Hawaii protesters impassioned but peaceful during ‘No Kings’ rally at Capitol

No kings but Kamehameha.

That was one sentiment among thousands as a huge crowd of protesters descended on the state Capitol Saturday as part of nationwide “No Kings” rallies against the Trump administration.

The peaceful rally, which coincided with the annual King Kamehameha Celebration Floral Parade that began in front of Iolani Palace on South King Street earlier in the day, brought out sign-carrying protesters who voiced their strong opposition to the policies of President Donald Trump on his 79th birthday.

Crowd estimates ranged from roughly 1,500 to about 7,000, depending on who was doing the counting.

Trump himself marked the day with a military parade that included marching troops and armored tanks rolling through the streets of Washington, D.C., in honor of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.

Oahu’s “No Kings” event was organized by groups including 50501 and Indivisible Hawaii, which held a similar rally in Kahului, Maui, and four on Hawaii island.

In Honolulu, the mass of people lined sidewalks on South Beretania and Punchbowl streets. Passing motorists honked in support as protesters chanted and shouted against Trump and administration policies, accompanying their chants by loudly beating on pots, pans and any other instruments, makeshift or otherwise, on hand.

No counter-protest involving Trump supporters was visible in the immediate vicinity of the Capitol or nearby Honolulu Hale.

“Trump is already a convicted felon, it just blows my mind that he even got to where he is,” said Waipahu resident Terri McCallops, 67, while holding a protest sign near Beretania. “But this (event) gives me hope that something is going to be done soon.

“I mean the way he’s abusing his authority; he’s destroying democracy,” she added.

With the Capitol building behind him, 40-year-old Kailua resident Daniel Mcilvaine held a large American flag attached to a long pole over his right shoulder.

“We’re standing up for the rule of law, for due process, for constitutional government,” he said. “We’re trying to reclaim our democracy back for the people, including all of the symbols of what America is and what America is meant to be.”

Ally Campo, a 35-year-old Kaneohe resident, said she was at the event to stand up against the “overreach of the president” and to “try to be the voice for people who don’t have the same ability to speak up on their own — the silent voices.”

Ernest Robello, the state Department of Law Enforcement’s deputy director of administration, said by phone that no reports of violence or related disturbances occurred at the Capitol event.

“No property damage, no unrest, no arrests, no incidents of any kind,” he said of a protest that also attracted the noticeable presence of DLE sheriff’s deputies and Honolulu Police Department officers. “It appeared to be peaceful from the outset, and it stayed that way throughout the event.”

Robello said the “No Kings” crowd size outside the Capitol was tentatively pegged at about 1,500 people. “It was more than I had anticipated; it was a pretty decent crowd size,” he added.

He noted a smaller rally for Trump supporters, which he described as a “gathering,” was scheduled to be held at Ala Moana Regional Park late Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Jay Henderson with the Indivisible Hawaii Statewide Network said the “No Kings” rally on Oahu drew about 7,000 attendees.

“We were overwhelmed by the number of people that came,” he said by phone. “We were expecting 4,000 or 5,000, but we did a rough head count … and at one point it seemed like it was 15 people deep, and so our estimates went up to 7,000 people.”

He claimed the group made “a rough estimate of 2,000 in Hilo and 1,000 in Waimea” as well.

“The message that we sent is we have to stop this madness that President Trump is engaging in,” he said of the rallies. “And we sent a very loud and clear message that we want to save our democracy while there’s still time.”

Organizers will likely plan similar protests around the state in the future, he added.

“But for sure we’re not going to have anything on July 4. That’s going to be a good, patriotic, fun holiday,” Henderson quipped.