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By Steven Zaitz

Port Jefferson Station was one of seven sites in Suffolk County where the people came to say that America doesn’t do kings. 

Across the country, June 14 wasn’t just another lazy Saturday to do yardwork or go to the mall. It was a day percolating with political events and rising tensions, as millions of protesters gathered in towns and cities from the eastern tip of Long Island’s North Fork to Los Angeles and 2,000 points in between. 

Estimates indicate that between four and six million people participated in the mostly  concurrent No Kings rallies, held to protest President Donald Trump’s (R) policies and actions in his first five months in office and the military parade organized by his administration to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday. 

The rallies were organized by the 50501 Movement, a national movement advocating for democracy, and its affiliates, including Indivisible and the ACLU, that view Trump’s actions and policies as authoritarian and monarchical. Christina Henderson was the organizer of the Port Jeff No Kings rally.

“We don’t do kings in the United States, we don’t do dictators, we don’t do dictator parades, and we don’t do authoritarianism,” Henderson said. “We were founded on a system of checks and balances and we don’t do kings.”

Local rally-goers, many wearing plastic rain ponchos, were out to send the message to Trump that his policies, specifically his use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, are not only intolerable, but unlawful. 

Nancy Goroff, a Stony Brook University chemistry professor who ran for Congress in New York’s first district in 2024, was at the march in a cold and damp Port Jefferson.

“We have to fight to make sure we have fair elections in 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028,” said Goroff. “We are going to keep protesting, we are going to keep rallying, we are going to keep coming together in community to bring new people into this [movement] to protect our democracy and keep us from sliding into autocracy.” 

The nationwide movement occurred on the same day as Trump’s Washington parade. It was set against the multilayered backdrop of U.S. Marines and National Guard recently clashing with protesters, many of whom are U.S. citizens, in Los Angeles. There were no altercations with police at the Port Jeff protest.

In recent weeks, ICE agents have clashed with civilians in both Nassau and Suffolk counties as well as in cities across the country. Though June 14 was Flag Day — and unseasonably cool in many parts of the country — the political climate was at a boiling point. 

On Long Island, 12 No Kings events drew an estimated 35,000 people in total, including roughly 3,000 in Port Jeff Station. 

This was the second such rally in just two months at the corner of Routes 112 and 347. On April 5th, protesters gathered on this stretch of sidewalk adjacent to the Station Plaza shopping mall. However this time,there were considerably more people in attendance despite the inclement weather. 

Protesters curled south around the block on Patchogue Avenue all the way to Rose Avenue and on the opposite side of Train Car Park, along Canal Road. Others spilled into the park to listen to speakers such as Goroff, activists Skyler Johnson and Shoshana Hershkowitz and Henderson. 

Soaked from the intensifying rain and shouting the time-honored chant “This is what democracy looks like,” protesters used both hands to hold colorful pride and American flags, umbrellas and cardboard placards. Some of the signs simply read No Kings with a red line through a crown and others were more elaborate, depicting caricatures of Trump as a taco, a clown or a baby in diapers.

Last month, Trump earned the nickname of Taco — an acronym for Trump always chickens out, which refers to his frequently changing decrees on international tariffs. The name has spread in left-leaning social media circles and memes. 

In keeping with food metaphors, multiple signs depicted the president of the United States in some form of fast-food restaurant Burger King regalia.

As the occasional vehicle slowed near the rally to express opposite views of the marchers, tensions rose. One such vehicle had an array of hand-painted messages supporting the president. An array of oversized Trump flags flapped from its roof and rear. 

After passing through the intersection, the car lingered briefly on Route 347 and the occupants began arguing with a group of protesters. After about a minute, the vehicle left without further incident. There was a police presence of three or four cars throughout the course of the event.

The gathering in Port Jeff consisted mainly of people that could have been protesting in the Vietnam era, but mixed in were young parents with school-aged children as well as a segment of young adults determined to sustain the No Kings movement for future generations.

Noelle Kozofsky, 20 years old of Hampton Bays, was one such participant.

“At some point, the world is going to be in the hands of my generation,” said Kozofsky, who is working as a dog sitter for the summer. “We need to learn that this is going to affect our future and affect our lives. Our country and our economy are becoming a disaster if young people like me aren’t willing to attend events like this and figure out a way to help our community. It’s so important to have empathy for other people and I feel like that is getting lost with the way things are. Trump tries to tear us all apart to have all the power for himself, and the only way to stop him is if we work together.”

But critics of the No Kings movement argue that events like the Army anniversary parade in Washington are unifying, and it is the protests that disrupt order and undermine democracy.

In a statement, David Laska, communications director for the New York Republican State Committee, said, “The American people choose our leaders at the ballot box — not in the streets with juvenile chants and temper tantrums. The slogan of this performative outrage might be “no kings,” but Americans know that what Democrats really want is the rule of the mob. While they’re out blocking traffic, the rest of us will be celebrating America and honoring our military.”

Other No Kings protest marches in Suffolk County included Sag Harbor, Riverhead, Huntington, Hampton Bays, Amityville and Patchogue, which took place in front of Representative Andrew Garbarino’s (R, NY2) headquarters. On Long Island, there were no arrests reported.

“When we are unified and we come together, we get positivity and energy and smart people who are going to change the world,” Henderson told the cheering crowd. “It starts with people waking up and saying that they have had enough. This is what being here is all about.”