Two anti-Trump protests will take place downtown Saturday. Organizers disagree over who’s to blame.
The third edition of a national protest dubbed “No Kings” will take place this weekend, and in Richmond, two groups will host events with that moniker less than a mile from each other.
The movement, which encourages protestors to speak out against what it describes as the authoritarian policies of President Donald Trump, is organized nationally by 50501 and Indivisible.
But in Richmond those two groups, which co-produced past protests, are now staging competing events, and the breakup has produced tension.
Alisa Booze Troetschel, with RVA Indivisible, said their group is meeting at Monroe Park from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, with speakers, musicians and other programming. She described the event as a festival.
An organizer with 50501 Virginia, who gave their name as Ly C., said their group will meet from noon to 3 p.m. at Kanawha Plaza, with speakers followed by a protest march. They added that the two groups disagreed over several things.
“We have opted not to partner with them on this upcoming protest, primarily because yes, we do have different visions for how protests should be,” they said.
Both events are free and open to the public.
“It’s great that the people of Richmond are going to have a choice,” Booze Troetschel said. “They can march, or they can attend a festival and participate in what we’re trying to create, a joyous atmosphere.
“I don’t see a problem with people having two different ways to express their opposition to what’s happening in our country.”
Both sides expressed concern about how the rift would impact participation and perception.
“We invited 50501 to join us in our planning,” Booze Troetchel said. “However, they opted to go in a different direction. That’s how we ended up with two protests.”
In a separate interview, Ly C. said the situation is the opposite.
“We reached out to them three separate times to have a meeting between our two leaderships, and they declined to meet with us each time,” they said.
Timing overlap with The Big Trans Market
Speaking about the other protest, Ly C. added that 50501 planners “had concerns with (RVA Indivisible’s) lack of inclusivity.”
They said RVA Indivisible's festival conflicts with a previously planned event at the Carillon Saturday, The Big Trans Market, which celebrates local transgender communities.
They said organizers of the Trans Market asked RVA Indivisible not to hold their event at the same time, and added that the scheduling caused harm to Richmond’s trans community.
Both protest events run until 3 p.m., with the Trans Market running from 1 to 6 p.m.
Booze Troetschel said in a Thursday interview it was the first time she’d heard of a potential concern, adding that the length of time the market runs made it all but impossible to avoid a conflict, and noting that the 50501 event also overlaps.
Ly C. said 50501 was given permission to overlap during that time, and added that the two events are fundamentally different.
“We are going to encourage our attendees to go to their event afterwards,” they said. “When we had talked to them, that was what ended up being the best time that worked, because ours is also a protest and not a festival. We’re not selling anything; we don’t actually fundraise for ourselves at all.
“We had that discussion with the leadership of TransJam (which is running the market), and they said, ‘Yeah, you guys are not a festival. You don’t have vendors. You’re not selling anything. You’re definitely a protest and not a festival, so you’re not competing with us.’”
Sarah Vogelsong
Safety and format
Booze Troetschel said even with the “festival” designation, there would be speakers, chants, signs and other standard protest components.
She said some residents, particularly minorities, can feel concerned for their safety at marches, given the potential for conflict.
“We want to provide an environment where people can feel comfortable exercising their First Amendment rights,” she said.
At the 50501 event, Ly C. said participants are expected to remain nonviolent, and added that 50501 organizers disagreed with RVA Indivisible over the presence of medical personnel.
“It’s a big safety issue for us,” they said. “Medics are very vital for our movement, and that’s one of the values we did not agree with.
“As far as I’m aware, the medic community in the area are not comfortable going out to their event given their previous stance on medics, which is that if you have them there you’re demonstrating that you’re expecting violence or something. We have medics because people fall on the cobblestones – in Richmond, it’s uneven ground.”
In a Tuesday email, RVA Indivisible asked for medic volunteers to support the event and indicated they would be at Monroe Park.
The two previous No Kings events drew thousands of protestors in Richmond and many more nationally.
Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org.
