On a Saturday morning, when most Wheaton students were eating brunch, sophomore urban studies major Naomi Thompson was on a train to Chicago. There, she would join thousands of others in Grant Park for this year’s second “No Kings” protest. As the train sped past buildings, Thompson began writing on one of her posters: “When you pray, move your feet.”
“Things that have been changing because of the administration, things that are happening with ICE that are so close to us and in our vicinity,” Thompson said. “No one is talking about them, so I wanted to be in a space where people were actually being loud about it.”
The “No Kings” protest on Oct. 18 was self-described as a “sustained national resistance to tyranny.” Attendees came for a variety of reasons, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) behavior in the city, reported due process violations in cases involving immigrants, concerns about fair elections, gerrymandering, gun violence and the rising cost of living.
At the protest, people emphasized a variety of topics, including immigration, abortion rights, public transportation, LGBTQ+ rights, and the release of the Epstein files. Many speakers and signs declared that the Trump administration fails to uphold citizens’ wishes and acts in an authoritarian manner…