Highland Park ‘No Kings’ rally will protest Trump administration this Saturday

The Lake County Democrats organization will be leading a “No Kings” rally and food drive in downtown Highland Park on Saturday, June 14, to demonstrate against President Donald Trump’s administration. 

The rally is set to run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. outside Highland Park City Hall, 1707 St. Johns Ave.

Lauren Beth Gash, chair of the Lake County Democrats, said she is confident the protest will be peaceful and well attended in light of recent other demonstrations the group has held. 

“The protest this Saturday will continue our momentum,” Gash said. “People across the country are saying we’ve had enough and we don’t have kings in the United States, and Trump may want to be a dictator, but we don’t have that in the United States.”

Joan Zahnle, one of the main organizers for the Highland Park rally, encouraged people to bring food donations, which will then be collected and distributed to Lake County food pantries like the Wauconda Island Lake Food Pantry or Moraine Township Food Pantry located in Highland Park.

Numerous No Kings rallies are scheduled on Saturday across the nation to coincide with a military parade set to take place in Washington, D.C., on the Army’s 250th anniversary and Trump’s birthday. 

But the No Kings rallies now also come after Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids sparked ongoing protests in Los Angeles this week. On Tuesday, Trump deployed 700 Marines to join the now 4,000 National Guard troops in that city. 

As of Wednesday, approximately 400 people had already signed up to attend the No Kings rally in Highland Park, but Gash believed many more will attend. An April 19 Highland Park protest she expected 300 to attend ended up drawing between 1,000 to 2,000 people.

A February rally outside a Tesla dealership in Libertyville reportedly drew nearly 600 people, and a co-sponsored “Hands Off” rally in Gurnee on April 5 drew 3,000,” she said. The volunteer, grassroots organization then started holding rallies every other week starting in early May. 

Lake County Democrats will also be holding their annual Democrats Defending Democracy Reception from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday at Ravinia Green Country Club in Riverwoods. There, Heidi Kitrosser, a Northwestern constitutional law professor, will give a keynote address. 

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