NO KINGS: WAKE UP! Protester Perspectives: What folks had to say about the event.

The No Kings: Wake Up! protest on June 14th at the corner of Beach and Hodges Blvd. was an overwhelming success with 2,500+ protesters attending. Indivisible Mandarin and Indivisible Jax Riverside took the lead in organizing the event which included plenty of water and patrolling Marshals to keep the peace.

In a survey sent to protest attendees who signed up for the protest through Mobilize, participant comments were 99% positive! 412 surveys were returned (a 40% return rate). Read some of the comments below:

This is the first time my wife and I've attended a protest event. My wife and I felt so proud to be Americans.

Thank you to the organizers

I was happy to see the enthusiastic turnout.

Amazing turnout with fun and kind people.

I took action because our democracy is being taken away from us. and the constitution of the united states is being ripped apart by a want-to-be dictator!

Trump is a dictator who needs to be stopped.

I arrived just a few minutes before the official start and was moved to tears by the outpouring of support for our country and the growing crowd ready to meet the looming threat to our democracy in peaceful but defiant opposition. the protesters were enthusiastic, their signs were inspiring, the cars driving by were loudly honking and waving in support of protesters, and even as the numbers grew to over 2k, everyone was acting neighborly, getting water for people, rotating in and out of the shade, and encouraging each other. this was an amazing moment of community.

On the way home (i live quite nearby), i saw massive amounts of police from multiple jurisdictions, staged at the nearby church, and many just cruising around. thankfully i saw no incidents and they were unnecessary. i was so proud of our Jacksonville community for turning out in numbers and showing the power of peaceful protest. we are ready to meet this moment.

Thank the organizers for their efforts in promoting democracy.

Awesome, loved seeing fellow citizens standing for democracy, the constitution and truth!

It was awesome & a little scary when certain trucks circled more than once and roared toward us very fast and very close! We managed to get out of the way. Otherwise it was peaceful. I was proud to be there.

Felt safe, was peaceful, good atmosphere.

Peaceful, great signs, well done!

i want america to be a haven for the people born here and a light of hope for those all over the world.

i believe does not care about people but only having power over people.

america's forefathers realize such people could get into the highest office and made provisions through the constitution to be able to block their remaining there. trump and his supporters are trying hard to squash the constitution.

i do not agree with the 'anything goes' of the far left, but i know god wants us to treat everyone with the love and dignity that all humans deserve. finally, each of us must realize that when we see the rights of one group being violated, it is then that we

must act... for it will not be long before that same person/entity will be violating our rights.

protesting everything coming from white house. no kings jax was very well attended, friendly crowd, really enthusiastic about ending this regime!

standing up for our democracy!!!

there was a overwhelming public support at the event. it felt great being with others that support democracy. we must stomp out fascism trying to spread across our nation before its to late.

Loved how everyone came together!

it was amazing everyone happy and talking and sharing stories. people honking in support. some cars being nasty but whatever

we are sick of the current regime's dictatorship preying on immigrants and wasting tax payer dollars on parades to inflate his ego.

Felt festive and safe. My first protest

we need a president who actually knows and respects our constitution.

Fabulous. Well organized and attended!

Very well organized and run, glad we were able to attend!

Great peaceful turnout! People of all ages from all walks of life.

So many amazing people standing up for good!

This was my first protest! I needed to take action. I do not agree with the actions of the current administration and believe they do not uphold the constitution. This country was founded to break free of kings. I want liberty and justice for all!

it was inspiring to see so many people who feel the way i do. the honks from supporters showed the true numbers who are upset with the government's disregard for due process and the law. we are not alone and there are enough of us to make a difference.

this was my first protest. and it was for the greatest reason

well attended and well organized

grateful for no counter protests

it was great. Everyone was positive and no violence. Very few MAGAs but hundreds of thumbs up from passersby. One MAGA thought he would cause trouble but we ignored him and the police told him to leave.

