Crowned Fools: MAGA Misfits and Proud Boys Get Royal Treatment While Protesting No Kings Rallies

Despite how much they lectured all of us about defending free speech and the not resorting to violence in the wake of being Charlie Kirk dispatched, MAGA had a hard time practicing what they preached last weekend.

According to organizers, there were 2,700 No Kings rallies across the country on Saturday, with over 7 million coming out showing their opposition to Donald Trump and the actions since he returned to the White House. The protests were organized by a coalition of progressive and labor groups, including the 50501 Movement and Indivisible. The “No Kings” reference is in regards to the Trump administration’s authoritarian policies and executive overreach that is akin to that of a  monarch. While most of the rallies were uneventful, there were some that saw opposition coming from Trump supporters, either lone antagonists or organized MAGA groups coming out to counter protest.

No Kings rallies in Colorado, Ohio, Kentucky, California, South Carolina, Oregon, Florida, Virginia, and Texas saw confrontations by individuals and groups associated with MAGA that resulted in approximately 22 arrests. There have not been any reports of arrests of anyone that participated in the rallies themselves.

Andre Williams, a 24-year-old Black TikToker from Detroit who in recent months has found an audience with his vitriolic videos against the Black community, was removed from Detroit’s rally by organizers and arrested in front of the Rosa Parks Transit Center after he tried provoking confrontations.

In Wilkes-Barre, PA, a driver driving a red Jeep decorated with Trump flags allegedly flashed a gun at protesters. Police promptly arrested 52 year-old Michael Paul Kolarik from Scranton and charged him with counts of terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person, simple assault and disorderly conduct. He bonded out on $50,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 5. No one was hurt and no shots were fired. The rally in Kent, Ohio was even more harrowing, as 20-year-old Bryce Sobodosh walked through the crowd with a pro-Trump flag when an altercation with a woman ensued, prompting several persons to tackle him, and revealing he had a .44 caliber pistol that was later determined to be stolen. Sobodosh, who previously pled guilty to a felony charge in Geauga County (after being accused of attempting to elude a police officer attempting to pull his car over last September), was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and receiving stolen property. He bonded out of the Portage County Jail and has a court appearance on Friday.

Some of the opposition came in the form of counter protests in a number of locations. In Somerset, New Jersey, a small “MAGA Kings Day” rally was held across from the No Kings rally at the town gazebo, which ironically was where a vigil for Charlie Kirk was held Sept. 14. The MAGA rally was organized by Terry Beck of  Hillsborough, NJ (who holds far right events across New Jersey, mostly against the transgender community, and has strong ties to nationalist and racist organizations) and her friend Proud Boy Richie Negron. While their protest was miniscule and consisted of people dressed as kings with AI generated parodies of songs such as “YMCA” (changing the chorus to MAGA) and “Ice, Ice Baby.” The Proud Boys participated – one of them who said his name was Felix said that he was a J6er – as well as someone waving a Confederate flag. His Instagram shows that he is a fan of Confederate lore.

For his part, Donald Trump responded to the anti-Trump rallies with a 19-second AI-generated video posted on his Truth Social account, depicting him wearing a crown in a fighter jet labeled “King Trump” and dropping what appears to be feces on protesters. The video featured the song “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins playing in the background, which prompted Loggins to demand his recording be removed from the video. “I can’t imagine why anybody would want their music used or associated with something created with the sole purpose of dividing us,” Loggins said in a statement. “Too many people are trying to tear us apart, and we need to find new ways to come together. We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic. There is no ‘us and them’ – that’s not who we are, nor is it what we should be. It’s all of us. We’re in this together, and it is my hope that we can embrace music as a way of celebrating and uniting each and every one of us.”