No Kings III Protesters Argue That We Must Protect The Planet

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No Kings III protests on Saturday, March 28, 2026, took place across the US and the globe. Our local No Kings III protest took place in front of the federal courthouse where Trump appointee Aileen Cannon has refuted, over and over again, any condemnation of the president’s behavior, dishonesty, culpability, or duplicity. The selected location for the protest was symbolic and poignant.

The demonstrations covered a wide range of issues, including the regressive policies of the Trump administration around clean energy. With the effects of a warming climate front and center on many protesters’ minds, lots of signage spoke to the pressing need to reject the powerful fossil fuel lobby and embrace the science of decarbonization.

Here are an assortment of positions that protesters took and how they relate to the fight to protect our planet and US democracy.

In a speech in Minnesota, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) reinforced the No Kings III protesters, “We will never accept government policy that … is pushing the planet closer and closer to a climate crisis.” Noting the “millions of Americans are out on the streets demanding freedom, democracy, and justice,” Sanders insisted that “we must make certain: Today is not the end of our struggle. It is just the beginning.”

Vital Arctic sea ice shrank in winter 2026 to tie its lowest measured level; this is usually the season when ice grows. However, as a warming Earth shattered records across the continents, this year’s sea ice area was about 525,000 square miles (1.36 million square kilometers) lower than the 1981 to 2010 winter average peak.

Yet a 2025 report, A critical review of impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on the US climate, published by the US Department of Energy, denied any such trend and, conversely, contained at least 100 false or misleading statements, according to a fact check involving dozens of leading climate scientists.

It’s hard to keep track of the lies and more lies. In 2018, Trump told Leslie Stahl on 60 Minutes that he did not think climate change was a hoax. “I think something’s happening. Something’s changing and it’ll change back again. I don’t think it’s a hoax.”

While the Trump legacy of authoritarianism will be symbolic of democracy’s fragility for decades to come, it’s also clear how devastating Trump 2.0 climate science denial is right now for people in the US and around the world. We must not succumb to his TACO bluster and backhanded attempts to stall climate progress. We need to fight back with fury and engage in what Congressman John Lewis called “good trouble” to rebel against the Trump regime’s dire consequences for life on Earth.

The Nature Conservancy notes that women leaders are fighting to address the impacts of climate change in every sector — as scientists, philanthropists, legislators, tribal leaders, and CEOs — and sparking major victories for our planet. Women play major roles in emergency responses to disasters, developing thoughtful and inclusive climate solutions and innovating to deliver fair transitions.

This week the New York Times revealed that a group of wealthy investors is determined to reverse President Donald J. Trump’s sweeping tax law that eliminated most federal support for wind and solar energy, electric vehicles, and other clean technologies.“You’ve got to have some fear that if you vote against the clean energy industry, you may pay a political price,” said Michael Brune, a former head of the Sierra Club who now serves as chief executive of the Clean Break Fund, a climate investment group. Tesla recently announced plans to manufacture 100 gigawatts of solar panels annually by 2028.

In February, KellyAnne Conway’s firm, KAConsulting, released the results of a pro-solar survey of 1,000 registered voters in the red-voting states of Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Texas. The survey responses showed that “solar energy enjoys broad, durable, and increasingly intense public support,” getting an endorsement from 80% of voters surveyed including 75% of Trump voters.

Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos has became a symbol of Trump’s cruel immigration crackdown. It is a short-sighted program that is hurting agriculture specifically. Farmers are experiencing the effects of a shifting labor supply, limited crop choices, rising prices, and policy wavering. Many agricultural sectors rely on year-round and seasonal immigrant labor for essential roles in farming, forestry, nursery, and ornamental horticulture. Immigration provides the workforce for planting, weeding, thinning, pruning, harvest, and post-harvest handling — roles domestic workers seldom fill.

Immigrant labor bridges seasonal gaps and enables timely harvesting for crops like citrus, vegetables, tomatoes, and berries. A robust immigrant workforce maintains supply chains for regional, national, and export markets. Sudden changes in visa programs, immigration policy enforcement, or labor market conditions can disrupt yields, delay harvests, and increase crop losses due to unharvested fields.

In targeted budget and staffing cuts, the Trump administration sharply reduced funding for a range of agencies involved in the outdoor economy, including the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest Service. The Association of National Park Rangers issued a statement earlier this year, saying, “The National Park Service faces what is sure to be another year of crisis as the national parks suffer from continuing budget cuts, staffing shortages, and an ‘America First’ agenda that threatens our collective history.”

Scholar of authoritarianism, Timothy Synder, explains how Trump “wants to be the warlord whom everyone fears, but he also wants to make lots of money and to have his corruption defined as peacemaking.”

You may be surprised to learn that on the federal and the majority state level, the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is not an essential right afforded to the people. The Earth Law Center is calling for Green Amendments, which are self-executing provisions that are added to the bill of rights section of a constitution. These Amendments recognize and protect the rights of all people, including future generations, to pure water, clean air, a stable climate, and a healthy environment. Such Green Amendments would establish a constitutional mandate recognizing a healthy environment as an inherent, indefeasible, generational legal right of all citizens.

The No Kings peaceful movement is only getting bigger. “No Kings” is more than just a slogan, say its organizers. It is the foundation upon which the US was built. “Born in the streets, shouted by millions, carried on posters and chants, it echoes from city blocks to rural town squares, uniting people across this country to fight dictatorship together,” they continue.

Robert Reich wrote this morning, “If you were inspired by yesterday’s No Kings Day demonstration, know that millions of others were, too. Let’s build on that inspiration by turning it into concrete political action to take back power from Trump and his treacherous regime.”

All photos by Carolyn Fortuna. Each person gave permission to have their photograph taken and their face exposed.

Resources

• “About No Kings.” March 28, 2026.
• “Arctic sea ice shrank to tie its lowest winter level as unprecedented heat shatters records globally.” Seth Borenstein. Associated Press. March 28, 2026.
• “Fascist failure: The State of Trump.” Timothy Snyder. Substack. February 25, 2026.”
• “Green Amendments and the right to a healthy environment. Earth Law Center. February 12, 2024.
• “Immigration effects on agriculture: Florida 2026 trends.” Farmonaut.
• “Our national parks in crisis: More of the same in 2026.” Bill Wade. ANPR. January 9, 2026.
• “Wealthy investors Are targeting foes of clean energy, and they want revenge.” Lisa Friedman and Brad Plumer. New York Times. March 26, 2026.
• “Women and climate.” Nature Conservancy. January 26, 2026.