It’s About Time for No Kings Day!

June 12, 2025

Hello Helena Indivisibles,

This special edition of our newsletter is to help you get ready for No Kings Day on Saturday.

We’ll start the rally by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. It may have been awhile since many of us did that, so here it is to refresh your memory:

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Fun fact: The name of the national organization—Indivisible—was directly inspired by our national pledge, which reminds us that Americans have always valued solidarity in the face of those who would divide us against each other for their own selfish interests. If only our elected officials would take their oath of office as seriously as we do our pledge of allegiance.

How to Get Ready for No Kings Day

Who: You! And your family, neighbors, and friends. Speakers include Pat Cotter, Anne Hedges, Marc Racicot, Rachel Rivas, and Charlie Snellman, emceed by Nancy Keenan. Music by Big SKA Country as well as the Jazz Allstars.
What: No Kings Day Rally, a pro-democracy rally organized by Indivisible Helena and co-hosted by ACLU of Montana, Big Sky 55+, Catalyst, Friends of the Third Branch, Hands on Global, HARRT, Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC), and Montana Federation of Public Employees (MFPE)
When: Saturday, June 14, Noon to 1:30pm (music starts at 11:30am)
Where: State Capitol Flag Plaza, 1301 East Sixth Avenue, Helena
Why: Protect Democracy, Reject Autocracy and Corrupt Politics

It’s forecast by be sunny and 77 on Saturday! Bring a hat,a bottle of water, and a protest sign (we’ll have a few if you haven’t made one). If you have one, bring an American flag! America is ours: no one is going to take our country, and our democracy and freedoms, away from us!

We Care About Your Safety

With the recent news in Los Angeles, you might be wondering whether it is safe to rally. While Trump threatens protesters at his military parade with “very heavy force” (his only audience is Fox News and the darker corners of the internet), what he fails to understand is that there will be millions of us patriotic Americans who will be rallying on “No Kings Day” in over 2,000 communities across the country not named Washington, DC, including more than 300 rallies organized since Trump escalated his fear tactics.

Indivisible, since its founding eight years ago, has always had a core principle behind all Indivisible events: a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. It works: at over 1,300 Hands Off events attended on April 5th by at least 3.5 million people, there was not one single incidence of violence that required intervention by rally organizers. Even with Trump’s latest threats to escalate violence, there are no indications uncovered by academic researchers that anyone—including the usual suspects like the Proud Boys—are planning violence.

Nevertheless, at No Kings in Helena, we’re taking your security seriously. The Highway Patrol, the Sheriff’s office and Police Department have all been apprised of our rally. In addition, there will be trained assistants—wearing lime green construction vests—who will monitor the crowd and de-escalate any behavior that is not peaceful. If you see something, find one of these assistants as quickly as you can. They will also be able to point you to on-site medical assistance should you need it.

Other Final Details

1. The final Governor’s Cup runners will be done by noon. Therefore there could be some intersections—including near the northeast corner of the Capitol grounds, on the 5K route—where you may have to wait a few minutes. And parking is likely to be difficult to find. So, please leave a bit early for the music (at 11:30) and rally (at noon) so you don’t miss anything!

2. Carpooling can solve lots of potential congestion problems. Whether you need a ride or can offer one, please use this form.

3. Indivisible Helena has set aside an area for persons who may need to sit during the rally. This area will be just above the level of the speakers and musicians, below the uppermost staircase on the north side of the Capitol Building. Space is limited so we ask that you respect the needs of ralliers who have limited mobility. To access this area, we recommend that you park on the south side of the Capitol Building to avoid uphill walking and to have a shorter walking distance. You can enter the building on the south side, walk straight through and exit on the north side under the staircase. This will put you in the seating area set aside for chairs. This route is also handicapped accessible. We will have a volunteer in a lime green construction vest who can show you the seating area. Finally, please bring a chair if possible. We will have a small number of chairs available.

4. Indivisible Helena will, along with many other co-hosts and community organizations, have an information table at the rally. If you have any questions about Indivisible Helena or the rally itself, especially if you need any kind of assistance, look for us on the north side of the statue of Thomas Meagher on horseback. You can’t miss us!

One Last Thing or Two

We’re not done reaching out to Helenans who don’t yet know about No Kings Day. We’ve been postering around town as well as distributing leaflets at public events. We’ve put the word out to our local media outlets. We’ve upped our game on the web and social media.
But we need to do more. This is where you come in:

No Kings Yard signs

As we noted in our last newsletter, a crew of painters have been making No Kings yards signs. These are made to last long beyond Saturday but they are most helpful if they are all distributed by then. We made almost 250 signs, and most have been distributed already but we have many more to place.

Yard signs are available for pickup this week from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on Thursday and 4:00 to 6:00 pm on Friday at the Livestock Building, 2 North Last Chance Gulch (turn right as you enter the basement floor). Email indivisiblehelena@gmail.com if you need assistance.

Sharing is Caring

Whether you are on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Threads, WhatsApp (or whatever), you can share this graphic which includes a QR code for more rally information (and just as importantly, a registration form to keep in touch for future actions). Better still, use this graphic to send a personalized email to your friends, telling them why your are attending.

For Your Reading Pleasure

Describing her rural community as “a small blue dot in the middle of a large swath of red” (much like Helena), Tamara Moots describes in the Kansas Reflector how she summoned the courage to step out of her comfort zone to attend a recent protest against Trump. She’s so glad she did.

Read This is what democracy looks like in Kansas: The courage to protest.

See you Saturday!

Now is not the time to stay on the sidelines.

Trump’s unlawful actions in Los Angeles make it clearer than ever that he—like the dictators he routinely fawns over—dreams of crushing our right to dissent. The question falls to each of us: Will we let him?

He only wins if we back down. If we stay silent. If we refuse to exercise our right to assemble and hand over our power to him voluntarily.

But we will not obey in advance. We don’t do kings in this country. And this Saturday, we’re going to let him know it.

Bring someone with you.