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NO KINGS Day On the MN-ND Border [1]
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Date: 2025-06-14
Here in MN, the day was marred by tragedy, when some (apparently very strategic and calculating) RWNJ murdered the MN Speaker of the House and her husband, Emerita and Mark Hortman. The perp also shot MN Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, but early reports from the hospital are that the Hoffman’s are expected to survive. According to the FBI, the perp drove a vehicle that was a near-perfect replication of a real police vehicle, and he was equipped with a uniform, taser and gun.
Law enforcement found a manifesto in the abandoned “police car” at one of the crime scenes, along with a list of targets. I do not know all the details yet, but many of the No Kings events in Minneapolis were cancelled or shortened on the advice of law enforcement. The perp has been identified but is still al large and deemed to be armed and dangerous.
Although we often feel like we live in the hinterlands here on the Western MN border, our No Kings event was held in Fargo, ND (a bigger city, just across the Red River) on schedule and in full. The event opened with a moment of silence in honor and respect for the shooting victims.
I arrived early, in order to secure a parking spot. Already there was a decent crowd, which just got even bigger as the event got under way. Hopefully will have better estimates of crowd size from the local media. Once the solemnities and grief around the MN victims finished, the next part of the program (yes, there was a program for the entire two hours) was a humorous parody of the “gravest show on earth, formerly known as the United States government.” A brass band played music and we were presented with a cast of characters in skit format.
Two ladies playing the roles of Karoline Leavitt and Pam Blondi were dressed as matching cheerleaders.
Trump Cheerleaders. Former ND Governor Doug Burgum waits his turn
RFK Jr appeared as a “wormhead.” Trump came as the “cowardly lion,” who ended up leading a parody of “Y-M-C-A” morphed into “T-A-C-O”—along with someone dressed up as an actual taco. The humor was not limited to just the folks in DC. Former ND Governor (now Secretary of the Interior) Doug Burgum appeared as a red-white-and-blue clown. ND Congresscritters in Washington were excoriated, as was our MN Rep Fischbach, who appeared as a blue, furry, cookie-monster-type creature. All of us roundly booed the characters, but then gave them a round of applause at the end.
MN District 7 Rep. Fischbach Terrorizing Kids
The rest of the program acknowledged military service members, veterans and the Army’s birthday. The program planners did not want to short-shrift the military. The gentlemen who played the cowardly lion and sang T-A-C-O turned out to be a veteran himself. He sang the Star Spangled Banner and read something from Heather Cox Richardson about the founding of the U.S. Army framed as a fight against tyranny. There was more music and speakers from public health organizations, addressing the harms from cuts to Medicaid and infectious disease research and infrastructure. Other organizations like Indivisible (the primary sponsor) and Prairie Action ND urged everyone to get involved, especially in local politics. A representative from the local Coalition to End Homelessness spoke about how “fascism” appears locally in police sweeps of homeless camps.
While there was some speechifying about too much money going to police and law enforcement rather than the services that people need (which would eliminate some of the “problems” for police as well), the police turned out to be the good guys.
In the second half of the program a bright yellow semi (without a trailer) drove through the parking lot, laying on his horn deliberately disrupting the program. The truck displayed a huge American flag (of which there were also many at the rally) and some other flag which I could not identify—nothing that specifically shouted MAGA or Trump. The Fargo PD officers (some on foot, some on bikes) managed to get the guy to leave, although the horn honking kept up the whole time. The event organizer commended Fargo PD and we all gave them two rounds of applause.
Shortly after the truck left, a fire engine appeared and blocked the way into the parking lot. A couple of cop cars also took up strategic positions (some of this was to direct traffic leaving the event.) There was only one other thing that was a little disturbing. During the program, I wondered around and caught up with a friend (someone had told me where he was) on the far western side of the event grounds. While we were chatting, we spotted a drone hovering overhead to our north. Friend said it “made him a little nervous,”
Besides veterans and civic/civil rights groups, another focus of the program was Native Americans (which has been consistent with other local Indivisible programs). We were treated to Anishinaabe singing and drumming.
In addition to American flags, NO KINGS signs, and Pride flags (I brought my MN Pride flag), some of the more creative signs included:
References to insects. We have a lot of gardeners, and people tend to flock outside during our too-short summers here.
“No faux-king way” and “dick-tator” (also seen at other events).
“If lies were bricks, Trump would have finished the wall by now.”
“They’re eating the checks. They’re eating the balances.”
“No one is illegal on stolen land.”
“My daughter feels safer around drag queens than Republican congressmen.”
Am not including more of the great photos to protect folks identity. Yes, as positive as this event was for the most part, we can’t forget that the fascists are in charge (for now).
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