MANATEE COUNTY — Three thousand protesters lined the streets in front of UTC for almost a mile on Saturday for the No Kings Day 3 rally, according to event sponsor Indivisible Manatee. A simultaneous event, also sponsored by IM, took place in Ellenton and was reported to have more than 1,000 attendees.
The Manatee County rallies were part of a much greater effort across more than 3,000 small towns and big cities in every state. Final numbers for the national rallies are still being counted, but are expected to exceed 8 million.
“Our message with today’s event was ‘No Thrones, No Crowns, No Kings,’ and our participants truly embraced the moment with an energy and passion that blew us away,” said Liv Coleman, IM charter member and event spokesperson. She said that Manatee County residents turned out in force with “banners, signs, costumes, and props that allowed their creative juices to flow.” From Superman to Lady Liberty to a space-age alien – “and a guy wearing a sofa,” the messaging was clear … “We don’t do kings in America.”…