Over 700 turn out for No Kings protest at McGregor Park in Clarksville | PHOTOS

Over 700 demonstrators turned out for the No Kings protest Saturday at McGregor Park on Riverside Drive.

By Abigail Krieg June 14, 2025 6:14 pm

Clarksville NowThe No Kings protest on Riverside Drive in Clarksville on June 14, 2025. (Jeff Danault/Clarksville Now)

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Over 700 demonstrators turned out for the No Kings protest Saturday at McGregor Park on Riverside Drive. No Kings is a nationwide protest against President Donald Trump’s decision to pair the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army with a birthday parade for himself.

“No Kings is a counter movement to that, not to the Army, but to Trump’s authoritarian agenda,” said Joy Rice of Clarksville Indivisible, which organized the Clarksville protest. “So all of a sudden, we don’t have money for Medicaid. We’re gonna cut costs everywhere, but we’re gonna blow millions of dollars on a birthday party parade for the president. I find that extremely offensive, and it does reek of authoritarianism,” said Rice.

The No Kings protest on Riverside Drive in Clarksville on June 14, 2025. (Jeff Danault/Clarksville Now)

At 2:15 p.m., Clarksville Now counted over 550 people and rising at the event. At 3 p.m., organizers counted just over 700, in a quarter-mile line stretching from O’Charley’s to the Marathon gas station.

Former Army medic Jacob Simons and his dog, Reggie, walked up and down the line of protesters offering water while standing in solidarity with the No Kings movement. “I think every further step they take is a further step, literally, towards fascism. Deploying your own military against your own people, against the will of the people, the governing body and the police force is fascism,” said Simons.

Protesters held up signs and chanted responsively, “Tell me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like! No kings! No kings!”

‘Silence is complicity’

Clarksville Indivisible was created in 2017 by Karen Reynolds, retired Army master sergeant and Clarksville City Council member. Reynolds was the organizer from 2017 until 2020, when she ran for City Council. On Saturday, she walked the line, holding up signs and firing up the protesters.

“We believe that there is dignity in every human being, and it should be respected, and everybody’s freedom matters,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t defend this country so we can pick and choose based on someone’s sex and color of skin, what kind of school they go to or whether they can survive a pregnancy based on their zip code.”

After Reynolds, Joy Rice took over as organizer. She moved to Clarksville in 2018 and served 22 years in the Air Force. Rice and Reynolds met at a dinner and soon realized they had a lot in common. “I felt like I was the only little blue dot in the big sea of red,” said Rice.

Morgan McCullough joined in chants created by other members of the event. She said, “I’m hoping that in this red state that we are in that we do bring some light to the darkness that is here, because people are so silent, and silence is complicity.”

Chris Smith contributed to this report.

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