Great event. Well attended

it was great!

Very organized. Felt very safe.

Good turn out.

administration is fascist and authoritarian! i will not back down and give up the freedoms we are entitled to.

Great turn out. Peaceful. Very Hot.

because i want to stand with resistance to trump. he is very very bad for our country.

great experience and well organized.

Very organized! Thank you!

great turnout! i live in virginia and was so excited to see this kind of crowd in jax!

Great, well planned. Peacekeepers were on site and unobtrusive.

Outstanding event! Time to mobilize millions to rally in DC

Well organized. All the volunteers were keeping things calm. Information ahead of protest was helpful. And it was very inspiring to see everyone out there. Keep up the good work!

i used the event to teach my children about the importance of protest and rights for all - as are laid out in the constitution

Very positive experience. Being with like minded folks. All was peaceful.

this was my first time protesting. as a white cis female american citizen, i felt it was important to use my place of privilege. trump is a cruel and ineffective leader and actively hurting our country.

my wife and i were proud to have been involved!!!

the crowd and the enthusiasm displayed in support of no king!

it is time to be on the right side of history. the government is off the rails and the people need to stand together. in solidarity. the turnout was very impressive and positive. i feel like there is hope

it was an awesome experience and my husband and i were so thrilled to not have to whisper our feelings or only talk in private about our feelings about donald trump's destruction of our democracy. our constitution is being trampled by trump.

The peacekeepers were fabulous. The MAGA intruders were ignored by everyone. The ChikFilA management went overboard to prevent parking but there were no incidents. I bought a bottle of water and they left me alone. I had also explained a medical need to have my car nearby. There were at least a dozen police in the restaurant but they mostly stayed inside. Water was distributed? It was Zephyrhills brand. This brand, as well as PureLife, are owned by Nestle's. Nestle's corporation gives large sums of money to

tight wing causes and politicians. They have a poor history ranging from baby formula in Africa in the 80s to Flint MI and more. The app Goods Unite Us shows where companies make their donations. Let's buy products that further good causes. Thank you!

And thanks for a good local event. I could not have been out later in the day with the heat and humidity. Iam so happy to have been there today.

We were showing what democracy looks like and it was inspiring and hopeful!

Awesome! This was the first protest I have attended and I'm really glad I went. Everyone was positive and upbeat. The time flew by!

It was a great turn out ! It was amazing how many cars going by were honking their horns and supportingetting rid of the Traitor President.,

Well organized. Water distributed really helped with the heat. Peaceful protest. Thank you for giving us a place to have our voices heard.

i felt safe, people were friendly, i was disappointed that there was no one to suggest songs, chants, etc..

10/10 vibes. Gave me a lot of hope to see so many people come out to share their voices

My first protest. Well organized. Marshals on site to help ensure we followed the rules, handed out water, etc. well done

An amazing day!!

evil thrives when good men do nothing. had to do something.

Great turn out

Great crowd!

Well organized

i am ready for another protest. thank you for organizing and your support. you all did a great job. the cars sounding their horns was a sound of hope.

ready for your leadership. such a wonderful turn out! thank you!

great experience!

i'm a veteran and i can't sit still and do nothing while i watch the constitution be degraded and our checks and balances stop working all because those in power are too worried about power and not about people. billionaires don't make good presidents. i didn't realize there were so many people who felt the same way.

Well organized and peaceful. Only saw a couple of MAGA folks. Most car traffic folks were giving us thumbs up and honking.

