Thousands of Pittsburghers join nationwide protests on Trump’s birthday

Residents of Greater Pittsburgh opposed to U.S. President Donald Trump showed up in force June 14 as part of nationwide No Kings Day protests. The demonstrations were a loud repudiation of Trump’s increasingly authoritarian moves since taking office in January, and they came against a backdrop of a military parade commemorating the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday (and coinciding with Trump’s 79th), which Pittsburgh-area veterans decried as “un-American.”

“I’m here because Donald Trump is a coward,” veteran Don O’Neill told Pittsburgh City Paper bluntly prior to the demonstration’s official 12:30 p.m. start as thousands assembled beneath the City-County Building portico. Veterans Against Trump signs featured prominently alongside Palestinian flags, “No Kings” signs, and a few Pittsburghese riffs on popular slogans such as “No Crahn for a Clahn.”

Other veterans expressed similar anger. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more disappointed in seeing such a military action on American soil,” said veteran Jeff Jalbrzikowski, who wore a handwritten graphic noting he had served alongside immigrants. “We don’t do parades for the president’s birthday … it’s not his army.”

“This country does not do that. North Korea does that. Russia does that. The United States that I served does not do that,” Vietnam veteran Ed Mihalski told City Paper. “Crowds like this shut down the Vietnam War and saved many of our lives.”

As the demonstration began in earnest and police closed Grant Street to vehicle traffic, organizer Mel Packer led the crowd in chants before musician Mike Stout played a song and speakers addressed the crowd.

“This is the biggest one I’ve seen in Pittsburgh since 2009,” Stout said. Stout dedicated a later song to “the people of East Palestine, the people of Palestine, and the working class of the world.”

Public safety officials told CP that at least 1,000 were on hand prior to the start of the demonstration, but the crowd swelled to as many as 5,000 during the protest’s peak, with demonstrators filling large sections of Grant Street, Fourth Avenue, and adjacent parking lots.

Different speakers addressed different facets of Trump’s shock-and-awe dismantling of the federal government, including his administration’s cancelation of congressionally approved funding for science and medical research, and the “unconstitutional” arrests of activists, immigrants, or those perceived to be either. Jewish Voices for Peace also connected the day’s gathering to the ongoing struggle for a ceasefire amid escalating violence in the Middle East. Jaime Martinez, community defense organizer at Casa San José, also called for a moment of silence to “grieve” those swept up in Trump’s push for mass deportations.

“In Coraopolis, a 17-year-old who was just riding their bike around was chased by nine adult agents until one gets close enough to just kick them so they will fall,” Martinez said. “A man just a few weeks ago was put in a chokehold by ICE agents … [and] never communicated with in a language he understood.” As the sun briefly illuminated the crowd, Martinez urged attendees to “be the sunlight” and report ICE activity to the nonprofit’s hotline.

At 2 p.m., a separate No Kings gathering took place starting at Freedom Corner in the Hill District. Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and others addressed the crowd there in a similar spirit. A notable undertone at both events was news that an assassin had shot and killed a Democratic state lawmaker in Minnesota in a “politically motivated” attack. Both protests remained peaceful, and organizers encouraged demonstrators to act in solidarity with one another, with multiple speakers saying that popular resistance was key to preserving democracy. Crowds continued marching through downtown into the evening.

“‘We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we cannot have both,’” activist and former Braddock mayor Chardaè Jones said, quoting former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis. She added: “We can either band together and agitate for order, or we can play the violins on the Titanic as it goes down.”

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