snipers at a peaceful protest crossed a line,” she wrote.

While she had reviewed social media posts that sparked police concerns, she argued that “pointing sniper rifles at peaceful protestors, families, children, and concerned citizens was the wrong call. It sent a message, even if unintentional, that under this administration, peaceful dissent is seen as a threat.”

Photos: New Mexico takes part in 'No Kings' rallies