Good turnout for our side. Noisy and peaceful even with a handful from the fascist team

when is the next one

because every day i watch an entire city be built because immigrants, and an immigrant saved my life literally fuck trump

Great being part of impassioned group, exercising our rights, and expressing a strong desire for a better country, through peaceful dissent.

great parking, water. we came to help America see that there is resistance to trump. great crowd of patriotic, caring people

Positive and organized. This is my wife and my 2nd event we've attended and everyone involved and attending were amazing! We felt part of positive community that believes in Democracy and helping all people here trying to survive and live the America that is promised to those here to make it better by whatever means they can especially service, manual labor and armed service. It's also just good to know we have friends and allies physically out there and not just on social media. Love y'all. Thank you so much! You've helped me enforce well being.

we are all humans, treat people with dignity, respect, stop bullying people, and tearing families apart, we all need each other, one god, no kings

the experience was great! people from all walks of life! my memories of presidents goes back to jfk and i can say with no hesitation that trump is the worst president we've ever had. his refusal to honor the rule of law is unacceptable.

protest trump yes i do!

Made me feel that I was doing something to help our country.

it was a good event, peaceful and i felt really good about being american!

this was my first protest and i found it emotional to see so many like minded people standing up against the tyranny- i am very disappointed with our government! thanks for organizing and i look forward to participating again!!

It was great! Nice being with like minded people!

trump's policies coincide with late 1930s germany. my father and his generation fought to ride the world of fascist authoritarians like trump. in honor of him and those others that go before me who have taken the oath to protect our constitution, i can do no less. in addition, trumps policies outlined in project 2025 will cut funding to medicare, medicaid, social security and other programs that benefit veterans, food programs for seniors and under privileged children.

What a lovely day and a great turnout! I felt like JSO did a great job of staying visible and being positive at Beach and Hodges and at the Courthouse downtown.

Well organized & orderly. Everyone was so nice and helpful.

it felt safe, everyone was respectful. people of all ages participated so my 11 year old daughter felt comfortable. it was an incredible experience of camaraderie and hope!

Incredible! Amazing turn out and the people were sooo friendly and nice. Made our first protest

democracy at stake

So glad I attended. Enjoyed the spirit of the movement.

save democracy

i enjoyed every second of it! i was nervous about attending solo, but was able to fit right in and feel safe. so much support and the signs were amazing. perfect weather, our country needed the positive optics we displayed, and i feel good about my decision.

The event was positive and unifying for the most part. Lots of people were there. Although it was hot and sunny, the mood of the crowd was upbeat. There are always a few individuals who want to be confrontational. They just need more mentoring to learn to respond from a position of peace.

Great turnout

Well organized, peaceful, large turnout, creative signs and while this won't show up in the crowd numbers, massive support by drivers-by. Feeling energized and optimistic, but still extremely concerned.

thousands of people showed up at the beach and hodges location in jacksonville florida. everyone was peaceful even the very small maga faction that stayed in the background. great to be around a group of concerned determined americans supporting democracy.

Well organized. Kudos to everyone who worked on this project.

The monitors were wonderful! There were two Trump idiots that marched back and forth trying to get a reaction from the crowd and had a procamera to film any altercation but that didn't happen. Everyone just turned their backs. Great day!

Fantastic experience! I was so pleasantly surprised at the huge turnout!

Proud to have the opportunity to be part of this important event.

we need to stand up to this administration. action with trump parade are beyond decency. democracy

needs to drive decisions not kings. my experience was awesome.

there would be and it wasn't even 9 am yet. my daughter and i both teared up! i went because too many people are afraid of him and therefore stay silent. i no longer want to be quiet and silence is compliance. we need to resist!

Sooooo empowering and very peaceful!

great organizer! very good and safe traffics control ! no confrontations nor violence behavior !

thank you for all your hard works and effort to help us stand up for democracy and the marginalized

It was a great experience. my wife and i will be celebrating our 50th anniversary this year and we were together for no king. it was a very well organized event. i don't care for the politics and policy of this administration. trump is definitely a poor leader and one that violates constitutional law for his own desires. has violated laws and people's rights. place democracy in jeopardy. leading into a authoritarian government.

this can't be. we have to push back hard on this. Thank you for organizing this civic event

(And, if you've made it this far, you get the idea! There are 3 more full pages of comments like these which we won't publish for the sake of brevity!)