(The Center Square) – In the hours leading up to and during a massive military parade set to take place in the heart of Washington, D.C., on Saturday evening at the behest of President Donald Trump, protesters who argue he has repeatedly acted outside his constitutional authority gathered across the nation in symbolic defiance.
The president has said the parade is being held in honor of the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday. It also coincides with Flag Day and the president’s 79th birthday.
A group of about 30 people ranging in age gathered at one of many northern Virginia locations as part of what they are calling the “No Kings Day” nationwide protest. Among them was 68-year-old Erin Scally.
Now retired, Scally was a lawyer for the Department of Justice and is also former military. She said that the administration is violating the law by refusing to take asylum applications.
“I spent my whole career working for the Department of Justice and immigration, OK? And everything that’s happening now is 100% illegal,” Scally told The Center Square. “Even though people have a legal right to apply for asylum, they can’t now, which is absolutely illegal.”
“No Kings” is a group supported by more than 100 partner organizations and its protests are happening in over 2,000 cities and towns across the country opposing what they say is the “authoritarian overreach.”
Tom Doyle, a 64-year-old retiree who worked for the Food and Drug Administration and is also former military, said that Trump was using the military more to celebrate his own birthday than anything else. Doyle said he “couldn’t begin to start” with the ways he believes the current administration has violated the Constitution.
“It’s particularly egregious that this draft dodger who doesn’t even understand what the Constitution means, is trying to usurp the Army’s birthday today. It’s incredibly disrespectful,” Doyle told The Center Square.
Other veterans pushed back against the narrative that the celebration was about Trump and not the Army’s anniversary.
“As a Vietnam Veteran and retired Army soldier, I’m absolutely disgusted that the mainstream media are referring to the celebration as Trump’s military parade. They are so into TDS [Trump derangement syndrome] that they would give short shrift to the birthday of the U.S. Army,” retired FAA special agent Brian Sullivan told The Center Square.
Most of the protesters The Center Square spoke to had concerns with how the administration is handling immigration enforcement. Violent protests erupted in Los Angeles this past week over Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the city.
The attacks on ICE agents over multiple days led Trump to activate 2,000 members of the California National Guard to provide protection.
This is a developing story.
