Thousands at 'No Kings' rallies across New Mexico join nationwide day of protest

American flags — some inverted — waved beside Palestinian and Mexican flags as thousands protested the Trump administration Saturday at a park on Albuquerque’s West Side.

The “No Kings Day” rally at Mariposa Basin Park joined others across New Mexico, including in Las Cruces and Santa Fe, as part of a nationwide day of protest in response to the actions of the current president, particularly recent immigration raids and deportations.

The rallies fell on the same day as a military parade for the 250th anniversary of the Army, with a procession of tanks, soldiers and massive weapons running through the nation’s capital.

The Republican Party of New Mexico did not respond to a request for comment about the rallies in the state. But the group, led by Chairwoman Amy Barela, posted a video on X wishing Trump a happy birthday. He turned 79 on Saturday.

On Thursday, the group posted that it “fully supports” the freedom of speech in anticipation of the rallies. The group, referring to what it called “criminal acts” at protests elsewhere, said that “such lawlessness has no place in a civil society and should never be tolerated or excused.”

In Albuquerque, the smell of sunscreen clung to the breeze as temperatures reached the mid-90s and rallygoers clustered around the center of the park, west of Montaño and Coors, congregating beneath the shade of trees.

Many wore Burger King crowns, while some displayed homemade Trump effigies, both large and small. And almost everyone had a sign — often repurposing them to fan away the heat — carrying such messages as “ICE is for tea, not refugees,” “Impeach the orange Jesus” and “I’ll give in to low-rise jeans before I give in to fascism.”

Throughout the rally, local leaders and advocacy groups addressed the crowd. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., told the crowd, “as we march, as we hold our signs, as we stand up to the abuse of power today, we walk in the footsteps of those who came before us,” evoking the 1965 civil rights march on Selma and the 1955 bus boycotts in Alabama.

Sean Wells, 52, stood dressed as the Statue of Liberty, swapping the sea-foam green for a light pink reminiscent of the “pussyhats” popularized in Trump’s first term. For her first protest, she said, she wanted to highlight the femininity of Lady Liberty amid what she called the “deviant” male energy in Washington.

“I’ve never cared about politics, to be honest, like I just thought it was boring. I felt like protests were pointless. I felt like everybody looked like they were crazy, you know, yelling at each other,” she said. Wells, the daughter of an immigrant, said the attacking and prosecuting of judges by the administration was the “tipping point.”

Wells added, “It feels bigger than any one single issue. It’s about the foundation of democracy that I grew up with... We had choices, we had voices, and we had pride, and all of those things I’m watching be erased for my children.”

It was also the first protest for Curt Woolf, an Army veteran who served in the Vietnam era. Woolf, a Republican turned independent, said Trump’s actions are a betrayal to the country, the constitution and “rule of law.”

“Fact of the matter is, this is a dictator, he is a king. People are saying, ‘Well, it looks like we’re going that way.’ No, we went that way when we voted for him,” Woolf said.

He said Trump’s new budget bill, which he called the “the big, ugly, bill,” is the worst thing he had ever seen. “I don’t see how you can possibly take all this money, all that we voted for, these tax dollars, and give them to the rich, with a $37 trillion national debt.”

From the north to the south

In Santa Fe, several thousand protesters filled the east side of the state Capitol, lining the roadways of Paseo de Peralta and Old Santa Fe. City Councilor Alma Castro and U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M., spoke to the crowd before they snaked through the streets to the historic plaza.

During the march, rallygoers chanted and waved signs with no police escort guiding them — stopping traffic for long stretches without any skirmishes breaking out.

Down near the border, crowds filled a city park on a prominent corner of downtown Las Cruces next to City Hall. The atmosphere was joyous as protesters lined Main Street and Picacho Avenue, gathering around tables set up by political and community organizations.

A heap of donations for local food pantries grew taller beneath the shade of trees where demonstrators sheltered from the blazing sun.

“I think the people in Trump’s administration think that we’re all stupid,” Mary Brannon, an organizer with Indivisible Las Cruces, told the Journal. “I also think they didn’t believe we’d get off the couch.”

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