An estimated 4,000 people gathered this Saturday in Boise for a No Kings Rally to protest the Trump administration.
Speaking from a podium on the steps of the statehouse, the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Lyle McCormick talked about wealth disparity.
“The only threat to working people, no matter where they were born, comes from the millionaires to deny us the basic necessities of a decent life”
He said the Trump administration’s policies target working class Americans.
“Medicare, food stamps, VA benefits, the list goes on.”
Calling out landlord practices, Samuel Pinson of Boise Tenants United said housing rights in Idaho are “ruthlessly one-sided.”
“A super majority of working Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and Idaho is ranked as one of the least affordable states to live in,” Pinson said.
Speaker Rev. Sara LaWall from the Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship talked about efforts to repeal healthcare access for trans youth.
"The message being sent to trans people everywhere is clear: You don't belong,” said LaWall.
LaWall, also a member of Mama Dragons, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting mothers of LGBTQ children, said she was scared for her own trans child.
“We declare your body is not up for debate,” LaWall said.
The countrywide protests were in part a response to increased ICE raids. As protesters peacefully dispersed after the speeches, attendee Steven Shapiro explained why he was there.
“Our government is coming for everybody I love. And I have to speak up”
The No Kings Rallies across the nation drew an estimated five million attendees, the largest anti-Trump gathering of the president’s second term.
