By Kathleen Shannon - Producer, Contact - News
Big Sky Connection - About 1,800 protest events will be held across the U.S. on Saturday (June 14) in response to a Washington D.C. military parade costing roughly $45 million. Montana organizers say the 25 events planned across the rural state point to Montanans’ “independent-minded” nature. Comments by Rose, co-founder, Missoula Resists.
Click on the image above for the audio. According to one of its organizers, the "No Kings" event Saturday in Missoula will include speeches from a U.S. veteran, Pride and Juneteenth organizers and a local youth concerned about aging political leadership. (Adobe Stock)
Kathleen Shannon
June 13, 2025 - While the Trump administration throws a parade tomorrow funded by taxpayers, Americans will gather at 1,800 protest events around the nation, including more than two dozen in Montana.
Dubbed as "No Kings" rallies, they coincide with a military parade in Washington, D.C. to honor President Donald Trump on his 79th birthday, which is also the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary and Flag Day.
Rose, who asks to be identified only by her first name, is a co-founder of Missoula Resists, a Montana collective that supports science, human rights and community through action. She said the 25 events scheduled around rural Montana show that although the state is often written off as "red," many Montanans still feel it's "purple."
"It is a reflection of the fact that we are independent-minded," she said, "and we are willing to say when someone has gone too far and when the government is no longer reflecting the will of the people."
Montana events are scheduled from Glendive to Havre to Libby and more. International protests are planned in Colombia, Italy, Portugal, Germany, the United Kingdom and other countries.
The estimated $45 million Washington, D.C. event is expected to include more than 6,000 soldiers, as well as about 150 vehicles and more than 50 aircraft. Damage to roads from the parade is expected to cost millions of dollars in taxpayer money to repair.
"What we're going to be seeing throughout the country this Saturday," she said, "is the reaction of the people saying that this is our country, we don't have kings here, and this is not what a democracy looks like."
According to a recent poll, 60% of American adults say the D.C. military parade is not a good use of government funds.
