Saturday Morning Covfefe: No Kings, No Fear

Hey everyone, I’m out of the office today and currently in Texas, preparing to go live later from the No Kings Rally because freedom still means having a voice. My apologies, but no “5 Things” list today, just one: Show up. In person, or virtually, make your voice heard.

Before I head out, I wanted to leave you with this:

Please march peacefully. Make your voice heard. Bring your signs, your courage, and your convictions, but let’s keep it respectful, safe, and grounded in our shared values. The right to assemble, speak out, and protest is at the very heart of who we are as Americans.

And this year, showing up matters more than ever. Since the last No Kings protests in June 2025, we’ve seen a rapid series of actions that have chipped away at our constitutional rights and our identity as a free nation:

• Surveillance expansion: ICE and DHS have quietly expanded contracts for facial recognition, phone tracking, and social media monitoring, often aimed at critics, journalists, and protesters.

• Censorship and coercion: Federal agencies have leaned on platforms and universities to flag “misinformation,” blurring the line between safety and suppression of dissent.

• Court limits on nationwide injunctions: A June 2025 Supreme Court decision made it harder for courts to protect constitutional rights nationwide, fragmenting freedoms by geography.

• Protest barriers: Cities like Conroe, Texas, have proposed new regulations requiring fees and insurance for gatherings over 25 people, another attempt seen as infringing on the freedom to dissent.

And perhaps most dangerous: The rebranding of dissent itself as extremism. We’ve watched the Trump administration label anyone who protests or disagrees, from veterans to teachers to journalists, as “Antifa terrorists.” I wrote about that playbook here. It’s a tactic straight out of the authoritarian manual: paint critics as enemies of the state so you can justify silencing them.

That’s why today matters. When we march, we’re not just protesting, we’re reclaiming the meaning of patriotism itself. Peacefully. Powerfully. In defense of truth, freedom, and the America we believe in. Because the only thing stronger than fear is the sound of people who refuse to be silent. And let’s be honest, they’re sending in the National Guard everywhere, and people like House Speaker Mike Johnson are labeling these protests as “un-American” because they’re the ones who are scared. They know the power lies in the people. There is nothing more American than exercising our freedoms to challenge the very forces trying to rewrite what it means to be American, and remind them that democracy still answers to us.

Reporting from Texas, see you soon!

-Olivia