'No Kings' protest sees 600 people gathered in Black Mountain's Town Square – Black Mountain News

BLACK MOUNTAIN – Organizers estimate more than 600 people gathered in Town Square for Black Mountain’s “No Kings” protest June 14.
Swannanoa Valley residents lined the sides of Town Square and filtered through the interior, most carrying signs conveying their disappointment with President Donald Trump and the federal government.
As the protest started at 4 p.m., Black Mountain Indivisible organizer Kiersten Hall told those gathered that the protest was “a humanity issue.”
According to previous Citizen Times reporting, the national “No Kings” protests were planned to coincide with Flag Day, the Army’s 250th anniversary and Trump’s birthday.
In Black Mountain, several protesters told Black Mountain News that a desire to defend the Constitution and see it upheld brought them out to the event.
Though she said her job was classified, Gail Young said she took an oath to defend the Constitution 50 years ago and she continues that work today.
“That oath does not expire,” Young said. “It’s for life.”
She said she wants to see the system of government reformed so that there are more than two parties and that “the voices of everybody can be heard.”
“Compromises will never be perfect, but we can constantly evolve with the changing needs of the people and the country and the world because the world is evolving too and we are part of it,” Young said. “I can’t just cut off my hand and pretend that the rest of the body doesn’t exist. That’s about the size of the United States to the rest of the world.”
Jody Layne said she sees democracy as being “in trouble” and the fight for the country brought her out to the “No Kings” protest.
“We’re too divided,” Layne said. “We need to come together to work on our progress.”
Cindy Richardson said she sees the country as “hanging by a thread” and “heading toward fascism.” She said she would like to see less antagonism in the country.
Chuck Richardson said he would like to see more cooperation within the government and “for people to actually listen to each other.”
“They should take a look at what’s going on around them every day,” Chuck Richardson said. “Observe their environment and get off their one-sided news sources and educate themselves to both sides of the issues and talk to each other about it. A dialogue would be nice.”
Pam King, who said she was at the protest as a Black Mountain resident and not in her role as a Town Council member, said she wanted to see the Constitution upheld, as well as due process and freedom of speech.
King said she would like to see the three branches of government be able to operate under checks and balances and for the Constitution to be respected.
For some protesters, Trump calling in the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles amid protests there was top of mind at the Black Mountain June 14 event.
Kathleen Prosser said her son is in the military.
“Young men and women go into the armed services to defend democracy, not to attack American citizens, not to attack people who want to be American citizens,” Prosser said. “It’s just unbelievable what he did out in California. He escalated problems.”
Mike Vaske and Xiomara Vaske described themselves as a miliary family with Mike Vaske and the couple’s sons being in the military. Xiomara Vaske said she worked in the state department and they all took oaths to defend the Constitution.
“As a military family, we took an oath to defend the Constitution,” Xiomara Vaske said. “Not a king.”
She said Republicans “refuse to honor their oath” and they are afraid of Trump.
“We’re standing up for America,” Mike Vaske said. “We’re pro-America and everything she stands for.”
Protester Rae Tromsness said she is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and a Black Mountain local and she would like to see everybody valued equally and the country not to become an autocracy.
“I’m terrified for the fall of our democracy,” Tromsness said. “I never imagined that we would elect a convicted felon into presidency.”
She said she was also protesting for the “Free Palestine” movement.
As the Town Square protesters waved their signs and chanted, honks of support were frequent over the hour protest, with the occasional shout of support for Trump breaking through.
Young said the only way forward is to change things and to do it together.
“We’ve got to change things,” Young said. “We can’t go back to what we were, but we can get better if we do it together.”
Karrigan Monk is the Swannanoa Valley communities reporter for Black Mountain News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kmonk@blackmountainnews.com.